Devarim 5773-2013
"The Price of Disunity" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald With this week’s parasha, parashat Devarim, the fifth book of the Bible, Deuteronomy, begins. Parashat Devarim is always read on…
Emor 5774-2014
“The Sadducees and the Counting of the Omer” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald Among the 63 mitzvot (24 positive and 39 negative) found in this week’s parasha, parashat Emor, is the mitzvah of…
Kee Tavo 5774-2014
“Finding Respite” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald Parashat Kee Tavo is one of two parashiot in the Torah (the other is Bechukotai) that contains the Tochachah, G-d’s reproof of the Jewish…
Weekly Message,Vayakhel,Pekudei
Vayakhel-Pekudei 5775-2015
“Bringing Heaven Down To Earth” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In parashat Pekudei, the second of this week’s double parshiot, Vayakhel-Pekudei, the Mishkan, the portable Tabernacle, is…
Weekly Message,Behar,Bechukotai
Behar-Bechukotai 5775-2015
“The Odd Conclusion to the Book of Leviticus” By Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In parashat Bechukotai, the second of this week’s double parashiot, Behar-Bechukotai, we find two major themes,…
Bamidbar 5776-2016
“A Tiny Letter Conveys a Profound Lesson" By Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Bamidbar, is the opening Torah portion of the fourth book of the Torah, Bamidbar, also…
B’ha’a’lot’cha 5776-2016
“Moses Realizes that His Dreams Were Not Going to be Fulfilled" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald Parashat B’ha’a’lot’cha is one of the richest parashiot in the Torah with respect to…
Balak 5777-2017
“Influencing the Will of G-d” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Balak, we learn that the Moabite king, Balak, the son of Zippor, is overwhelmed with fear as a…
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…
Passover 5780-2020
“The Essential lessons of Chametz and Matzah” (Updated and Revised from Passover 5763-2003) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week, the normal weekly Torah portion is preempted by…