Devarim 5778-2018
“The Final Rebuke" With this week’s parasha, parashat Devarim, we begin to read the fifth and final book of the Torah. The book of Deuteronomy is known in rabbinic literature as…
Vayeira 5780-2019
“The Preciousness of Hospitality” (Updated and Revised from Vayeira 5760-1999) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald As this week’s parasha, parashat Vayeira, opens, aged Abraham, 99 years old, is…
Passover I 5765-2005
"In Every Generation" by Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald Although the scheduled Torah portion for this week is Acharei Mot, I would like to dwell on the theme of Passover, since the festival…
Kee Tavo 5773-2013
"Not Rushing to Judgment" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Kee Tavo, we learn of the Jewish farmer’s obligation to bring Bikurim from the first produce of the…
Yom Kippur 5775-2014
“The High Priest’s Dilemma–What to Wear on Yom Kippur?” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald The Torah reading from Leviticus 16:1-34 that is read on Yom Kippur morning in synagogues throughout…
B’ha’a’lot’cha 5775-2015
“Hubris Revisited” By Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat B’ha’a’lot’cha, G-d tells Moses to instruct Aaron concerning the lighting of the Menorah, the seven…
Acharei Mot,Genesis,Weekly Message
Acharei Mot 5776-2016
“Never Give Up Hope" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald Parashat Acharei Mot opens with a description of the ancient atonement service conducted on Yom Kippur in the Tabernacle for the People…
Sukkot 5780-2019
“A Sukkot Story: Devotion to a Festival” (Updated and revised from Sukkot 5761-2000) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald The famed Rabbi Shlomo Yosef Zevin records the unusual story concerning…
Milton Friedman
Milton Friedman was born on July 31, 1912 to Sara Ethel (Landau) and Jeno Saul Friedman, Carpathian Jewish immigrants living in Brooklyn, NY. As a child, his family relocated to Rahway,…
A Special Yom Tov
Rabbi Gershon Shaul Yom Tov Lipmann Heller was born in Bavaria, Germany, to a renowned rabbinic family. He received a traditional Jewish education and studied under the legendary Maharal…