Water, Water Everywhere

Sukkot is considered the holiday on which God determines the world’s water allotment for the year to come. During the time of the Temple, the week of Sukkot was highlighted by the water…

Read More

Post-Labor Day Whites

When is it fashionably acceptable to wear white after Labor Day? On Yom Kippur! Many people have the custom of wearing white on Yom Kippur. In the synagogue you will often see women…

Read More

Haazinu 5760-1999

"The Final Song" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week's parasha, parashat Haazinu, contains the final song which Moshe sings before his death. This is the song to which Moshe alluded in…

Read More

Mishpatim 5765-2005

"The Conundrum of Charity--Who Benefits More?" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This coming week's parasha, parashat Mishpatim, contains an abundance of interesting mitzvot. Among the 53…

Read More

Kee Teitzei 5780-2020

“Polygamy and Jewish Tradition” (Updated and revised from Kee Teitzei 5761-2001) by, Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Kee Teitzei, we learn of the special…

Read More

Post Labor Day Whites

When is it fashionably acceptable to wear white after Labor Day? On Yom Kippur! Many people have the custom of wearing white on Yom Kippur. In the synagogue you will often see women…

Read More

Water, Water Everywhere

Sukkot is considered the holiday on which God determines the world’s water allotment for the year to come. During the time of the Temple, the week of Sukkot was highlighted by the water…

Read More

Dear Yenta: The Matchmaker (Shadchan)

With the widespread proliferation of internet dating sites such as eharmony, Match.com and JDate, the idea of a shadchan, a matchmaker, sounds archaic and primitive to most modern Jews.…

Read More

Celebrating with a Parade

Name a Jewish celebration, that is not a wedding, but includes a chuppah, music and dancing. The answer is a Hachnassat Sefer Torah, literally “Welcoming the Torah Scroll,” the ceremony…

Read More

A Friendly Emperor

On November 17th, in the year 331 C.E., Flavius Claudius Julianus was born. He was the son of the half-brother of Constantine, the first Roman Emperor to recognize Christianity as the…

Read More