Bo 5761-2001
"The Slave Mentality" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This coming week's parasha, parashat Bo, concludes the narrative of the ten plagues by recounting the final three plagues, locusts,…
Shelach 5762-2002
"What's in a Name?" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this coming week's Torah portion, parashat Shelach, the Torah tells of the twelve men who were sent to scout the land of Canaan, and…
Devarim 5775-2015
“Looking Through the Pain, Toward a Bright Future” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald With this week’s parasha, parashat Devarim, we begin reading the fifth and final book of the Torah, the…
Water, On the Rocks
Reams of text have been written about the one seeming error in Moses’ life - the one act for which he was prohibited from entering the Land of Israel. This was an incident recorded in…
A Time Without
Death is part of life, and Jewish law provides guidelines both for dealing with death and for avoiding the spiritual diminution associated with death. When a person mourns another's…
Bo 5781-2021
“The Slave Mentality” (updated and revised from Bo 5761–2001) by, Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Bo, concludes the Torah’s narrative of parashat Va’eira, of the…
Noah 5767-2006
"The Curse of Ham; The Blessing of Shem and Yafet" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald Those who harbor possible doubts about the Divine authorship of the Torah had better come up with some…
Lech Lecha 5773-2012
"To the Land that I Will Show You" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Lech Lecha, G-d instructs Abram (his name had not yet been changed to Abraham), to begin…
Territorial Strife
The sages wisely noted in Pirkei Avot (Ethics of the Fathers 4:1) that a truly wealthy person is one who is happy with his/her lot. Alas, dissatisfaction and the sense of being entitled…
Territorial Strife
The sages wisely noted in Pirkei Avot (Ethics of the Fathers 4:1) that a truly wealthy person is one who is happy with his/her lot. Alas, dissatisfaction, and the sense of being entitled…