Eikev 5767-2007
"Swearing in G-d's name" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald It's rather fascinating to see how one single, seemingly simple verse can be interpreted so differently by our commentators. In…
Lech Lecha 5774-2013
"Setting the Stage for the Jewish Future" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Lech Lecha, the Torah tells of the exploits of Abraham and Sarah. The remarkable…
Yonah of Geronah
It is a fact of history that students have frequently been at the center of radical movements, often under the influence of a teacher or mentor. This was the case of Rabbi Yonah of…
Jewish Judo
If you have tuned in to the Olympics, you have possibly glimpsed scenes from the numerous levels of the women’s Judo competition. While Judo has been part of the Olympic games since 1964,…
Written for Their Sons
Imagine traveling forward 500 years in time and discovering multitudes of people studying something you had written for your child. Imagine walking into a bookstore and finding multiple…
Yogurt by Greeks
Greek yogurt may be all the rage in food today, but did you know that it was the Greek-Jewish Carasso family who created Dannon yogurt? The descendant of a prominent Sephardic family,…
Yonah of Geronah
It is a fact of history that students have frequently been at the center of radical movements, often under the influence of a teacher or mentor. This was the case of Rabbi Yonah of…
Written for Their Sons
Imagine traveling forward 500 years in time and discovering multitudes of people studying something you had written for your child. Imagine walking into a bookstore and finding multiple…
Halachic Authorities
The connection between Rabbi Jacob ben Asher (the Tur, Barcelona, Spain, 1269-1340), Rabbi Joseph Caro (Safed, Israel, 1488-1575) and Rabbi Moshe Isserlis (Cracow, Poland, 1520 - 1572) is…
The Ban on Philosophy
Rabbi Shlomo ben Aderet (a.k.a. the Rashba 1235-1310) was born in an age of controversy. The Jewish world was still unsettled over the first blend of “philosophy and Torah” produced by…