A Ship’s Tale
Well sit right back and you’ll hear a tale…Alas, this ship’s tale is no three-hour tour, but the story of the birth of Jewish life in North America. It is well-known that the first Jewish…
Presidents’ Day: The Jews and Martin Van Buren
In 1840, the news of the terrible fate of the Jewish community of Damascus (Syria) reached the shores of America and brought the disparate Jewish communities of the young American nation…
Chukat 5775-2015
“Accepting the Inscrutable” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Chukat, we learn of the statute of the Red Cow, also known as the Red Heifer. The ashes of an…
Vayishlach 5767-2006
"The Lonely Patriarch" by Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald In this week's parasha, parashat Vayishlach, the memorable confrontation between Jacob and Esau takes place, a confrontation that is…
Kedoshim 5776-2016
“Tattoos" In Parashat Kedoshim the Torah proclaims the prohibition of making cuts on one’s skin as a sign of mourning and forbids drawing permanent tattoos on the body. Scripture, in…
Bamidbar 5777-2017
“The Danger of Seeing the Holy Furnishings” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Bamidbar, concludes with G-d’s stern warning to Moses and Aaron forbidding the…
What Happened in North Africa
During the Holocaust, European Jewry was almost completely decimated, and the importance of sharing that history is becoming even more important as the last surviving witnesses of the…
The Jews of Paris
In honor of the people of Paris, Jewish Treats presents a broad overview of the early history of the Jews in the City of Light. Settled in the 3rd century B.C.E. by the Parisii tribe, the…
Chayei Sara 5763-2002
"The Torah's Recipe for Finding a Proper Mate" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald One of the growing issues confronting contemporary American and world Jewry is the challenge of finding proper…
Tetzaveh 5763-2003
"The Primacy of Jewish Education" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In last week's parasha, parashat Terumah, we read of the appeal for donations to build the Tabernacle--the portable…