Who Lights The Shabbat Candles?

While lighting Shabbat candles is generally considered a “woman’s mitzvah,” and is traditionally performed by the woman of the house, it is actually an obligation of the entire household.…

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Matot-Masei 5783-2023

"The Mitzvah of Living in the Land of Israel” (updated and revised from Matot-Masei 5764-2004)   by, Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In parashat Masei, the second of this week’s double…

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Women of Vision

Our sages teach that there were seven women famed for their prophecy. (Talmud Megillah 14a states that only prophecies with a message for the future were recorded. In reality, there were…

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35th Annual Dinner – Sunday, April 30th

Thanks for Joining UsNJOP's 35th Annual DinnerSUNDAY, April 30th, 6PM EDT Watch NowDonate Donate NowHonor RollInteract with the list by tapping, clicking, scrolling or swiping.……

Focus on Your Blessings

Transform feelings of jealousy by focusing on the blessings you have in your life. According to the Midrash, the Matriarch Rachel, referred to in in Hebrew as Rachel Emeinu, and in…

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Toledot 5783-2022

“The Deeds of the Fathers are Signposts for the Children” (updated and revised from Toledot 5763-2002) by, Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Toledot, we read, for…

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Placing A Veil

One of the most beautiful customs of a traditional Ashkenazi wedding is the ceremony known as the badeken. The term badeken* is Yiddish for covering, as this is the moment when the bride…

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Chayei Sarah 5783-2022

“The Torah’s Recipe for Finding a Proper Mate” (updated and revised from Chayei Sarah 5763-2002) by, Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald One of the critical issues facing contemporary American…

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Ezer k’Negdo

Today’s Treat begins with a short, sweet story about the great Tzaddik of Jerusalem, Rabbi Aryeh Levine, and his wife, Hannah. One day, Mrs. Levine hurt her foot and needed to see a…

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Yente the Yiddish Writer

Yiddish literature entered its modern era in the 1860s, when Jewish writers began using the Germanic-Jewish language to compose stories and poems. Many of the early writers of this era…

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