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…
Lag Ba’Omer
The period of mourning* (for the 24,000 students of Rabbi Akiva who died of plague) that is associated with Sefirat Ha’Omer, is not observed on the 33rd day of the Omer, a day known as…
Who Was Rabbi Akiva?
Akiva ben Yosef was once an ignorant and illiterate shepherd. So poor and downtrodden a figure was Akiva that his extremely wealthy father-in-law disinherited his own daughter, Rachel,…
Paying For Gold
The most infamous sin of the Jewish people was the sin of the Golden Calf: When God presented the People of Israel with the Ten Commandments, the people were overwhelmed at hearing the…
For The Dogs
The domestication of dogs is as old as…well, actually, there are varying scientific opinions. The remains of what seem to be domesticated dogs appear among the fossilized remains of the…
Passover I 5782-2022
“Chametz, Matzah and Faith in Redemption” (Updated and revised from Passover 5763-2003) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week, the regular Torah portion is preempted by the upcoming…
Lag Ba’Omer
The period of mourning* (for the 24,000 students of Rabbi Akiva who died of plague) that is associated with Sefirat Ha’Omer, is not observed on the 33rd day of the Omer, a day known as…
Bows and Arrows
Today, Lag Ba’Omer, the 33rd day of the counting of the Omer, is a minor holiday on the Jewish calendar. Its observance commemorates the end of a tragic plague that took the lives of all…
Shelach 5782-2022
“Achieving Immortality” (updated and revised from Shelach 5763-2003) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald One of the most heartrending and challenging juxtapositions in the Bible appears in this…
Matot-Masei 5782-2022
“The Massacre of the Midianites: Does Judaism Countenance Genocide?” (Updated and revised from Matot-Masei 5763-2003) by, Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald At the conclusion of parashat Balak,…