Emor,Weekly Message

Emor 5762-2002

"Death and the Kohanim--the Children of Aaron" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this coming week's parasha, parashat Emor, the parasha begins with the laws of the sanctity of the Kohanim,…

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Pekudei,Weekly Message

Pekudei 5763-2003

"The Lesson of the Basin: 'Don't Judge a Book by its Cover'" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week's parasha, parashat Pekudei, opens with a reckoning of all the precious materials that…

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Jewish Treats

Waiting For Ice Cream

According to the Talmudic sage Mar Ukva, his father waited an entire day between eating meat and eating dairy in order to avoid transgressing the prohibition of eating milk and meat…

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Jewish Treats

Breaking The Glass

No respectable film-maker would record a Jewish wedding scene without including the dramatic moment of the breaking of the glass, followed by the joyous shouts of "Mazal Tov!" A moment of…

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Jewish Treats

How To Be Holy

God instructs Moses to tell the Jewish people: “You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God, am holy” (Leviticus 19:2). How does one make oneself holy? The remaining 35 verses of…

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Jewish Treats

Beer!

In…

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Jewish Treats

Beer

In Tractate Pesachim 107a, beer lovers can find an interesting discussion about the use of beer for kiddush or havdallah. “Rabbi Hisda asked Rabbi Huna: Is it permitted to recite kiddush…

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Jewish Treats

Sir Moses Montefiore

Sir Moses Montefiore (1784-1885) had an extraordinary impact on the world. Beginning a career in general business, Montefiore quickly gained one of the 12 brokers licenses allowed to…

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Jewish Treats

Zodiac

Horoscopes are fun to read, especially when they tell you that you are about to get rich or find sudden fame. While telling the future through one’s horoscope is not part of Judaism, this…

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Jewish Treats

Belarus, China, Jerusalem and Brooklyn: The Odyssey of the World’s Largest Yeshiva

For 125 years, from 1814 until 1939, the Mir Yeshiva served as a beacon of elite Torah study on the European continent. Situated in the small town of Mir in Belarus, the yeshiva was…

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