Vayeira 5778-2017
“The Alliance with Abimelech” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Vayeira, is a rich parasha containing many important topics, including the destruction of Sodom,…
Chukat 5778-2018
"The People of Israel are Taught to be More Independent" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Chukat, opens with the laws of the פָּרָה אֲדֻמָּה, Parah Adumah, the…
Jonas Phillips: Living in the Revolution
A few weeks after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the BriTisha blockade intercepted a communication from Jonas Phillips to a relative on the Dutch Island of St. Estatius.…
Inauguration Oil
Elected U.S. presidents are inaugurated on January 20th. But, it wasn’t always that way. The Congress of the Confederation set March 4, 1789, as the date for “commencing proceedings” of…
Can Hermit Day be Celebrated in a Group?
October 29th is celebrated as Hermit Day, lauding those who prefer to spend time by themselves rather than socializing with others. However, some point to Hermit Day not as a lifestyle,…
Unexpected Sri Lankan History
Today’s Jewish Treat will take a brief look at an unexpected location for Jewish history: Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon). Located off the southern tip of India, Sri Lanka’s Jewish community…
All Vows
Yom Kippur begins this evening before sunset with the recitation of Kol Nidre, which is actually the prelude to the evening service. Kol Nidre, which literally means "All…
Hail to the Chief
“A blessing for the czar? Of course. May God bless and keep the czar... far away from us.” So jokes the rabbi of Anatevka during the opening number of Fiddler on the Roof. This was a real…
Brother Against Brother
The origins of sibling rivalry, brother against brother violence and even, God forbid, fratricide, can be traced back to the first family in human history, when Cain killed his brother…
Great Scots!
The story of the great masses of Eastern European Jews who arrived in New York and settled on the Lower East Side of Manhattan is now more than conventional history, but an ingrained…