Adding Candles

Lighting Shabbat candles is an essential element of Shabbat. The Shulchan Aruch (Code of Jewish Law) states that two candles are used to fulfill the mitzvah in order to recall the dual…

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Thank You, Mom

Don’t forget to call your mother on Sunday, or send her flowers or a card. For those very, very out of the loop, Sunday is Mother’s Day. Mother’s Day is a day set aside to show the moms…

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Tazria-Metzorah 5781-2021

“Circumcision and Shabbat” (updated and revised from Tazria-Metzorah 5764-2004) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In order to properly coordinate the weekly Torah readings with the Hebrew…

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Bereshith 5781-2020

“The Origins and Meaning of Evil” (updated and revised from Bereshith 5762-2001) by, Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald   After 9/11 and the World Trade Center terrorist bombings, we thought…

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Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel

The death of Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel, which occurred in 70 CE, on 20 Sivan, is part of the well-known and tragic episode of the deaths of the Ten Martyrs, that is included in the liturgy…

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Thank You, Mom

Mother’s Day is a day set aside to show the moms in our lives how much we appreciate them. It’s a sweet and wonderful idea…but according to the Torah, every day is Mother’s Day! The very…

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Thank You, Mom

Mother’s Day is a day set aside to show the moms in our lives how much we appreciate them. It’s a sweet and wonderful idea…but according to the Torah, every day is Mother’s Day! The very…

Read More