Yiddish in Shanghai
During World War II, Japanese-occupied Shanghai, China, became a haven for Jewish refugees, most notably the students of the Mirrer Yeshiva. After the “Battle of Shanghai” in 1937, the…
Rav Saadia Gaon
Rabbi Saadia ben Joseph, known by the appellation Rav Saadia Gaon (Gaon, meaning light, was the honorific title given to the religious leader of the Jewish community in Babylon) is best…
B’shalach 5782-2022
“Bringing G-d Home” (updated and revised from B’shalach 5763-2003) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat B’shalach, contains many historic and dramatic moments. The…
Bereshith 5782-2021
“Being Moral in an Increasingly Immoral Environment” (updated and revised from Bereshith 5763-2002) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Bereshith, is one of the…
Kee Tavo 5781-2021
“A Contemporary Interpretation of an Ancient Reproof” (updated and revised from Kee Tavo 5762-2002) This coming week’s parasha, parashat Kee Tavo, is one of two parashiot in the…
A Place For the Artists
Marcel Janco, who passed away on April 21, 1984, is best known as one of the founders of the Dada movement, an avant-garde art movement of the early twentieth century that rejected…
Bios
BiosRabbi Ephraim Buchwald – Director Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald is one of the leaders in the movement of Jewish return in…
Sources Commentators
Abarbanel (1437-1508, Spanish statesman, philosopher and commentator) Israel Abrahams (1858-1925) Achad Ha’Am (Asher Zvi Hirsh Ginsberg, 1856-1927) AJOP (Association for Jewish Outreach…
In a South American City
On January 18, 1535, the city of Lima, Peru, was founded to serve as the capital of the Peruvian Viceroyalty. The region’s mining riches drew, among others, a large number of Crypto-Jews…
An Historical Dip
Parashat Vayeshev can certainly be a strong candidate for saddest Torah portion of the year, as we encounter the tragedy of the hatred borne by Jacob’s sons for their brother Joseph, the…