Weekly Message,Masei

Masei 5768-2008

"Optimism: The Call of the Hour" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald With this week's parasha, parashat Masei, the reading of the Book of Numbers is concluded. Parashat Masei opens with a…

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Toledot,Weekly Message

Toledot 5771-2010

“Isaac, the Man of Commitment” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Toledot, we once again learn that a famine, like the one in the time of Abraham, afflicts the…

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Behar,Bechukotai,Weekly Message

Behar-Bechukotai 5775-2015

“The Odd Conclusion to the Book of Leviticus” By Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In parashat Bechukotai, the second of this week’s double parashiot, Behar-Bechukotai, we find two major themes,…

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Weekly Message,B'ha'a'lot'cha

B’ha’a’lot’cha 5775-2015

“Hubris Revisited” By Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat B’ha’a’lot’cha, G-d tells Moses to instruct Aaron concerning the lighting of the Menorah, the seven…

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Weekly Message,Vayeishev

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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Jewish Treats

A Trap of Wealth

If I were a rich man...The most important men in town will come to fawn on me...When you're rich they think you really know... The now classic words from the Broadway show "Fiddler on the…

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Jewish Treats

More Than A Harvest Festival

Few people refer to Sukkot by the name Chag Ha'Asif, Feast of the Ingathering, but the Torah specifically states: "And you shall observe...the Feast of Ingathering at the turn…

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Jewish Treats

The Heel and the Parachute

The title of this week’s parashah, Eikev, is one of the more difficult parashah names to properly translate. The word eikev connotes the word “therefore,” so the opening three words of…

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Jewish Treats

A Trap of Wealth

If I were a rich man...The most important men in town will come to fawn on me...When you’re rich they think you really know... The now classic words from the Broadway show Fiddler on the…

Read More

Jewish Treats

More Than A Harvest Festival

Few people refer to Sukkot by the name Chag Ha'Asif, Feast of the Ingathering, but the Torah specifically states: "And you shall observe...the Feast of Ingathering at the turn…

Read More