Naso 5763-2003
"The Hypocrite as Exemplar" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this coming week's parasha, parashat Naso, we encounter a very strange order in the topics of the text. The Torah in Numbers…
May His Name Be Erased
“Purim Holiday/Purim Holiday/A big holiday for the JewsMasks and noisemakers/Songs and Dance/Let’s make noise rash rash rash.”(Classic Hebrew Purim Song - Chag Purim) Although…
Shelach 5766-2006
"Who was Caleb?" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald Parashat Shelach is probably the saddest parasha in the Torah. It is in this weekly portion that the Israelite men of the Exodus generation…
Simchat Torah 5764-2003
"Celebrating Torah" by Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald Because of the festivals of Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah, we do not read the normal Torah portion this week. Instead, on Sunday,…
Toledot 5774-2013
"A Revolutionary Definition of Parenthood" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Toledot, opens with a genealogy of the family of Isaac and his wife Rebecca, and the…
Pekudei,Weekly Message,Vayakhel
Vayakhel-Pekudei 5775-2015
“Bringing Heaven Down To Earth” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In parashat Pekudei, the second of this week’s double parshiot, Vayakhel-Pekudei, the Mishkan, the portable Tabernacle, is…
Pinchas 5775-2015
“Learning by Example” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Pinchas, G-d rewards Pinchas, the son of Elazar, the grandson of Aaron the High Priest, for turning…
Shemini 5776-2016
“Good Intentions Gone Awry” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Shemini, we learn of the tragic deaths of Aaron’s oldest sons, Nadav and Abihu, who were punished…
No Strings Attached
Deuteronomy 16:18 states: "...You shall not take a bribe, for bribery blinds the eyes of the wise and perverts just words." Although this statement of Jewish law is written in…
Of Shamrocks, Snails and Survivors: the life of Rabbi Isaac Herzog
Rabbi Isaac Herzog, the State of Israel’s first Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi, passed away, at age 70, on this date - the 19th of Tammuz – sixty years ago, in 1959, corresponding to July 25th.…