Say a Little Prayer
Never hesitate to pray for those in need, even if it is just uttering an on-the-spot request. Prayer is clearly an essential part of the process of seeking repentance. In order to truly…
Make it a Great Shabbat
Celebrate Shabbat HaGadol by learning more about Passover traditions and rituals. There’s also a significance to the name Shabbat HaGadol, the Great Shabbat, in that it focuses both on…
Listen to the Other Side
Even if you have strongly held beliefs, be willing to read articles written from a different vantage point than your own in order to appreciate another perspective on a particular topic.…
Happy Birthday Birkat Hamazon
The Torah (Exodus 16:1) reports that the Children of Israel arrived at the Wilderness of Sin on the 15th of the Hebrew month of Iyar, approximately one month after the exodus from Egypt.…
Bechukotai 5784-2024
“Achieving Peace and Security for the Jewish People” (updated and revised from Bechukotai 5765-2005) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Bechukotai, we encounter…
Jewish Matchmaking
“Matchmaker, matchmaker / Look through your book / And make me a perfect match…” (Fiddler on the Roof). With the widespread proliferation of internet dating sites such as eHarmony,…
Bowing Down
Because it was customary for idol worshippers to bow fully to the ground before their idols, Jews refrain from bowing down (with the exception being during the Yom Kippur service).…
Bamidbar 5784-2024
“Lessons from Traveling in the Wilderness” (updated and revised from Bamidbar 5765-2005) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Bamidbar, the people of…
Shavuot 5784-2024
Shavuot 5784-2024 “Abba’s Final Shavuot” (updated and revised from Shavuot 5765-2005) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald Our father, of blessed memory, Moshe Aharon Buchwald, whom my sisters…
Time to Prepare
Use this Shabbat and the Sh’loshet Y’mei Hagbalah, the three days that follow before Shavuot to learn more about and to delve into the wisdom of the Sages by visiting NJOP’s Shavuot…