Jewish Treats

Does Life Begin at 40?

In 1932 Walter Pitkin published his popular self-help book, Life Begins at Forty. Truthfully, before the 20th century, life expectancy, on average, rarely exceeded 40. The number 40 is…

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Jewish Treats

Burying The Dead

An unusually large body of Jewish law is concerned with interpersonal relationships, teaching how to properly respect each person, since all of humankind is created b’tzelem Eh-lokim, in…

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Jewish Treats

Kiss and Make Up

Today, August 25th, is the anonymously anointed “Kiss and Make Up Day.” These modern “holidays” have little historic meaning, but Jewish Treats would be remiss in not noting that the…

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Jewish Treats

The Five Prohibitions of Yom Kippur

“…on the tenth of the month, you shall afflict your souls and do no work at all…for on that day God will forgive you and cleanse you, that you may be clean from all your sins before God”…

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Jewish Treats

Chanukah and Divine Order

Chanukah always overlaps with at least one Shabbat (if not two), and since Chanukah begins on the 25th of Kislev and lasts for eight days, the holiday always coincides with the…

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Jewish Treats

A Kosher Buffet

While it seems a bit counterintuitive to have a day celebrating abundant eating the day after a national holiday (New Year's Day), nevertheless, January 2nd is celebrated as “Buffet……

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Yom Hashoah,Weekly Message

Yom Hashoah 5762-2002

"Reflections on The Holocaust" by Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald Yom Hashoah is observed on the 27th of Nisan, which this year will be on Monday evening, April 8 and Tuesday, April 9. I have…

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Weekly Message,Kee Tavo

Kee Tavo 5764-2004

"The Centrality of Joy in Jewish Observance" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald Parashat Kee Tavo is one of the two parashiot in the Torah that features the terrifying prophecies known as the…

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Behar,Bechukotai,Weekly Message

Behar-Bechukotai 5762-2002

"The Extraordinary Mitzvah of Tzedaka, Charity" by Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald Once again, this week, we read two combined parashiot Behar-Bechukotai. In the first of this coming week's…

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Genesis,Va'etchanan,Weekly Message

Va’etchanan 5772-2012

"The Magic of the Mezuzah" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Va’etchanan, we encounter the first of two textual references to the mitzvah of mezuzah that are…

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