National Freedom Day
Today, February 1st, is both National Freedom Day and the first day of Black History Month National Freedom Day was initially advocated for by Major Richard Robert Wright Sr. (1855-1947),…
The Foods of Tu b’Shevat
Jews around the world will celebrate Tu b’Shevat, the new year of the trees. Tu b’Shevat is often celebrated with the 7 species for which the Torah praises the land of Israel: “A land of…
B’shalach 5781-2021
“G-d: The Source of Sweetness” (updated and revised from B’shalach 5762-2002) by, Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat B’shalach, immediately after the splitting of…
Bo 5781-2021
“The Slave Mentality” (updated and revised from Bo 5761–2001) by, Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Bo, concludes the Torah’s narrative of parashat Va’eira, of the…
The Jews of Finland
For most European countries, the history of its Jewish presence begins some time in, or before the Dark Ages and is accented by varying periods of exile or oppression. Since Jews were not…
Va’eira 5781-2021
“Mesmerized by the Subtle Slavery” (updated and revised from Va’eira 5761-2001) by, Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Va’eira, G-d assures Moses that the Jewish…
Settling Texas
On December 29, 1845, the sovereign nation known as the Republic of Texas became the 28th state of the United States of America. In the ten years of Texas’ independence before becoming a…
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…
Chanukah and Divine Order
Chanukah always overlaps with at least one Shabbat (if not two), and since Chanukah begins on the 25th of Kislev and lasts for eight days, the holiday always coincides with the…
An Extraordinary Run
When Harold Maurice Abrahams was born on December 15, 1899, movies were short, silent and black-and-white. It would have been impossible to imagine that this newborn baby boy would one…