The Bnei Menashe of India

It is the belief of the Bnei Menashe of Northeastern India that their legendary forefather Manmasi,* was actually Menashe the son of Joseph and that their communities are the remnants of…

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The Tribe of Menashe

As descendants of the original 12 sons of Israel, the lives and personalities of the descendants of Jacob significantly impacted on the history and behavior of the future tribe members…

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Menashe and Ephraim

Joseph’s two sons, Menashe and Ephraim, are familiar names because (a) they each became the forefather of a tribe when Jacob divided the tribe of Joseph into two tribes, and (b) because…

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Vayechi 5779-2018

“Jacob Blesses His Grandchildren” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Vayechi, is a parasha that contains an abundance of blessings. In the early part of the…

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Mikeitz 5780-2019

“Who is Osenath the wife of Joseph?” (Updated and revised from Mikeitz 5760-1999)   by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week's parasha, parashat Mikeitz, Joseph interprets Pharaoh's…

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Mikeitz 5760-1999

"Who is Osenath the wife of Joseph?" by Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald In this coming week's parasha, parashat Mikeitz, Joseph interprets Pharaoh's dream and is elevated to be mishne la'melech,…

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Opening England

Menashe ben Israel (Manoel Dias Soeiro, 1604 -1657), whose family fled Portugal after the Lisbon auto-de-fe of 1603, was raised in Amsterdam where he received a full Jewish education and…

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Vayechi 5778-2017

“Blessing the Children--Revisited” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald   This week’s parasha, parashat Vayechi, is chock-full of blessings. Before his passing, Jacob not only blesses his…

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Birkat HaBanim (Blessing the Children)

Birkat HaBanimBlessing the Children “May G-d make you like Ephraim and like Menashe.” “May G-d make you like Sarah, Rebecca,…

Vayechi 5767-2007

"Lessons in Child Rearing from the Patriarch Jacob" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week's parasha, parashat Vayechi, Jacob's life draws to a close. Jacob insists that his son,…

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