Bo 5780-2020

“Rational Love and Emotional Love: A Lesson from Tefillin” (revised and updated from Bo 5760-2000)   by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Bo, we read about…

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Where to Wear Tefillin

While Jewish Treats has previously discussed the requirements for kosher tefillin (Click here for a full description of tefillin, including the…

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Where To Wear Tefillin

While Jewish Treats has previously discussed the requirements for kosher tefillin (Click here for a full description of tefillin, including the difference between the box worn on the head…

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What Are Tefillin?

“And you shall bind them [the words that I command you today] for a sign upon your arm, and they shall be for frontlets between your eyes... (Deuteronomy 6:8)” The above verse refers to…

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What Are Tefillin?

The common translation of tefillin is “phylacteries,” which is a Greek word meaning amulet. “And you shall bind them [the words that I command you today] for a sign upon your arm, and…

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What Are Tefillin?

“And you shall bind them [the words that I command you today] for a sign upon your arm, and they shall be for frontlets between your eyes… (Deuteronomy 6:8)”. The above verse refers to…

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Love and Hate

The juxtaposition between love and hate is fascinating. The relationship between love and hate has been a muse for poets, a conundrum for philosophers and a source of anxiety for…

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Brotherly and Sisterly Love on Tisha B’av

The theme of “unconditional love” can be found in the Tisha b’Av kinnot, as the ideal that was absent during our history’s lowest moments. In kinnah number 26, the author, Elazar HaKalir,…

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To Love, Honor and Cherish…

It would seem to make common sense that honoring one’s spouse is an essential part of any marriage relationship, and yet, the sages go out of their way to remind husbands of the…

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