Mikeitz,Chanukah,Weekly Message
Mikeitz-Chanukah 5761-2000
"What is Chanukah Really About?" by Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald This coming week's parasha, Parashat Mikeitz, deals with the continuing saga of Joseph, specifically Pharaoh's dream, Joseph's…
B’ha’alot’cha 5761-2001
"The Torah's Attitude Towards Converts" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This coming week's Torah portion, parashat Beha'alotecha, continues the narrative of the Jew's wanderings in the…
Vayishlach 5772-2011
“Jacob Lines Up His Family for the Encounter With Esau” By Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Vayishlach, after his epic struggle with the angel, Jacob prepares…
Kee Tavo 5773-2013
"Not Rushing to Judgment" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Kee Tavo, we learn of the Jewish farmer’s obligation to bring Bikurim from the first produce of the…
Bo 5775-2015
“The Intuitive Jew” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Bo, the eighth and ninth plagues--locusts and darkness, are visited upon the Egyptians. At long last,…
Kedoshim 5776-2016
“Tattoos" In Parashat Kedoshim the Torah proclaims the prohibition of making cuts on one’s skin as a sign of mourning and forbids drawing permanent tattoos on the body. Scripture, in…
Sukkot II 5777-2016
“Why is Sukkot Celebrated in the Fall rather than in the Spring?” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald The Torah, in Leviticus 23:42-43, states, בַּסֻּכֹּת תֵּשְׁבוּ שִׁבְעַת יָמִים; כָּל…
Vayigash 5778-2017
“Jacob’s Enhanced Joy from Joseph His Righteous Son” In this week’s parasha, parashat Vayigash, after 22 years of separation, the elderly Patriarch Jacob, is reunited with his…
Beauty and the Bess
On December 14, 2014, one of the most talked-about American Jews from the 1940s passed away. Bess Myerson, born in the Bronx on July 16, 1924, became the first and only Jewish "Miss…
Happy National Hugging Day
On January 21, 1986, Kevin Zaborney of Clio, Michigan, created “National Hugging Day”. It is observed annually on January 21st. Zaborney felt that “American society is embarrassed to show…