Weekly Message,Metzorah

Metzora 5771-2011

"We Hold These Truths To Be Self-Evident" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald On July 4th 1776, the Continental Congress adopted a statement written primarily by Thomas Jefferson, known as the…

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Shavuot ResourcesUncategorized

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,…

Weekly Message,Masei

Matot-Masei 5769-2009

"The Lesson of the Journeys" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald Parashat Masei, the second of this week's double parashiot (Matot-Masei), opens with a summary of the travel itinerary of the…

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Shemini,Weekly Message

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…

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Jewish Treats

Why is Jerusalem Not Mentioned in the Torah?

In the first aliyah of parashat Re’eh, the Torah mentions 16 times an unknown place where God will choose to rest His Presence. Now, thousands of years later, we know that place to be the…

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Jewish Treats

The Board of Deputies

The contemporary Jewish community of England began to form in the late 17th century, after a nearly 400 year ban on Jewish settlement. While the majority of the Jews who initially came to…

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Jewish Treats

The Book(s) of Maccabees

Chanukah is neither directly ordained in the Torah (like Rosh Hashana, Passover, etc.) nor mentioned in any other biblical text (as Purim is in the Book of Esther). The Books of Maccabees…

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Jewish Treats

The Book(s) of Maccabees

Chanukah is neither directly ordained in the Torah (like Rosh Hashana, Passover, etc.) nor mentioned in any other biblical text (as Purim is in the Book of Esther). The Books of Maccabees…

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Jewish Treats

Sand, Sun and Jewish History

In 1917, Saint Croix, Saint John and Saint Thomas (as well as the smaller surrounding islands) were transferred from the dominion of Denmark to the possession of the United States. As…

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Jewish Treats

The Stolen Child

From the perspective of Jewish history, the story of Edgardo Levi Mortara was a minor event in a long history of Christian persecution. Nevertheless, it had an important impact on world…

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