Vayikra 5773-2013
"Achieving Spiritual Ascendance Through Sacrifice" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Vayikra, is the opening Torah portion of the book of Leviticus. As the Latin…
Bereshith 5763-2002
"Being Moral in an Increasingly Immoral Environment" Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald This week's parasha, parashat Bershith, is one of the richest of all the narrative portions of the Torah. One…
Tzav 5775-2015
“When Performing a Mitzvah Comes at a Significant Personal Cost” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Tzav, for the most part, continues the Torah’s review of the…
Naso 5779-2019
"Traditional Judaism: Fundamentalist or Ascetic" (Revised and updated from Naso 5760-2000) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Naso, we encounter the…
Shemini,Genesis,Weekly Message
Shemini 5771-2011
“The Death of Aaron’s Sons: The Midrashic Perspective” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Shemini, speaks of the “eighth day” of the Tabernacle consecration…
Bereshith 5782-2021
“Being Moral in an Increasingly Immoral Environment” (updated and revised from Bereshith 5763-2002) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Bereshith, is one of the…
Emor 5766-2006
"Striving for Perfection" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week's parasha, parashat Emor, the theme of perfection is repeated many times in several related contexts. In Leviticus…
Tetzaveh 5762-2002
"The Korban Tamid--a Lesson in Consistency " by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this coming week's parasha, parashat Tetzaveh, after a lengthy discussion of the priestly vestments and a…
Naso 5760-2000
"Traditional Judaism: Fundamentalist or Ascetic" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this coming week's parasha, parashat Naso, we encounter the curious law of the Nazir, the Nazarite. In…
Tzav–Passover 1 5778-2018
“Making Holiness Contagious” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Tzav, we are reintroduced to the laws of the Mincha, מִנְחָה , the meal offering, that were…