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…
Yitro 5779-2019
“An Encounter with Jethro and the Non-Jewish World” (Revised and updated from Yitro 5760-2000) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald At the end of last week’s parasha, parashat B’shalach (Exodus…
Vayechi 5779-2018
“Jacob Blesses His Grandchildren” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Vayechi, is a parasha that contains an abundance of blessings. In the early part of the…
Goshen, Egypt
After recording the dramatic rendezvous between Joseph and his brothers, Jacob’s move to Egypt and Joseph’s brilliant economic plan, the very last verse in parashat Vayigash records the…
Bereshith 5779-2018
“Who was Enoch?” In this week’s parasha, parashat Bereishith, the Torah, in Genesis 5, lists the genealogy of humankind, enumerating the names of the ten generations of descendants from…
Weekly Message,Nitzavim,Rosh Hashana
Nitzavim-Rosh Hashana 5779-2018
“Whatever Became of Sin?” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald According to Rabbi Hayyim Angel, this week’s parasha, parashat Nitzavim, contains “one of the greatest expositions on repentance in…
Celebrating Bar Ilan University
Would you believe that the founding of Israel’s second largest university (33,000 students) was conceived “deep in the heart of Dixie”? Two years after Israel’s founding in 1948, the…
Eikev 5778-2018
“Contemporary Idolatry” In this week’s parasha, parashat Eikev, Moses, just days before his demise, continues his final oration to the People of Israel, and conveys his message of…
Matot-Masei 5778-2018
“Judaism and Warfare” In parashat Matot, the first of this week’s double parashiyot, Matot-Masei, we read of the great battle that Israel waged to avenge the Midianite nation for leading…
Campaigning From The Periphery Or The Center?
There’s an adage in American politics, that candidates win their party’s primary by positioning themselves to the extreme, and win national elections by moving to the center. Should a…