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…
These Lights We Kindle
While the mitzvah of lighting the menorah is an outward-focused mitzvah – the menorah is lit in a window or doorway – it is also an opportunity for personal reflection on the deeper…
The Sabbath of Remembering
This Shabbat is Shabbat Parashat Zachor, the Sabbath of Remembering. The Torah portion that is read as the Maftir (additional) portion, after the conclusion of the regular weekly Torah…
Terumah 5784-2024
Urgent message: Given the most challenging situation in Israel at this time, I urge all to pray for the bereaved families, the hostages, the missing and the many casualties. Please try to…
Tetzaveh 5784-2024
“A Flame in Every Jewish Heart" (updated and revised from Tetzaveh 5765-2005) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Tetzaveh, focuses primarily on the design and…
Jokes On Us
“Knock, knock” “Who’s there?” “Jewish” “Jewish who?” “Jewish Treats” ….Ok, not so funny, but, when you get to the bottom of it, April Fool’s Day (or All Fools Day) is hardly a Jewish…
Israel’s Memorial Day
The State of Israel’s independence, as well as its continued survival, is a modern-day miracle. But it has come at great cost in human lives and to its citizens, as the events of the last…
Bereshith 5768-2007
"Starting All Over--Again!" by Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald The holidays are over. In ancient times, the farmers would by now have returned to their fields. Contemporary business people have…
Pekudei 5768-2008
"Building an Everlasting Sanctuary" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week's parasha, parashat Pekudei, we are told that, at long last, all the work of the Tabernacle was completed. In…
Genesis,Va'etchanan,Weekly Message
Va’etchanan 5772-2012
"The Magic of the Mezuzah" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Va’etchanan, we encounter the first of two textual references to the mitzvah of mezuzah that are…