Personal Responsibility
In the beginning, there was...taking responsibility for one’s own actions. This important lesson is found in the very first portion of the Torah not once, but twice. Adam and Eve were…
This Tomato Was Grown Where?
The view of Judaism is that humankind has the unique ability to synthesize the physical and the spiritual elements of life. Hence, Jewish law requires a person to recite a blessing over…
Stop and Smell the Roses
There is no common word for people with an impaired olfactory system (anosmia, for those who wish to know) such as there is for one with impaired vision or impaired hearing. Smell,…
Vayikra 5777-2017
“רֵיחַ נִיחוֹחַ --A Sweet Savor unto the L-rd” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald With this week's parasha, parashat Vayikra, we begin reading the third book of the Torah, Vayikra, which is…
The Blessings Over Food: Ha’ah’dama / Vegetables
The blessing recited over produce that grows from the ground is ha’ah’dama. Certain produce that are called fruit actually receive the ha’ah’dama blessing because of how they grow - for…
This Tomato Was Grown Where?
The view of Judaism is that humankind has the unique ability to synthesize the physical and the spiritual elements of life. Hence, Jewish law requires a person to recite a blessing over…
Stop and Smell the Roses
There is no common word for people with an impaired olfactory system (anosmia, for those who wish to know) such as there is for one with impaired vision or impaired hearing. Smell,…
Hail the Holy Pomegranate
The Pomegranate is a funny sort of fruit. Rather than eating the flesh and throwing away the seed, as one does when eating an apple or orange, pomegranate seeds are eaten and the flesh…
Stop and Smell the Roses
There is no common word for people with an impaired olfactory system (anosmia, for those who wish to know) such as there is for one with impaired vision or impaired hearing. Smell,…
Hail The Holy Pomegranate
The Pomegranate is a funny sort of fruit. Rather than eating the flesh and throwing away the seed, as one does when eating an apple or orange, pomegranate seeds are eaten and the flesh…