Yom Kippur 5778-2017

According to tradition, the Torah was given to the People of Israel at Mount Sinai in the Hebrew year 2448 (1312 BCE), on the sixth day of the Hebrew month of Sivan. On the seventh day of…

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Kee Tavo 5779-2019

“Welcoming the Stranger” (Revised and updated from Kee Tavo 5760-2000) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Kee Tavo,opens with the ritual of bringing בִּכּוּרִים…

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Vayigash 5771-2010

“When a Jew Goes Down to Egypt” Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Vayigash, Joseph reveals himself to his brothers. When Jacob learns that his beloved son is still…

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Do We Attempt to Fool God this Week?

During the Aseret Y’mei Teshuva, the Ten Days of Repentance, Jews are encouraged to improve their actions, with both God and people. Every year Jews endeavor to transform themselves,…

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Forgiveness: An Elul Treat

Many feel that the three hardest words to say are: “I am sorry.” Yet, we all know how very important those words are. Indeed, saying one is sorry, or at least admitting one’s guilt, is a…

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A Dictionary for the Days of Awe

In Maimonides’ Laws of Repentance, he invokes five important and pertinent terms in his first paragraph, that are worth defining. Teshuva – means return (click here to the week before),…

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Forgiveness: An Elul Treat

Many feel that the three hardest words to say are: “I am sorry.” Yet, we all know how very important those words are. Indeed, saying one is sorry, or at least admitting one’s guilt, is a…

Read More

Forgiveness: An Elul Treat

Many feel that the three hardest words to say are: “I am sorry.” Yet, we all know how very important those words are. Indeed, saying one is sorry, or at least admitting one’s guilt, is a…

Read More

Forgiveness: An Elul Treat

Many feel that the three hardest words to say are: “I am sorry.” Yet, we all know how very important those words are. Indeed, saying one is sorry, or at least admitting one’s guilt, is a…

Read More

Forgiveness: An Elul Treat

Many feel that the three hardest words to say are: “I am sorry.” Yet, we all know how very important those words are. Indeed, saying one is sorry, or at least admitting one’s guilt, is a…

Read More