Pinchas 5763-2003
"Can a Perfect G-d Sin?" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week's parasha, parashat Pinchas, is replete with fascinating narratives. The parasha opens with G-d's reward to Pinchas for his…
Pinchas 5770-2010
"The Colorful Biography of Pinchas" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald At the end of last week's parasha, we learned that a prominent couple performed a lewd act in public in order to directly…
Sukkot 5762-2001
"I'm Dreaming of a Warm Sukkot" by Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald The joyous festival of Sukkot, which begins Monday evening, October 1, expresses the idea of the unity of the Jewish People in a…
Watch With Whom You Walk
Despite the primarily legalistic nature of the Talmud, one finds many social insights based on the words of the Bible. For instance: Rabbi Simeon ben Pazi expounded [the foregoing…
Nitzavim,Weekly Message,Rosh Hashana
Nitzavim-Rosh Hashana 5773-2012
“The Return to G-d” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald On the heels of last week’s parasha, Kee Tavo, and G-d’s reproof of the Jewish people contained therein, this week’s parasha, parashat…
Pinchas 5775-2015
“Learning by Example” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Pinchas, G-d rewards Pinchas, the son of Elazar, the grandson of Aaron the High Priest, for turning…
Shoftim 5778-2018
"Identifying the True Prophet" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Shoftim, we, once again, encounter the difficult challenge of identifying the true prophet who…
Naso 5772-2012
"The Most Famous of All Nazarites--Samson" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald According to the Sefer Ha’Chinuch (the classic work on the 613 commandments, their rationale and their regulations,…
A Treat For World Philosophy Day
Philosophy is defined by dictionary.com as "the rational investigation of the truths and principles of being, knowledge or conduct." Judaism, being a religion, is a system of living…
Paying For Gold
The most infamous sin of the Jewish people was the sin of the Golden Calf: When God presented the People of Israel with the Ten Commandments, the people were overwhelmed at hearing the…