Shelach 5772-2012
"Had I Only Known!" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Shelach, is a particularly depressing Torah portion. It is sad not only because of the evil report that the…
Vayechi 5773-2012
"The Patriarch Jacob Did Not Die!" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s Torah portion, parashat Vayechi, the patriarch Jacob, passes away at age 147. The Torah, in Genesis 49:33,…
Vayishlach 5775-2014
“She Called His Name ‘Ben Oni’” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Vayishlach, Jacob, after many years of separation, finally reunites with his long-estranged…
Va’etchanan 5776-2016
“Blessing G-d for the Good and the Bad" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Va’etchanan, includes the שְׁמַע--“Shemah,” the central Hebrew prayer in which Jews,…
Vayigash 5778-2017
“Jacob’s Enhanced Joy from Joseph His Righteous Son” In this week’s parasha, parashat Vayigash, after 22 years of separation, the elderly Patriarch Jacob, is reunited with his…
Emor 5779-2019
“The Gift of Celebration” (Revised and updated from Emor 5761-2001) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald The second half of this week’s parasha, parashat Emor, presents a review of most of the…
The Power of Positive – An Anniversary Treat
"Pop psychologists" often like to discuss the power of perspective by referring to the glass half empty verses the glass half full. Alas, it is a common human trait to look for the…
The Power of Positive – An Anniversary Treat
“Pop psychologists” often like to discuss the power of perspective by referring to the glass half empty versus the glass half full. Alas, it is a common human trait to look for the…
Local Heroes
In honor of International Holocaust Memorial Day, which is observed on the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, Jewish Treats presents the stories of two survivors who became…
More Than a Financier
Known as the Juden Kaiser (the Jewish Emperor), Rabbi Samson Wertheimer was a man of incredible accomplishment. Born in Worms in 1658, he was educated in the yeshivot of Worms and…