Vayakhel-Pekudei 5767-2007
"Leadership and its Perils" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald Because of the nuances of the Hebrew calendar, two parashiot are read this Shabbat, Vayakhel and Pekudei, with which the reading…
Pekudei,Vayakhel,Weekly Message
Vayakhel-Pekudei 5762-2002
"The Original Jewish Renewal Movement" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald On this coming Shabbat we will read two parashiot, Vayakhel and Pekudei, which conclude the book of Exodus. These…
Bechukotai,Weekly Message,Behar
Behar-Bechukotai 5764-2004
"The Revolutionary Nature of Shemita and Yovel" by Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald In the first of this week's double parashiot, parashat Behar, we encounter the remarkable laws of Shemita--the…
Bamidbar 5767-2007
"The Tribe of Levi--the Master Enablers" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week's parasha, parashat Bamidbar, we learn about the structure and formation of the Israelites in the…
Bamidbar 5764-2004
"Surviving the Wilderness" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week's parasha, parashat Bamidbar, the Israelites enter the wilderness of Sinai and begin their journey to the land of…
Does God Experience Difficulty?
In the middle of parashat B’shalach, we encounter the great miracle of God splitting the Red Sea. The sages in the Talmud (Sotah 2a) used this great supernatural phenomenon to declare…
Bamidbar 5762-2002
"Counting on the People of Israel" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this coming week's parasha, parashat Bamidbar, the Jews are found in the wilderness of Sinai, on the first day of the…
Bamidbar 5760-2000
"The Risks of Being a Public Figure" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this coming week's parasha, parashat Bamidbar, we read a very intriguing verse (Numbers 3:1): "V'ay'leh tol'dot…
Naso 5766-2006
"A Lesson from the N'seeim--the Tribal Leaders" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week's Torah portion, parashat Naso, is almost always read on the Shabbat following the festival of…
Shelach 5768-2008
"We Were like Grasshoppers in Our Eyes" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week's parasha, parashat Shelach, Moses sends twelve representatives, one from each tribe, to scout the land…