Chukat 5775-2015
“Accepting the Inscrutable” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Chukat, we learn of the statute of the Red Cow, also known as the Red Heifer. The ashes of an…
Chukat 5773-2013
"Striking the Stone: the Parameters of Anger" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald Among the many topics in this week’s parasha is the report of Miriam’s death and the subsequent lack of water.…
Chukat 5767-2007
"The Excesses of Rationality" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald One of the most common issues raised when analyzing a Torah text is the question of juxtaposition: why a particular parasha…
Chukat 5768-2008
"The Death of Aaron" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week's parasha, parashat Chukat, we learn of the death of Aaron, the High Priest of Israel. Numbers 20:20-29 relates that the…
Chukat 5772-2012
"It is a Decree Before Me–-You Have No Right to Question It!" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Chukat, we encounter one of the most enigmatic laws of the…
Chukat 5777-2017
“Moses’ Painful Words of Comfort” Among the diverse themes found in parashat Chukat, we learn of the death of Aaron. According to tradition, on the first day of Av, in the fortieth and…
Chukat-Balak 5769-2009
"The Ultimate Value of Human Life" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald On this Shabbat, throughout the diaspora, a double Torah portion, Chukat-Balak, is read. In Israel, however, only the…
Chukat-Balak 5762-2002
"The Paradox of the Red Heifer" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In Parashat Chukat, the first of this coming week's double Torah portion, Chukat-Balak, we learn of the inscrutable law of the…
Chukat-Balak 5763-2003
"How to Market G-d!" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This coming week we read the double parashiot, Chukat-Balak. In the first of this week's parashiot, parashat Chukat, the Israelites, who…
Chukat-Balak 5766-2006
"The Sanctity of Human Life" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In the first of this week's two parashiot, Chukat-Balak, we learn of the law of the Parah Adumah, the Red Heifer. In Numbers…