Festival Facts

Festival Facts Table of Contents Matzah Moshe (Moses) Pharoah Matzah BakingTo guarantee that matzah is Kosher for Passover,…

Tazria-Metzorah 5773-2013

"Ritual Impurity and Tzaraat: A Contemporary Understanding" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s double parashiot, Tazria and Metzorah, are among the most complex Torah portions for…

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Mishpatim 5774-2014

“Oh’na’ah–Taking Unfair Advantage of the Weak” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Mishpatim, contains 53 of the 613 commandments, 30 negative commandments and 23…

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Terumah 5771-2011

“The Message of the Holy Ark” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Terumah, we learn, in great detail, of the building of the Tabernacle. G-d tells Moses to…

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“If These Walls Could Talk”

The cryptic "spiritual" dermatological disease of tza'ra'at differs from a medical malady, in that Jewish tradition teaches that the infection is caused by sin, not pathogens.…

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Jews Don’t Run the World?

The Talmud teaches that in order to be credible, every good lie has to have a kernel of truth. This is not so when it comes to the libelous “Protocols of the Elders of Zion,” a totally…

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“If These Walls Could Talk”

The cryptic spiritual dermatological disease of tza’ra’at differs from a medical malady in that Jewish tradition teaches that one becomes infected via sin, not pathogens, and one goes to…

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We’re Not Taking Care of Business

On Shabbat, the Jewish people are commanded: “Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is Shabbat for the Lord your God; you shall not do any work” (Exodus…

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Oh Evil Tongue

“Come and see how great the power of an evil tongue is! Whence do we know [its power]? From the spies: for if it happens thus to those who bring up an evil report against wood and stones,…

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The Passover Story In Brief

On Passover, we commemorate the Exodus from Egyptian slavery. The following is a brief summary: Jacob's family came to Egypt to escape a famine in Canaan. Joseph, Jacob's son and the…

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