Left Jab
Even those who are unfamiliar with boxing can picture the subtle dance of…
Sustainable Living
In Rio this week, politicians and activists from around the world are meeting at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development. The Torah has always been concerned with the…
Eat Your Vegetables
In Pirkei Avot (Ethics of the Fathers 3:21), the sages declare that without flour, there can be no Torah. In Jewish texts, “flour,” meaning bread, often refers to material sustenance.…
Toledot 5767-2006
"The Unanswered Prayer" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week's parasha, parashat Toledot, focuses on the life of the patriarch Isaac and his relationships with his wife, Rebecca and his…
Eat Your Vegetables
In Pirkei Avot (Ethics of the Fathers 3:21), the sages declare that without flour, there can be no Torah. In Jewish texts, “flour,” meaning bread, often refers to material sustenance.…
Here Kitty, Kitty
While today the two most common types of house pets are cats and dogs, the sages of the Talmud questioned the issue of safety regarding the ownership of these animals. In general, most…
Weekly Message,Genesis,Toledot
Toledot 5773-2012
"The Sale of the Birthright" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Toledot, we learn of the sale of the birthright by Esau to his twin brother Jacob. In order to…
Kee Teitzei 5774-2014
“Restoring Lost Possessions--Revisited” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald Among the 74 commandments (47 negative and 27 positive) that are found in parashat Kee Teitzei is the mitzvah of…
Chayei Sarah 5775-2014
“Are Marriages Made in Heaven?” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Chayei Sarah, we read of the death and burial of Sarah, and of Abraham’s concern in his old…
Kedoshim 5782-2022
“Giving Proper Reproof” (updated and revised from Kedoshim 5763-2003) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Kedoshim, we encounter the well-known Biblical dictum,…