The Star Symbol
Looking for a nice piece of Judaica? Why not go for something really Jewish, like a Star of David. This ancient symbol of Judaism is...well, actually, although the Star of David is a…
Picking Up Pigskin
The Jewish dietary laws prohibit Jews from eating any food products derived from animals that do not have both split hooves and chew their cud. It is a not uncommon assumption that Jews…
Joseph, Son of Jacob
The story of Jacob’s eleventh son is a tale of epic proportion. The firstborn of Rachel, Joseph was his father’s favorite child, and Jacob never hesitated to display his feelings of…
For The Sins We Committed
One of the main steps in the process of teshuva (repentance) is for a person to confess their sins and verbalize their errors. In so doing, a person admits committing a sin, not to…
Vayechi 5781-2021
“Revealing the Time of the Coming of the End of Days” (Updated and revised from parashat Vayechi 5761-2001) by, Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Vayechi, is the…
Three Steps Forward, Three Steps Back
While Jewish prayer has many aspects that are introspective, prayer is also designed to serve as a vehicle of communication with the Divine. The central focus of every prayer service is…
The Rebbe
Jews worldwide observe the yahrzeit (anniversary of death) of the seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, of blessed memory, on the 3rd of Tammuz, which is observed…
Goodly Tents
Much of Jewish life is built around community. Jews often live in close proximity to each other, in many instances with a synagogue or synagogues at the center of their neighborhoods. As…
Va’etchanan 5782-2022
“Why the Sh’ma?” (updated and revised from Va’etchanan 5763-2003) by, Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Va’etchanan, we encounter, in Deuteronomy 6:4-9, one of…
For The Sins We Committed
One of the main steps in the process of teshuva (repentance) is for a person to confess their sins and verbalize their errors. In so doing, a person admits committing a sin, not to…