Jewish Treats

Whose First Fruits

When the Oral Law was first codified, most Jews lived in agrarian settings. Today, being less familiar with agrarian culture, some people find it difficult to relate to some of the…

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Jewish Treats

Why Tiberias is Holy

While Israel is the Holy Land, four of her cities are considered holier than all the others, and each of these is accorded a mystical connection with one of the four classical elements.…

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Jewish Treats

Heralded With Blessings

The opening prayer of Pesukei D’zimra is Baruch She’amar - Blessed is He who Said. It is a prose poem that uses an anaphora, a literary style in which the same word is repeated at the…

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Jewish Treats

Alas Poor Yorick

William Shakespeare used the imagery of the skull of Yorick as a means for Prince Hamlet to wax poetic about the futility of life. While Yorick’s may be the most famous skull in…

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Jewish Treats

Know What Is Above You

It is human nature to value privacy. This value, probably dates back as far as Adam and Eve. Once they had eaten from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, they instinctively wished to…

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Jewish Treats

Whose First Fruits?

When the Oral Law was first codified, most Jews lived in agrarian settings. Today, being less familiar with agrarian culture, some people find it difficult to relate to some of the…

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Weekly Message,Bereshith

Bereshith-Simchat Torah 5766-2005

"P'roo Ur'voo--Jewish Attitudes Towards Procreation" Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald For some parents, the greatest gift in life is having children. For other parents, the greatest challenge, is…

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Mishpatim,Weekly Message

Mishpatim 5776-2016

“Jewish Women and Conjugal Rights” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Mishpatim, we learn the remarkable law of the Hebrew maidservant, known in Hebrew as,…

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Masei,Weekly Message,Matot

Matot-Masei 5776-2016

“Rosh Chodesh Av – Remembering the Passing of a Beloved Leader" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald Parashat Masei, the second of this week’s combined parashiot Matot-Masei, features a lengthy…

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Acharei Mot,Kedoshim,Weekly Message

Acharei Mot-Kedoshim 5778-2018

“The Extreme Sanctity of the Holy of Holies--Revisited” In parashat Acharei Mot, the first of this week’s double parashiyot, Acharei Mot-Kedoshim, we learn of the prohibition to enter the…

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