Shelach 5766-2006
"Who was Caleb?" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald Parashat Shelach is probably the saddest parasha in the Torah. It is in this weekly portion that the Israelite men of the Exodus generation…
Pinchas 5760-2000
"The Daughters Of Tzelafchad: Legitimate Feminist Claims" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this coming week's parasha, parashat Pinchas, we learn of the precedent-shattering request of the…
Sukkot-Hoshana Rabbah 5768-2007
"The Festival of Sukkot Comes to a Dramatic Close" by Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald The final day of Sukkot, both in Israel and in the Diaspora, is known as Hoshanah Rabbah. Hoshanah Rabbah,…
Re’eh 5778-2018
"The Torah’s Definition of True Wealth” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Re’eh, we read some of the most exalted statements ever recorded in human…
Toledot 5779-2018
NJOP stands in solidarity with the Squirrel Hill community in Pittsburgh and expresses its profound condolences to the members and families of the Tree of Life Congregation who lost their…
Lech Lecha 5780-2019
“Understanding the Ritual of Circumcision” (updated and revised from Lech Lecha 5760-1999) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald Toward the end of this week’s parasha, parashat Lech Lecha,…
Yom Kippur 5772-2011
"The Magic of the Day of Atonement" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald The Jewish calendar has an abundance of "propitious" or "favorable" times and occasions. Nissan, the month of Passover, is…
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…
A Light Unto the Sunshine State
What U.S. cities enjoy the largest Jewish populations? You probably included New York, Los Angeles and Miami, which are indeed the three cities, in order, with the largest Jewish…
Yiddish in Shanghai
During World War II, Japanese-occupied Shanghai, China, became a haven for Jewish refugees, most notably the students from the Mirrer Yeshiva. After the “Battle of Shanghai” in 1937, the…