Shemini 5772-2012
"The Efficacy of the Oral Code" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Shemini, we read of the first full sacrificial service that was offered in the recently…
Bechukotai 5771-2011
"Peace--The Greatest of All Blessings" by Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Bechukotai, is one of two parashiot that include the Tochachah, G-d’s reproof of the Jewish…
Naso 5769-2009
"An Extreme Lifestyle" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week's parasha, parashat Naso, we encounter two particularly challenging themes. We read of the Sotah, a woman suspected of…
Acharei Mot-Kedoshim 5769-2009
"Blood–the Essence of Life" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In parashat Tzav, the Torah declares rather definitively, (Leviticus 7:26), "V'chol dahm lo toch'loo b'chol mohsh'voh'taychem,"…
Shoftim 5771-2011
"Jewish Justice & Jewish Leadership" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Shoftim, opens with a command to the people of Israel to establish courts of justice in…
Metzorah 5776-2016
“G-d Has Pity on the Property of Israel” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Metzorah, opens with a detailed description of the purification ritual for the…
Shemini 5784-2024
“Those Remarkable Dietary Laws” (updated and revised from Shemini 5766-2006) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Shemini, contains an extensive excursion into the…
Lech Lecha 5772-2011
“The Two Covenants” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Lech Lecha, we learn of two covenants, the Covenant Between the Pieces and the Covenant of Circumcision…
Masei 5765-2005
"The Role of Witnesses and Testimony" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald As last year was a leap year, this year is one of the rare occasions where, outside of Israel, parashat Masei is read…