Shemini 5768-2008
"The Eighth Day" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week's parasha, parashat Shemini, opens with a description of the special service that Aaron and his sons performed on the day of their…
Kee Tisah 5768-2008
"Moses Shatters the Tablets" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week's parasha, parashat Kee Tisah, we read the dramatic story of Moses receiving the tablets of the Ten Commandments…
Tetzaveh 5768-2008
"Clothes Make the Person" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week's parasha, parashat Tetzaveh, we read about the priestly vestments--the clothes that the kohanim wore when they served…
Chanukah,Weekly Message,Mikeitz
Mikeitz-Chanukah 5768-2007
"Unexpected Parallels between Mikeitz and the Story of Chanukah" by Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald This week's parasha, parashat Mikeitz, is almost always read on Shabbat Chanukah. Could there be…
Nitzavim-Vayeilech 5767-2007
"The Choosing People" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald It surely cannot be mere coincidence that parashiot Nitzavim and Vayeilech are always read in the weeks that immediately precede or…
Kee Tavo 5767-2007
"Can the Promise of G-d Keep the People Holy?" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald Parashat Kee Tavo is one of the two parashiot in the Torah that features the Tochacha, the terrifying…
Re’eh 5767-2007
"Prohibition Against Excessive Grief" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week's parasha, parashat Re'eh, we learn of the prohibition of excessive mourning and grief for those who pass…
Pinchas 5767-2007
"Rosh Chodesh, the Modest Holiday" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald Parashat Pinchas opens with the Al-mighty praising Pinchas, grandson of Aaron the High Priest, for fatally stabbing Zimri,…
Vayechi 5767-2007
"Lessons in Child Rearing from the Patriarch Jacob" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week's parasha, parashat Vayechi, Jacob's life draws to a close. Jacob insists that his son,…
Bereshith 5767-2006
"Pardes--the Four Levels of Understanding Torah" by Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald The Talmud in Chagiga 14b, tells the story of four great scholars, Ben Azai, Ben Zoma, Acher, and Rabbi Akiva,…