The Beauty of the Book

Illuminated manuscripts inlaid with gold or silver leaf and spectacularly illustrated are most often associated with the Medieval church (the Gospels, Psalters, etc), where texts were…

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The Beauty of the Book

Illuminated manuscripts inlaid with gold or silver leaf and spectacularly illustrated, are most often associated with the Medieval church (the Gospels, Psalters, etc), where texts were…

Read More

The Beauty of the Book

Illuminated manuscripts inlaid with gold or silver leaf and spectacularly illustrated, are most often associated with the Medieval church (the Gospels, Psalters, etc), where texts were…

Read More

Naso 5779-2019

"Traditional Judaism: Fundamentalist or Ascetic" (Revised and updated from Naso 5760-2000) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald   In this week’s parasha, parashat Naso, we encounter the…

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Naso 5760-2000

"Traditional Judaism: Fundamentalist or Ascetic" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this coming week's parasha, parashat Naso, we encounter the curious law of the Nazir, the Nazarite. In…

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Rosh Hashana 5772-2011

"The Dialectic of Joy and Fear" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald There is an inherent inconsistency with respect to the nature of the High Holidays. On the one hand, these fateful days of…

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Vayeishev 5776-2015

“The Rise and Fall and Rise of Joseph” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Vayeishev, the Torah introduces the character of Joseph--the gifted and charismatic…

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Naso 5769-2009

"An Extreme Lifestyle" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week's parasha, parashat Naso, we encounter two particularly challenging themes. We read of the Sotah, a woman suspected of…

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Naso 5772-2012

"The Most Famous of All Nazarites--Samson" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald According to the Sefer Ha’Chinuch (the classic work on the 613 commandments, their rationale and their regulations,…

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Shoftim 5772-2012

"The Haughty Heart" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald Among the many topics discussed in this week’s parasha, parashat Shoftim, are the rules and regulations that apply to a king of Israel.…

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