Matot-Masei 5767-2007
"Vindicated Before G-d and Before People" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In the first of this week's double parashiot, parashat Matot, we read about the tribes of Reuben, Gad (and,…
Kee Tavo 5771-2011
"The Challenge of Bountifulness" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Kee Tavo, incorporates the second of the Torah’s two tochachot, G-d’s admonitions to His…
Do We Attempt to Fool God this Week?
During the Aseret Y’mei Teshuva, the Ten Days of Repentance, Jews are encouraged to improve their actions, with both God and people. Every year Jews endeavor to transform themselves,…
Do We Attempt to Fool God this Week?
During the Aseret Y’mei Teshuva, the Ten Days of Repentance, Jews are encouraged to improve their actions, with both God and people. Every year Jews endeavor to transform themselves, by…
Yitro 5769-2009
"Ambassadors Needed" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week's parasha, parashat Yitro, Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, gives his son-in-law practical and insightful advice regarding the…
Vayakhel-Pekudei 5772-2012
“A United People Build the Tabernacle” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In parashat Vayakhel, the first of this week’s double parashiot of Vayakhel and Pekudei, we read of the actual…
To Jew and Jew and Jew
Judaism is both a religion and a nationality. The Talmud teaches us (Shavuot 39a) “Kol Yisrael areivim zeh bazeh,” that all Jews are responsible (literally “guarantors”) for one another.…
Chayei Sara 5763-2002
"The Torah's Recipe for Finding a Proper Mate" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald One of the growing issues confronting contemporary American and world Jewry is the challenge of finding proper…
Metzorah 5760-2000
"The Ultimate Value and Sanctity of Human Life in Judaism" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This coming week's parasha, parashat Metzorah, is often combined with last week's parasha, parashat…
Kee Tisah 5771-2011
"The Thirteen Attributes of G-d’s Mercy" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Kee Tisah, we encounter the dramatic episode of the Golden Calf. Moses comes down…