Matot 5768-2008
"Striving for Refined Speech" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week's parasha, parashat Matot, we learn of the laws that govern vows and oaths, known in Hebrew as nedarim and…
Yom Kippur 5765-2004
"G-d's Gift to His People on Yom Kippur" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald The Torah reading scheduled for this Shabbat would normally have been V'zot Habracha--the final parasha of the Torah.…
Tetzaveh/Purim 5777-2017
“Transformations" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald Almost half of this week’s entire parasha, fully 43 verses of parashat Tetzaveh, are devoted to the detailed description of the priestly…
Matot-Masei 5777-2017
“Vows and Oaths” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald Parashiot Matot and Masei are the last two parashiot of the book of Bamidbar--Numbers. The focus of these two final parashiot shifts from…
Ordaining with Both Hands
Semicha, which connotes rabbinic ordination, as understood today, consists of passing proficiency exams and receiving permission from one’s teachers to rule on questions of Jewish law.…
Sophie Udin, An Energy to Organize
There are some people who are born with a natural energy to do and to organize. Sophie Udin (1896 - 1960) was just such a woman. She was still a young child when her parents emigrated…
Can You Say A Little Prayer For Me?
It states in the Talmud, “Rabbi Pinchas ben Hama gave the following exposition, ‘Whosoever has a sick person in his house should go to a tzaddik (righteous person) who will invoke…
The Tribe of Simeon
As the forefathers of the 12 tribes, the lives and personalities of each of the sons of Jacob impacted upon the history and behavior of the tribe that was to descend from them. The…
Tziporah and Elisheva
“Behind every great man...” So who were the women who gave their support to Moses and Aaron, the leaders of the Jewish people? Tziporah, Moses’ wife, was one of the seven daughters of…
She Was A Harlot
It sounds like a classic melodrama: A harlot endangers her life to protect two desperate spies, and, when the city falls, she ends up marrying the conquering leader. The harlot’s name was…