Behar,Bechukotai,Weekly Message
Behar-Bechukotai 5777-2017
“If Your Brother Becomes Impoverished” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In parashat Behar, the first of this week’s two parashiot, Behar-Bechukotai, we encounter the mitzvah requiring Jews to…
Sukkot 5778-2017
“Jewish Unity and the Festival of Sukkot” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald Of all the Jewish holidays, the one holiday that is singled out as a “Festival of Joy” is Sukkot. As the Torah in…
Emor 5780-2020
“Death, and the Kohanim--the Children of Aaron” (updated and revised from Parashat Emor 5762-2002) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Emor, the…
Kee Tavo 5768-2008
"Redeeming Captives" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald Parashat Kee Tavo is one of two parashiot in the Torah that are known as the Tochacha, G-d's reproach of the Jewish people. In this Torah…
Vayigash 5771-2010
“When a Jew Goes Down to Egypt” Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Vayigash, Joseph reveals himself to his brothers. When Jacob learns that his beloved son is still…
Jewish Buckeyes
In 1817, when a pioneering watchmaker, Joseph Jonas, settled in Cincinnati, OH, from his native England, a permanent Jewish presence in Ohio was established. The Cincinnati Jewish…
Irish Jews
The exile of the Jewish people has taken them to every corner of the earth. Jews have lived in and built communities in Europe, China, India, Central Asia, Africa, South America, North…
Skeptic’s Day: Or is It?
Happy “Skeptics Day,” is the annual opportunity to acknowledge those who need absolute evidence before believing anything. What does Jewish wisdom teach about skepticism? In a Jewish…
Maryland’s Jews
While the mid-Atlantic State of Maryland is often associated with un-kosher seafood, Maryland has a vibrant history of Jewish settlement. The state of Maryland’s “Act to Extend to the…
Jews in the Land of Lincoln
The first known Jewish resident of what is now the state of Illinois was John Hays, a grandson of a New York Jew, who moved west to Cahokia in 1793. Hays was a farmer and trader, who, in…