B’shalach 5770-2010
"Va'chamushim - Armed or Otherwise" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week's parasha, parashat B'shalach, after enduring slavery for 110 years (by rabbinic count), the Israelites are…
Bo 5772-2012
"The Plague of Darkness" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Bo, we learn of the eighth, ninth and tenth of the ten plagues--locusts, darkness and the death of…
On the 15th of Av: What Hoshea Did
How can one action be both praiseworthy and unacceptable at the same time? Such was the conundrum of Hoshea ben Elah, the last King of Israel (the Northern Kingdom of Ten Tribes).After…
On the 15th of Av: What Hoshea Did
How can one action be both praiseworthy and unacceptable at the same time? Such was the conundrum of Hoshea ben Elah, the last King of Israel (the Northern Kingdom of Ten Tribes). After…
Shemot 5774-2013
“G-d Recognizes His Peoples’ Sufferings” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Shemot, the enslavement of the Children of Israel by the Egyptians begins in…
Chukat 5778-2018
"The People of Israel are Taught to be More Independent" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Chukat, opens with the laws of the פָּרָה אֲדֻמָּה, Parah Adumah, the…
Sent Away
If you follow Jewish news, it would be hard not to notice the growing number of reports about increasing anti-Semitism. It is an upsetting fact that anti-Semitism has never really had a…
Passover Story in Brief
On Passover, we commemorate the exodus from Egyptian slavery. The following is a brief summary: Jacob’s family came to Egypt to escape a famine in Canaan. Joseph, Jacob’s son and the…
The Passover Story in Brief
On Passover, we commemorate the exodus from Egyptian slavery. The following is a brief summary: Jacob’s family came to Egypt to escape a famine in Canaan. Joseph, Jacob’s son and the…
The Passover Story in Brief
On Passover, we commemorate the exodus from Egyptian slavery. The following is a brief summary: Jacob’s family came to Egypt to escape a famine in Canaan. Joseph, Jacob’s son who had…