Happy Birthday Birkat Hamazon
The Torah (Exodus 16:1) reports that the Children of Israel arrived at the Wilderness of Sin on the 15th of the Hebrew month of Iyar, approximately one month after the exodus from Egypt.…
Eikev 5765-2005
"Understanding Birkat Hamazon, the Grace After Meals" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this coming week's parasha, parashat Eikev, we are told of the mitzvah of reciting Birkat…
Sources Commentators
Abarbanel (1437-1508, Spanish statesman, philosopher and commentator) Israel Abrahams (1858-1925) Achad Ha’Am (Asher Zvi Hirsh Ginsberg, 1856-1927) AJOP (Association for Jewish Outreach…
Mishpatim 5780-2020
“The ‘Sophisticated’ and ‘Unsophisticated’ Criminal” (updated and revised from Mishpatim 5761-2001) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Mishpatim, is a…
The Great Sanhedrin
In ancient times, the court system of Israel was dominated by two forms of large courts. The smaller of the large courts known as "Small Sanhedrins," were composed of 23 sages each, and…
Happy Birthday Birkat Hamazon!
The Torah (Exodus 16:1) reports that the Children of Israel arrived at the Wilderness of Sin on the 15th of the Hebrew month of Iyar, approximately one month after the exodus from Egypt.…
Happy Birthday Birkat Hamazon!
The Torah (Exodus 16:1) reports that the Children of Israel arrived at the Wilderness of Sin on the 15th of the Hebrew month of Iyar, approximately one month after the exodus from Egypt.…
Predicting the New Emperor before Exit Polls
On December 21 in the year 69 CE, the Roman Senate declared that Vespasian be elevated to serve as the Emperor of Rome. A famous Talmudical story (Gittin 56b) described how a rabbi…
Rabban Gamliel II
The old joke “2 Jews -- 3 opinions” is true now, and it was true in the era of the sages as well. In the aftermath of the destruction of the Second Temple (70 CE), however, Rabban Gamliel…
The Great Sanhedrin
In ancient times, the court system of Israel was dominated by two forms of large courts. The smaller courts, known as “small sanhedrins,” were composed of 23 sages each and were located…