Naso 5771-2011

"Finding Variety in the Seemingly Identical" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Naso, is the longest parasha of the Torah. It is usually read on the Shabbat that…

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Eikev 5763-2003

"Is There Truth to the Notion of Spiritual Accountability?" by Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald This coming week's Torah portion, Parashat Eikev, contains the well-known second paragraph of the…

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Eikev 5760-2000

"Feast or Famine - What Judaism Has to Say About Food" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this coming week's parasha, parashat Eikev, the Torah dwells in part on the specialness of food. In…

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Va’eira 5766-2006

"Becoming Accustomed to the Burdens" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this coming week's parasha, parashat Va'eira, the Al-mighty responds to Moses' complaint that his mission to Pharaoh…

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Pekudei 5765-2005

"Bezalel: the Artist who Broke the Mold" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald With this week's parasha, parashat Pekudei, after many weekly portions describing the various elements and labors,…

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Shemot 5771-2010

“Pharaoh’s Three Counselors” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Shemot, the intense suffering of the Israelites in Egypt begins. The rabbis of the Midrash are…

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Eikev 5772-2012

"Loving the Stranger" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Eikev, the Torah boldly pronounces the positive mitzvah of loving the stranger. In Deuteronomy 10:19,…

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Metzorah 5774-2014

“The Peddler and Evil Speech” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Metzorah, again addresses the Biblical affliction Tzara’at, צָּרַעַת. Parashat Metzorah teaches…

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Shemot 5776-2016

"By What Right Does Moses Kill The Egyptian?” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Shemot, we learn that Moses, who was raised in the royal house of Pharaoh,…

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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…

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