Tazria 5774-2014
“The Jewish Attitude Toward Healing and Medicine” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Tazria, opens with the laws concerning purification of a woman after…
B’ha’a’lot’cha 5774-2014
“The Difference Between Moses and the Other Prophets” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald Parashat B’ha’a’lot’cha, reaches its exciting crescendo in Numbers 12, with the story of Miriam and…
Chayei Sara 5764-2003
"Who Was the Matriarch Sarah?" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week's parasha, parashat Chayei Sarah, the matriarch Sarah, Abraham's wife, passes away. The authors of the Midrash,…
Eikev 5763-2003
"Is There Truth to the Notion of Spiritual Accountability?" by Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald This coming week's Torah portion, Parashat Eikev, contains the well-known second paragraph of the…
B’shalach 5779-2019
“The שִׁירָה --Shira: The Source of All Song” (Revised and updated from B'shalach 5760-2000) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this coming week’s parasha, parashat B’shalach, we encounter…
Mishpatim 5779-2019
“From Seemingly Obscure Laws, the Torah Teaches the Ultimate Value of the Sanctity of Human Life”(Revised and updated from Mishpatim 5760-2000) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this coming…
Terumah 5779-2019
“The Mishkan: Underscoring the Centrality of the Home in Jewish Life” (Revised and updated from Terumah 5760-2000) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this coming week’s parasha, parashat…
Jerusalem Day–Yom Yerushalayim
In 1947, when the United Nations approved the plan to partition the British Mandate of Palestine (Israel) into a Jewish state and an Arab state, they determined that Jerusalem would be an…
The Ten Sephirot
Most people associate kabbalah (Jewish mysticism) with the Zohar (Book of Splendor). However, the earliest text to which the sages refer is Sefer…
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…