The Feast of Weeks

Shavuot, which we begin celebrating this Thursday night (May 25th), is the only holiday listed in the Torah without the date on which it is to be observed. Rather, the Torah states that…

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Naso 5783-2023

“Our Brother, Our Sister--the Proselyte” (updated and revised from Naso 5764-2004)  By, Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Naso, we learn of an intriguing law…

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No Holiday as Joyous

Tu b’Av (The Fifteenth of Av), which is today, is no longer the well-known holiday on the Jewish calendar that it was in ancient times. In fact, the Talmud states that: “There were no…

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Houston Healthcare

Many cities have Jewish hospitals, but Houston also has a Jewish Institute of Medical Research. In the 1950s, Houston’s Jewish community sought to create a medical facility that had a…

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David

(Are you looking for our Twebrew School Treats about the Hebrew alphabet or our Hebrew Instructional videos? Click here for a directory!)

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Bostoner

Boston is a famous and historic American city, with a rich early American flavor. So, it might therefore be surprising to learn that Boston is the home of its own unique chassidic sect.…

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Diplomacy, Prayer, Action

As every diplomat knows, there is a time to talk, a time to pray and a time to take action. This very lesson is recorded in the Torah. When Jacob encounters his murderous brother Esau…

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The Story of Chanukah

Around the year 167 B.C.E., the Syrian-Greek rulers of Judea tried to force the Jews to assimilate into Hellenic culture. They summoned the Jews to the town squares where they were forced…

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Jewish Jeaneology

February 26th, celebrated as “Levi Strauss Day,” is the day in 1829, that marked the birth of the blue jeans icon. Born in Bavaria, Levi Strauss immigrated, along with his mother and two…

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Death at the Inauguration

The story of the eldest sons of Aaron is a tragic tale that is described in the Torah in the vaguest of terms. On the grand day of the inauguration of the Mishkan (Tabernacle), the Torah…

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