Sukkot 5774-2013
"Half for You, and Half for G-d" by Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald In parashat Emor, the Torah states that creative labor is forbidden on the first and seventh day of the festival of Passover.…
Kedoshim 5774-2014
“The Prohibition of Taking Revenge” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Kedoshim, we find the ever-popular verse of Leviticus 19:18, וְאָהַבְתָּ לְרֵעֲךָ…
Weekly Message,Mikeitz,Chanukah
Mikeitz/Chanukah 5777-2016
“Pharaoh Was Agitated” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Mikeitz, Pharaoh dreams two well-known dreams, the dream of seven fat cows that emerge from the Nile…
Re’eh 5777-2017
“Coming to Jerusalem–-The Festival Pilgrimages” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Re’eh, we learn of the commandment for the Children of Israel to come to…
Bereshith 5778-2017
“The Torah Promotes the Work Ethic” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In parashat Bereshith, after six days of creating the world, G-d rested on the seventh day, blessed it and designated it…
Chukat 5778-2018
"The People of Israel are Taught to be More Independent" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Chukat, opens with the laws of the פָּרָה אֲדֻמָּה, Parah Adumah, the…
Kee Tisah 5780-2020
“The Levites and the Golden Calf: Transcending One’s Own Nature” (Updated and revised from Kee Tisah 5761-2001) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat…
Ein Gedi
No tour of Israel can be complete without a visit to the Judean desert. Aside from climbing the famed fortress of Masada, you can actually float in the Dead Sea, the lowest spot on earth,…
Fire and Ice
A news story in June, 2017, reported that a combination of ice and fire doomed the Titanic and caused its sinking on April 14, 1912. Photos of the ship prior to its departure from Belfast…
Meaning of an Olive Tree Metaphor
Biblical texts are rife with metaphors, particularly metaphors that are connected to nature. Throughout the Biblical canon, many such “nature” metaphors are used for the Children of…