Vayikra 5776 -2016
“The Gifts of the Kohanim-the Priests” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Vayikra, focuses on the animal sacrifices that were brought in both the Tabernacle and,…
Va’eira 5771-2011
"Messages from the Nile" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Va’eira, we read of the first seven plagues that strike the Egyptians. The first two plagues, blood…
Re’eh 5775-2015
“The Prohibition of Eating the Limb of a Live Animal” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Re’eh, contains 55 mitzvot--17 positive and 38 negative commandments. It…
Bo 5766-2006
"Transformations" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this coming week's parasha, parashat Bo, we are informed that after the plagues of locusts and darkness strike the Egyptians, the first…
Tazria,Weekly Message,Metzorah
Tazria-Metzorah 5772-2012
“The Essential Ingredient for Repentance and Prayer--Humility” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In parashat Metzorah, the second of this week’s double parashiot, Tazria-Metzorah, we read of…
Terumah 5772-2012
"The Outer Altar" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald With this week's parasha, parashat Terumah, we begin to read a cycle of five Torah portions that extensively describe the building and…
The Girl in the Red Coat
Except for one girl's red coat depicted in a scene taking place in the Krakow Ghetto, and the opening and closing scenes in Steven Spielberg’s 1994 Academy Award winning “Schindler’s…
The Girl in the Red Coat
Aside from the opening and closing scenes in Stephen Spielberg’s 1993 Academy Award winning “Schindler’s List,” the entire movie was presented in black and white, except for one girl’s…
Tetzaveh 5763-2003
"The Primacy of Jewish Education" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In last week's parasha, parashat Terumah, we read of the appeal for donations to build the Tabernacle--the portable…