Weekly Message,Chayei Sarah

Chayei Sarah 5774-2013

"Yitzchak Establishes a Home with His New Wife" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Chayei Sarah, we read of the death of the matriarch Sarah at age 127. Rashi…

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Weekly Message,Tazria,Metzorah

Tazria-Metzorah 5783-2023

“The Torah’s Home Security System” (updated and revised from Tazria-Metzorah 5766-2006) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In parashat Metzorah, the second of this week’s double parashiot, we…

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Weekly Message,Korach

Korach 5767-2007

"Agonizing Over Collective Punishment" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week's parasha, parashat Korach, we read of the dramatic events that unfold with the rebellion of Korach and…

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Passover,Weekly Message

Passover 5770-2010

"The Festival of Liberation" by Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald If one were to look at the world from a truly impartial perspective, one might conclude that all human beings are equal, all days…

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Weekly Message,Vayishlach

Vayishlach 5776-2015

“Jacob Tarries in Succot” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Vayishlach, Jacob sends messengers ahead of him to Esau, his brother, to the land of Seir to…

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Jewish Treats

Under Cover of Darkness

Of the ten plagues that devastated the land of Egypt, the plague of darkness appears to be the most benign. Certainly being trapped in the dark is frightening (sensory deprivation is a…

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Jewish Treats

Curses Turned To Blessings

“How glorious are your tents, Jacob, your dwellings, Israel. As valleys stretched out, as gardens by the river-side; as aloes planted by God, as cedars beside the waters” (Numbers…

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Jewish Treats

More Than A Harvest Festival

Few people refer to Sukkot by the name Chag Ha'Asif, Feast of the Ingathering, but the Torah specifically states: "And you shall observe...the Feast of Ingathering at the turn…

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Jewish Treats

More Than A Harvest Festival

Few people refer to Sukkot by the name Chag Ha'Asif, Feast of the Ingathering, but the Torah specifically states: "And you shall observe...the Feast of Ingathering at the turn…

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Jewish Treats

Holiday Decorating

During the holiday of Sukkot, Jews live in sukkot (temporary dwellings with a roof of branches or wooden boards) for seven days. Although the bare minimum required for a…

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