Rosh Hashana 5764-2003
"Making Each Day Count" by Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald Rabbi Yehuda Leib Alter (1847-1905), the second Gerrer rebbe and leader of Polish Jewry, was also known as the S'fas Emes, which is the…
Sukkot 5769-2008
"The Imperative of Joy" by Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald The festival of Sukkot is known throughout Rabbinic literature as "Z'man Sim'chah'tay'noo," the Time of Our Rejoicing. But joy and…
Shavuot 5763-2003
"The Remarkable Legacy of Ruth, the Righteous Convert" by Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald Because, this year, the festival of Shavuot falls on Friday and Shabbat, the regular parasha, Naso, is…
Nitzavim,Weekly Message,Vayeilech
Nitzavim-Vayeilech 5771-2011
"Renewing the Covenant" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s double parashiot, Nitzavim-Vayeilech, Moses, on the last day of his life, dramatically gathers all the people of…
Chukat 5772-2012
"It is a Decree Before Me–-You Have No Right to Question It!" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Chukat, we encounter one of the most enigmatic laws of the…
Kedoshim 5776-2016
“Tattoos" In Parashat Kedoshim the Torah proclaims the prohibition of making cuts on one’s skin as a sign of mourning and forbids drawing permanent tattoos on the body. Scripture, in…
Sukkot II 5777-2016
“Why is Sukkot Celebrated in the Fall rather than in the Spring?” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald The Torah, in Leviticus 23:42-43, states, בַּסֻּכֹּת תֵּשְׁבוּ שִׁבְעַת יָמִים; כָּל…
Passover 5777-2017
“לֶחֶם עֹנִי --Lechem Oni: The Bread of Affliction by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald Two primary scriptural verses provide reasons for eating matzah, unleavened…
Shelach 5777-2017
“The Slave Mentality” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Shelach, we read of G-d’s shattering decree that the generation of Israelites who came out of Egypt…
Lech Lecha 5778-2017
“The Beautiful, Barren Matriarchs” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Lech Lecha, G-d commands Abram and Sarai (their names had not yet been changed), to give…