Weekly Message,Vayeitzei

Vayeitzei 5783-2022

“The Transformation of Jacob” (updated and revised from Vayeitzei 5763-2002) by, Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s Torah portion, parashat Vayeitzei, continues the fascinating story…

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Jewish Treats

The Thanksgiving Synagogue Service

While Thanksgiving is most certainly an American festival of gratitude, its founders prominently articulated its religious underpinnings, which ultimately find their source in Judaism.…

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Jewish Treats

Kristallnacht

Kristallnacht, literally the Night of Crystal, but generally translated as the Night of Broken Glass, was a tragic turning point in the fate of Germany’s Jewish community. The…

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Jewish Treats

Jabotinsky

When Vladimir Yevgenyevich Zhabotinsky was born on October 18, 1880, in Odessa, it was virtually inconceivable that he would become a staunch advocate for the resettlement of the Jewish…

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Jewish Treats

Ushpeezin (pronounced Oo’shpee’zin)

During the festival of Sukkot, the sukkah is intended to be our home. For example, since dining normally takes place in the house, on Sukkot dining takes place in the sukkah. Because the…

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Jewish Treats

People of the (Printed) Book

Johannes Gutenberg, credited as the developer of the printing press, published the Gutenberg Bible in 1445. Printing technology transformed the way people learned. International literacy…

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Jewish Treats

Minsk, Pinsk and Dvinsk?

Dvinsk, also known as Daugavpils or Duenaburg, is Latvia’s second largest city, situated 140 miles southeast of Riga, Latvia’s capital (Dvinsk is the city’s Russian name). Dvinsk became a…

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Balak,Weekly Message

Balak 5782-2022

“How Goodly Are Your Tents O’ Jacob” (updated and revised from Balak 5764-2004) by, Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Balak, we read the dramatic story of the…

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Jewish Treats

The Rebbe

Jews worldwide observe the yahrzeit (anniversary of death) of the seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, of blessed memory, on the 3rd of Tammuz, which is observed…

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Jewish Treats

The Sustenance of Beauty

Cosmetics have been a part of civilization since…well, research cannot pinpoint where or when people started using products to paint their faces or subtly alter their appearances, but its…

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