Shelach 5763-2003
"Can Human Beings Achieve Immortality?" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald One of the most heartrending and challenging juxtapositions in the Bible appears in this week's parasha, Shelach…
Pinchas 5762-2002
"Loving the Land of Israel" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this coming week's parasha, parashat Pinchas, we learn the fascinating tale of five trail-blazing young women: Machla, Noa,…
Yom Kippur 5765-2004
"G-d's Gift to His People on Yom Kippur" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald The Torah reading scheduled for this Shabbat would normally have been V'zot Habracha--the final parasha of the Torah.…
Weekly Message,Naso,All Audience
Naso 5780-2020
The Ordeal of the Sotah -- Barbaric or Enlightened? (Revised and Updated from Parashat Naso 5761-2001) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s Torah portion, Naso, with 176 verses, is…
Shabbat Nachamu
The Shabbat following the fast of Tisha b’Av (the ninth of the Hebrew month of Av) is called Shabbat Nachamu, the Shabbat of Consolation, referring to the opening words of the haftarah,…
A Phoenix in B’nai Brak
Fifty years ago, on September 3, 1969, corresponding to the 20th of Elul, Rabbi Joseph S. Kahaneman, known to the world as the “Ponevezher Rav,” passed away. Who was this man, and what is…
Locate Your Friend and Ask for Forgiveness
Whether the creation of the wheel, and tools to create and advance civilization, or the discovery of penicillin or the polio vaccine, our lives have changed profoundly because of such…
Shabbat Nachamu
The Shabbat following Tisha b’Av (the ninth of the Hebrew month of Av) is called Shabbat Nachamu, the Shabbat of Consolation, referring to the opening words of…
The Children of the Children of Israel
April 2nd, the birthday of the famed Danish author of children’s books, Hans Christian Andersen, who was born on that date in 1805, is celebrated as International Children’s Book Day. The…
A Fast of the Past
In just over a week, on the 17th day of Tammuz, Jews around the world will fast to commemorate multiple tragedies and to mark the beginning of the three-week period that concludes…