Eikev 5780-2020

“The Intermarriage Conundrum” (updated and edited from parashat Eikev 5761-2001) by, Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald The opening verses of this week’s parasha, parashat Eikev, conclude the…

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Behar-Bechukotai 5767-2007

"Reward and Punishment" by Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald In the second of this week's double parashiot, Behar-Bechukotai, we encounter the very challenging concept of Divine reward and…

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Eikev 5761-2001

"The Intermarriage Conundrum" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald The opening verses of this week's parasha, parashat Eikev, conclude the theme that was the focus of the final part of last…

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Pinchas 5776-2016

“Pinchas the Zealot, and King David" by Ephraim Z. Buchwald The opening verses of this week’s parasha, parashat Pinchas, contain the conclusion of the dramatic narrative concerning…

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Yom Ha’atzmaut 5760-2000

"Being Judged by a Different Yardstick" by Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald This coming week we celebrate Yom Ha'Atzmaut, Israel Independence Day. Yom Ha'Atzmaut occurs on the fifth of Iyar, which,…

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Jiri Mordecai

In celebration of National Poetry Month: One could easily say that the life of  Jiri Mordecai Langer (1894-1943) was lived between the two World Wars. Born in Prague to an…

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Pinchas 5777-2017

"Pinchas and King David" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald At the close of last week’s parasha, parashat Balak, we read of the zealous act of Pinchas, the grandson of Aaron the High Priest,…

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Judaism vs. Hellenism

Judaism vs. Hellenism Why did the interaction of the Greeks and the Jews create such problems? What was there about Hellenism…

Enabling Citizen Cain

Our weekly Torah reading has once again cycled back to the Book of Genesis, returning to the stories and moral lessons of the earliest days of civilization. In addition to the ethical…

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Behind The Scenes of The Great War

The great World Wars, both involved armies of nations from all across the globe. But, in both wars--historians would agree--the balance of power shifted when America joined the allies.…

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