Shoftim 5777-2017
“Judaism and the Principle of the Sanctity of Human Life” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Shoftim, focuses, for the most part, on the principle of the…
Kee Teitzei 5777-2017
“Lessons from the Wayward Son” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Kee Teitzei, we learn of the law of the “Ben soh’rayr oo’moh’reh,” בֵּן סוֹרֵר וּמוֹרֶה ,…
Kee Tavo 5777-2017
“The Choice Parts to G-d” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald Parashat Kee Tavo is best known for the second תּוֹכֵחָה , Tochacha, G-d’s second reproof of the People of Israel. The first is…
Vayeilech,Weekly Message,Yom Kippur
Vayeilech-Yom Kippur 5776-2015
“Living a Truly Meaningful Life” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Vayeilech, is certainly one of the most dramatic and touching parashiot found in the Torah. The…
v’Zot Habracha-Simchat Torah 5776-2015
“The Confluence of v’Zot Habracha and the Holiday” (originally posted in 5770-2009) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald The festival of Simchat Torah, the rejoicing with the Law, is one of two…
Genesis,Bereshith,Weekly Message
Bereshith 5776-2015
“Seth--Adam and Eve’s Little-Known Son” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Bereshith, murder is introduced to the world, and the first instance of fratricide is…
Noah 5776-2015
"Noah - A Hero of Limited Proportions " by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Noah, we read of the only living person whom G-d considered worthy of being saved…
Vayeira 5776-2015
“The Trials of Abraham” by Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Vayeira, includes at least three of the ten trials that Abraham faced during his life. Pirkei Avot, Ethics of…
Chayei Sarah 5776-2015
"The Legacy of Ishmael" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Chayei Sarah, opens with the death and burial of the matriarch, Sarah, at age 127, and closes with the…
Mishpatim 5776-2016
“Jewish Women and Conjugal Rights” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Mishpatim, we learn the remarkable law of the Hebrew maidservant, known in Hebrew as,…