Emor 5779-2019
“The Gift of Celebration” (Revised and updated from Emor 5761-2001) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald The second half of this week’s parasha, parashat Emor, presents a review of most of the…
Her Son Hur, His Grandson, and His Actions!
On the 15th of Tammuz, we observe the yahrzeit (anniversary of the day of death) of Hur, a relatively unsung hero from Biblical times, who was the first Jew to die al Kiddush Hashem,…
A Look At The Law
There are three types of laws in the Torah...mishpatim, edot and chukim: Mishpatim are basic laws. In fact, mishpatim are generally translated as those laws…
The Second Uprising
History is a study in cause and effect. On the 9th of Av (Saturday, July 25. Fast observed on Sunday, July 26), the Jewish people mourn two additional tragic events that…
A Day For Sleep?
Among the many festivals assigned to the final days of December and the first days of January, one of the newest and, perhaps, the most logical, is the anonymous designation of January…
The Second Uprising
History is a study in cause and effect. Today, on the 9th of Av, the Jewish people mourn two additional tragic events that followed the terrible destruction of the Second Temple: the…
Coming of Age
The assumption that every Jewish adult has had a Bar/Bat Mitzvah celebration is presumptuous. The assumption that every Jewish adult (other than a convert) has become a Bar/Bat Mitzvah is…
Coming of Age
The assumption that every Jewish adult has had a Bar/Bat Mitzvah celebration is presumptuous. The assumption that every Jewish adult (other than a convert) has become a Bar/Bat Mitzvah is…
A Look At The Law
There are three types of laws in the Torah...mishpatim, edot and chukim: Mishpatim are basic laws. In fact, mishpatim are generally translated as those laws which are necessary and…
Someone’s Been Sitting In My Chair
In some families, dinner time is a helter-skelter affair where everyone grabs what they want on their way to their next event. In other families, dinner is a set time when everyone…