Mishpatim 5780-2020
“The ‘Sophisticated’ and ‘Unsophisticated’ Criminal” (updated and revised from Mishpatim 5761-2001) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Mishpatim, is a…
Weekly Message,Va'etchanan,Tisha b'Av
Va’etchanan-Tisha B’Av 5768-2008
"A Hopeful Message for Jewish Future" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week's parasha, parashat Va'etchanan, we find the well-known citation from Deuteronomy 4:25-40, "Kee to'leed…
The Demise of Villains
Purim is a day on the Jewish calendar throughout Jewish history that has brought much joy to the Jewish people. A few years ago, a Jewish Soviet immigrant to the United States shared that…
The History Around Purim
The story of Purim takes place at the very end of the era known in Jewish history as the Babylonian Exile.Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian empire destroyed the Temple and Jerusalem and…
Learning the Truth of Your Heritage at Age 59: The Amazing Story of Madeleine Albright
Madeleine Albright broke a glass ceiling when she became the first woman U.S. Secretary of State on January 23, 1997. A few weeks later, at age 59, Madeleine learned that her parents,…
Of Shamrocks, Snails and Survivors: the life of Rabbi Isaac Herzog
Rabbi Isaac Herzog, the State of Israel’s first Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi, passed away, at age 70, on this date - the 19th of Tammuz – sixty years ago, in 1959, corresponding to July 25th.…
Hail The Accuser
In the era of social media, it is almost an everyday occurrence to be asked to sign a petition or to “like” a cause. When Emile Zola, the celebrated French novelist, published J’Accuse on…
The Longest 250 Miles: Sadat’s Bold Flight
Imagine America’s foremost enemy addressing a joint session of Congress? You can’t; it’s almost impossible to envision such a scenario actually taking place. But such a miraculous event,…
Say Cheese!
For decades the word Polaroid was synonymous with 60 second instant photography, in an era when film canisters were removed from the camera and developed into photographs by a third…
The History Around Purim
The story of Purim takes place at the very end of the era known in Jewish history as the Babylonian Exile. Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian empire destroyed the Temple and Jerusalem and…