Tisha b’Av

Tisha b’Av The saddest day in the Jewish calendar, believed to be a day which is destined for tragedy.  Guide…

Vayikra 5780-2020

“Moses, a Leader with a Calling” (Revised and updated from Vayikra 5761-2001)   by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald   In this week’s parasha, parashat Vayikra, G-d calls Moses from the…

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The Girl in the Red Coat

Aside from the opening and closing scenes in Stephen Spielberg’s 1993 Academy Award winning “Schindler’s List,” the entire movie was presented in black and white, except for one girl’s…

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Visit Your Local Jewish Bookstore

Amassing a Jewish library will enable you, and those close to you, to continuously study and grow in Judaism. Some opinions claim that purchasing religious books fulfills the final…

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The Fast of the 17th of Tammuz

Everyone knows about Yom Kippur. There are, however, several other fast days on the Jewish calendar that are not nearly as well known. The Fast of the 17th of Tammuz is observed today.…

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The Poles of the Ark

The second half of the book of Exodus commences with parashat Terumah. Nachmanides suggests that while the first half of the Book describes the physical redemption of the Children of…

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Perceiving Change

Parashat Ha’azinu, also called Shirat Ha’azinu, the poem or song of Ha’azinu in Hebrew, is literally laid-out in the Torah scroll as a poem, not as the typical prose one finds. Moses’…

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The Fast of the 17th of Tammuz

Everyone knows about Yom Kippur. There are, however, several other fast days in the Jewish calendar that are not nearly as well known. On Sunday (July 1), the Fast of the 17th of Tammuz…

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Choral in the Capitals

The history of Jewish settlement in Russia is as long and complex as the narrative of the ever-shifting areas of Russian power. In the 18th century, Empress Catherine the Great banished…

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A Synagogue Tour

Throughout history, synagogue architecture has been as varied as the latest styles and the laws of the land (for instance, many cultures prohibited building synagogues taller than…

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