A Look At The Law

There are three types of laws in the Torah...mishpatim, edot and chukim: Mishpatim are basic laws. In fact, mishpatim are generally translated as those laws which are necessary and…

Read More

Shemot 5764-2004

"The Message of the Burning Bush" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this coming week's parasha, parashat Shemot, we read of G-d's revelation to Moses from the "s'neh," the burning bush.…

Read More

Kedoshim 5760 – 2000

"The Revolutionary Idea of Holiness" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this coming week's parasha, Parashat K'doshim, we encounter that magical and revolutionary word which the Torah has…

Read More

Locate Your Friend and Ask for Forgiveness

Whether it was the creation of the wheel, and tools to create and advance civilization, or the discovery of penicillin or the polio vaccine, our lives have changed profoundly because of…

Read More

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…

Read More

Bereshith 5781-2020

“The Origins and Meaning of Evil” (updated and revised from Bereshith 5762-2001) by, Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald   After 9/11 and the World Trade Center terrorist bombings, we thought…

Read More

Mishpatim 5782-2022

“Justice! Justice!” (updated and revised from Mishpatim 5763-2003) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Mishpatim, contains an abundance of laws that cover a vast…

Read More

Acharei Mot-Kedoshim 5783-2023

“The Jewish Attitude Toward Sexuality” (updated and revised from Acharei Mot-Kedoshim 5764-2004) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald Both of this week’s parashiot, Acharei Mot and Kedoshim,…

Read More

Sustenance and 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…

Read More

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…

Read More