Emor 5773-2013

"Sanctifying G-d’s Name" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Emor, we find the seminal commandments to sanctify G-d’s name and the prohibition of desecrating…

Read More

Observance and Prayer Outline

Passover Observanceand Prayer Outline The Seder night, when family and friends gather together to commemorate our redemption…

Shoftim 5760-2000

"War, the Jewish Community and Jewish Family Life" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week's parasha, parashat Shoftim, we learn in great detail about the extensive preparations…

Read More

Pinchas 5777-2017

"Pinchas and King David" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald At the close of last week’s parasha, parashat Balak, we read of the zealous act of Pinchas, the grandson of Aaron the High Priest,…

Read More

Shoftim 5779-2019

“War, the Jewish Community and Jewish Family Life” (Revised and updated from Shoftim 5760-2000) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Shoftim, we learn, in great…

Read More

Enabling Citizen Cain

Our weekly Torah reading has once again cycled back to the Book of Genesis, returning to the stories and moral lessons of the earliest days of civilization. In addition to the ethical…

Read More

Jiri Mordecai

In celebration of National Poetry Month: One could easily say that the life of  Jiri Mordecai Langer (1894-1943) was lived between the two World Wars. Born in Prague to an…

Read More

Behind The Scenes of The Great War

The great World Wars, both involved armies of nations from all across the globe. But, in both wars--historians would agree--the balance of power shifted when America joined the allies.…

Read More

Laws and Customs of Shavuot

ShavuotLaws and Customs Table of Contents Festival Laws The Book of Ruth Customs Shavuot is a low-key, pensive holiday,…

Kedoshim 5763-2003

"Giving Proper Reproof" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this coming week's parasha, parashat Kedoshim, we encounter the well-known Biblical dictum recorded in Leviticus 19:17: "Lo tis'nah…

Read More