Jewish Treats

Significance of the Mezuzah

Much of the inner meaning of the mezuzah is rooted in kabbalistic concepts and personal anecdotes. On the simplest level, the affixed mezuzah serves as a reminder of the Biblical message…

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Weekly Message,Naso

Naso 5781-2021

“The Challenge of the Priestly Blessings” (updated and revised from Naso 5762-2002) by, Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Naso, we encounter the very beautiful…

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Jewish Treats

Mezuzah: Complete Fulfillment

A mezuzah on the doorpost is a public sign of a Jewish home. If you open the decorative container of the mezuzah you will find a piece of parchment with two sets of Hebrew verses from…

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Jewish Treats

The Disputation of Paris

The month of June in the year 1240 C.E. was not a good time for the Jews of Europe. The trouble began with a Jewish apostate named Nicholas Donin. Wanting, perhaps, to prove his loyalty…

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Jewish Treats

Grandmaster R

When Samuel Reshevsky (born Szmul Rzeszewski, 1911-1992) was five years old, his father showed him how to play chess. Three years later, the boy was a recognized child prodigy who gained…

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Jewish Treats

Right Foot First

Some people might find it surprising that the sages discussed certain “best practices” for getting dressed. For instance, the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch, an abridged compendium of the laws…

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Jewish Treats

Avinu Malkeinu

No prayer so thoroughly captures the Jewish people’s dual relationship with God as Avinu Malkeinu, “Our Father, Our King.” While Avinu Malkeinu is a prayer widely known to be part of the…

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Jewish Treats

For The Sins We Committed

One of the main steps in the process of teshuva (repentance) is for a person to confess their sins and verbalize their errors. In so doing, a person admits committing a sin, not to…

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Jewish Treats

Post Labor Day Whites

When is it fashionably acceptable to wear white after Labor Day? On Yom Kippur! Many people have the custom of wearing white on Yom Kippur. In the synagogue you will often see women…

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Shemot,Weekly Message

Shemot 5782-2021

“The Circumcision of Eliezer: A Message for Busy Parents” (updated and revised from Shemot 5762-2001) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Shemot, Moses emerges…

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