Jewish Treats

Isru Chag

The day after vacation is often a time of distraction and disorientation. The same is true of the day following a religious holiday, especially after one of the week-long holidays…

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Jewish Treats

Falafel Day

What tasty food is made out of crushed chickpeas, often served with salads, and offers itself as a healthier snack alternative? You guessed it: Falafel. Happy International Falafel Day!…

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Jewish Treats

Mourning Jerusalem I: A Brief History of the First Temple

Next Wednesday night and Thursday (July 26th and 27th), Jews the world over will be observing the fast of Tisha b’Av. It is on this day of the Hebrew calendar that the Jewish people mourn…

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Devarim,Weekly Message

Devarim 5783-2023

“Building a ‘New’ Sanctuary” (updated and revised from Devarim 5764-2004)   by, Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Devarim, is always read on the Shabbat that…

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Jewish Treats

The Book of Lamentations

On Tisha b’Av, the ninth of Av, one of the ways that the Jewish people demonstrate their mourning over the loss of both Holy Temples is by refraining from Torah study that brings pleasure…

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Kee Tavo,Weekly Message

Kee Tavo 5783-2023

"The Centrality of Joy in Jewish Observance" (updated and revised from Kee Tavo 5764-2004) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald Parashat Kee Tavo is one of the two parashiot in the Torah that…

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Jewish Treats

9/11 and Jewish History

The attack on the continental U.S. homeland on September 11, 2001 changed the entire complexion of the United States. Almost 200 years had passed since the last attack on the U.S.…

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Jewish Treats

Avinu Malkeinu

No prayer so thoroughly captures the Jewish people’s dual relationship with God as Avinu Malkeinu, “Our Father, Our King.” While Avinu Malkeinu is a prayer widely known to be part of the…

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Jewish Treats

Vanity of Vanities

Most people are unknowingly familiar with the beginning of the third chapter of Kohelet (Ecclesiastes) because of the 1965 hit song by The Byrds: “To everything – turn, turn, turn/There…

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Jewish Treats

Chanukah and Divine Order

Chanukah always overlaps with at least one Shabbat (if not two), and since Chanukah begins on the 25th of Kislev and lasts for eight days, the holiday always coincides with the…

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