The Power of Shabbat
Jewish life ebbs and flows around the celebration of Shabbat. The days of the week are labelled by a count toward Shabbat (Sunday is Yom Rishon, the first day; Monday is Yom Shaynee, the…
Dear Yenta: The Matchmaker (Shadchan)
“Matchmaker, matchmaker / Look through your book / And make me a perfect match…” (Fiddler on the Roof). With the widespread proliferation of internet dating sites such as eharmony,…
A Chanukah Heroine
Who is Yehudit (Judith), the daughter of Yochanan the High Priest, who saved her city, Bethulia, from destruction at the hands of the Syrian-Greek general Holofernes? As the Jews in the…
The Power of Shabbat
Jewish life ebbs and flows around the celebration of Shabbat. The days of the week are labelled by a count toward Shabbat (Sunday is Yom Rishon, the first day; Monday is Yom Shaynee, the…
How Now, Red Cow
Every year, on the first or second Shabbat following Purim, a special reading from Numbers 19, is added to the regular Shabbat Torah reading. Known as “Parashat Parah,” the Torah reading…
Jewish Matchmaking
“Matchmaker, matchmaker / Look through your book / And make me a perfect match…” (Fiddler on the Roof). With the widespread proliferation of internet dating sites such as eHarmony,…
Mishpatim 5783-2023
“The Al-mighty’s Concern for the Dignity of the Human Being” (updated and revised from Mishpatim 5764-2004) by, Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald As we have previously noted, parashat Mishpatim…
Oh, Evil Tongue
“Come and see how great the power of an evil tongue is! Whence do we know [its power]? From the spies: for if it happens thus to those who bring up an evil report against wood and stones,…
Here Kitty, Kitty
While today the two most common types of house pets are cats and dogs, the sages of the Talmud questioned the issue of safety regarding the ownership of these animals. In general, most…
How Now, Red Cow
Every year, on the first or second Shabbat following Purim, a special reading from Numbers 19 is added to the regular Shabbat Torah reading. Known as “Parashat Parah,” the Torah reading…