Vayechi 5781-2021
“Revealing the Time of the Coming of the End of Days” (Updated and revised from parashat Vayechi 5761-2001) by, Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Vayechi, is the…
Judah, Son of Jacob
When Judah, the fourth son of Leah and Jacob, was born, Leah said, “This time let me gratefully praise God” (based on the Hebrew infinitive, l’hodot, “to praise”). Judah first…
What’s In A Name
What’s in a name? Lots--especially when you are talking about a person’s Hebrew/Jewish name. (Henceforth to be referred to as “Hebrew name,” even though some traditional names are…
Seek Out The Positive
An ethical dilemma: A close friend confides in you that he/she recently purchased an expensive, one-of-a-kind, non-returnable item. When he/she shows it to you, you are immediately aware…
Finally Buried
On the 4th of Adar 1307, the Maharam of Rothenburg was buried in the Jewish cemetery in Worms–fourteen years after his death. The rabbi’s remains were released from the fortress of…
Random Acts of Kindness
An entire generation of North Americans hear the words “random acts of kindness” and immediately think of Oprah Winfrey. Without question, the queen of afternoon television has done…
Surviving and Leading
Although born in Hungary in 1904, Rabbi Yehoshua (Joshua) Menachem Ehrenberg was living in Krakow when the Nazis began their systematic destruction of European Jewry. The city of Krakow,…
Perhaps I Was Wrong
The third book of the Torah, Vayikra/Leviticus, focuses on the sacrificial rites that were an integral part of Jewish life until the destruction of the Holy Temples. For many Jews of…
Passover Story in Brief
On Passover, we commemorate the exodus from Egyptian slavery. The following is a brief summary: Jacob’s family came to Egypt to escape a famine in Canaan. Joseph, Jacob’s son and the…
Seven Days to the Sea
The Passover celebration lasts seven days (eight days, outside of Israel). The first day (and second, outside of Israel) is a Yom Tov, festival day, on which the seder is celebrated.…