Gummi Worms, Gelatin and Jews
Today is Gummi Worm Day, celebrating the popular sweet and sour candy, which was created by the German confectionary company, Trolli. Gummy Bears were created in 1922 by another German…
Balak 5779-2019
“History Repeats Itself! Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose” (Revised and updated from Chukat-Balak 5760-2000) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s Torah portion, parashat…
A Fast of the Past
In just over a week, on the 17th day of Tammuz, Jews around the world will fast to commemorate multiple tragedies and to mark the beginning of the three-week period that concludes…
The 10th Cow
Parashat Chukat opens with the very cryptic and inexplicable law of the Red Heifer. This completely unblemished red calf, with no more than two non-red hairs, and that had never been…
Evian!
Before Evian became a popular brand of natural spring water, the French resort of Evian was host to an international conference to address the mounting crisis of Jews seeking to escape…
“The Rebbe”
Jews worldwide observe the yahrzeit (anniversary of death) of the seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, of blessed memory, on the 3rd of Tammuz, which is observed…
The Right and Wrong Ways of Declaring Independence
On July 4th, 1776, the Continental Congress ratified the Declaration of Independence, officially seceding from the British Crown. This year, July 4th falls during the week of parashat…
“Kafkaesque”
Franz Kafka was born into a Jewish family on July 3, 1883 near the Old Town Square in Prague, in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Franz was the eldest of six children (two tragically died in…
The Harts of Quebec
The first Jewish settlers in the area now known as Quebec (but which was referred to as “Lower Canada” by the British) arrived with the British soldiers during the “French and Indian War”…
Why Were Scouts of the Promised Land Needed?
The most devastating punishment meted out by God in the Torah is described in this week’s parashah. God commands Moses to send 12 scouts – one representing each tribe - to reconnoiter…