Weekly Message,Noah

Noah 5775-2014

“The Fate of Humankind is Sealed” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Noah, we read of the deluge that inundated the world, ending human life on earth except for…

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Pinchas,Weekly Message

Pinchas 5775-2015

“Learning by Example” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Pinchas, G-d rewards Pinchas, the son of Elazar, the grandson of Aaron the High Priest, for turning…

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Pekudei,Genesis,Weekly Message,Vayakhel

Vayakhel-Pekudei 5777-2017

"Bezalel--Master Craftsman, Master Teacher”   by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In parashat Vayakhel, the first of this week’s two parashiot, Vayakhel-Pekudei, Moses designates Bezalel…

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Jewish Treats

A Dictionary for the Days of Awe

In Maimonides’ Laws of Repentance, he invokes five important and pertinent terms in his first paragraph, that are worth defining.Teshuva – means return, but connotes…

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Jewish Treats

Rejoice in Reverence: Play the Lottery

It would be the height of irreverence if one were to come to synagogue on Yom Kippur dressed in a light-hearted or comedic costume. Imagine chanting the deeply inspiring and…

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Jewish Treats

A Dictionary for the Days of Awe

In Maimonides’ Laws of Repentance, he invokes five important and pertinent terms in his first paragraph, that are worth defining. Teshuva – means return (click here to the week before),…

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Jewish Treats

Lose the Leather

Once a year, Jews around the world make a unique, and not always attractive, fashion statement by wearing clunky sneakers or fuzzy slippers. (The Talmud records that the sages wore…

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Jewish Treats

The “Big Day”

Popular culture refers to one’s wedding as “The Big Day,” and it is, indeed, the beginning of an entirely new stage in one’s life. According to Jewish tradition, “there are three people…

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Jewish Treats

Scapegoat

The Jewish people have often been cast as the proverbial "scapegoat." When millions died during the Black Plague, the Jews were accused of poisoning the wells. Blood libels accusing Jews…

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Jewish Treats

Let’s Talk About Sin

What is sin? To a native English speaker, the word “sin” is laden with concepts of Christian theology. In Judaism, a sin is more appropriately called an aveira, which means a…

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