The Mushroom
“Rabbi Gamaliel sat and expounded, ‘The Land of Israel is destined to bring forth [whole] cakes and wool robes [straight from the ground]... But a certain disciple scoffed at him,…
How To Be Holy
God instructs Moses to tell the Jewish people: “You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God, am holy” (Leviticus 19:2). How does one make oneself holy? The remaining 35 verses of…
Bread and Clothing
Until recently, the repercussions of converting to Judaism meant more than just renouncing one’s previous religious beliefs. More often than not, a person who converted to Judaism also…
Dear Yenta: The Matchmaker (Shadchan)
“Matchmaker, matchmaker / Look through your book / And make me a perfect match...” (Fiddler on the Roof). Despite the widespread proliferation of internet dating sites such as eharmony,…
The Words Are The Things
In Hebrew, the Book of Deuteronomy is known as Sefer D’varim. Its name is derived from the fact that the Hebrew word d’varim is the first noun that appears in the book, which begins with…
A Vow Like No Other
Jews are not ascetics. In fact, according to Jewish philosophy, the Jew’s job is to take the physical and draw out its spiritual nature. One can’t do that when trying to avoid the…
Dear Yenta: The Matchmaker (Shadchan)
With the widespread proliferation of internet dating sites such as eharmony, Match.com and JDate, the idea of a shadchan, a matchmaker, sounds archaic and primitive to most modern Jews.…
Dear Yenta: The Matchmaker (Shadchan)
“Matchmaker, matchmaker / Look through your book / And make me a perfect match…” (Fiddler on the Roof). With the widespread proliferation of internet dating sites such as eharmony,…
Jewish Matchmaking
“Matchmaker, matchmaker / Look through your book / And make me a perfect match…” (Fiddler on the Roof). With the widespread proliferation of internet dating sites such as eHarmony,…
Shelach 5782-2022
“Achieving Immortality” (updated and revised from Shelach 5763-2003) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald One of the most heartrending and challenging juxtapositions in the Bible appears in this…