Shelach 5771-2011
"Challah–-All Possessions Are From the L-rd" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald The primary narrative of this week’s parasha, parashat Shelach, concerns the episode of the scouts (spies) who…
Emor 5774-2014
“The Sadducees and the Counting of the Omer” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald Among the 63 mitzvot (24 positive and 39 negative) found in this week’s parasha, parashat Emor, is the mitzvah of…
Weekly Message,Vayakhel,Pekudei
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…
The Poles of the Ark
The second half of the book of Exodus commences with parashat Terumah. Nachmanides suggests that while the first half of the Book describes the physical redemption of the Children of…
The Songs of the Ibn Ezra
The joy of Shabbat is expressed in many ways throughout the “Day of Rest.” For those of a musical bent (and even for those not so musically inclined), one of the joys of the Shabbat meals…
For Better Bread
When Charles Fleischmann (1835-1897) and his brother Maximilian (1846-1890) came to America (Cincinnati, Ohio), they were shocked and dismayed at the quality - or lack thereof - of…
Haman’s History
According to the narrative in the Book of Esther, Haman’s plot to destroy the Jewish people appears to have been instigated by the fact that Mordechai refused to bow down to Haman. Talk…
Haman’s History
According to the narrative in the Book of Esther, Haman’s plot to destroy the Jewish people appears to have been instigated by the fact that Mordechai refused to bow down to Haman. Talk…
The Truth About Gefilte Fish
There is a little known secret that, hidden in what was once the Russian Pale of Settlement (basically Belarus and Eastern Poland), there is a deep, fresh water lake stocked with the…
Haman’s History
Purim will be celebrated on March 7/8. According to the narrative in the Book of Esther, Haman’s plot to destroy the Jewish people appears to have been instigated by the fact that…