The Nations of Canaan

The people who lived in the Land of Canaan are often referred to as the Canaanites, but this was actually only the name of one of several nations of Canaan. Today’s Jewish Treat presents…

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Devarim 5768-2008

"Establishing the Rightful Owners of the Land" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald According to tradition, the entire book of Devarim, Deuteronomy, was spoken by Moses in the last five weeks of…

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Devarim 5769-2009

"Og Stands Tall on the Stage of History" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In his recapitulation of the events leading up to the people's entry into the land of Israel, Moses recalls the…

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Devarim 5765-2005

"The Book of Deuteronomy–Mishneh Torah and the Purpose of Repetition" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week's parasha, parashat Devarim, marks the commencement of the fifth book of the…

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Lech Lecha 5768-2007

"The Battle of the Four Kings Against the Five" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week's parasha, parashat Lech Lecha, we read about what is generally known as the "Battle of the Four…

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Matot-Masei 5766-2006

"Taking a Stand Against the Banality of Evil" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In the first of this week's double parashiot, Matot-Masei, we read of the battle that the people of Israel waged…

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Devarim 5772-2012

"The Al-mighty’s Relationship with the Nations of the World" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald As we have previously noted on several occasions (Devarim 5765-2005), the book of Devarim…

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“If These Walls Could Talk”

The cryptic "spiritual" dermatological disease of tza'ra'at differs from a medical malady, in that Jewish tradition teaches that the infection is caused by sin, not pathogens.…

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“If These Walls Could Talk”

The cryptic spiritual dermatological disease of tza’ra’at differs from a medical malady in that Jewish tradition teaches that one becomes infected via sin, not pathogens, and one goes to…

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Kedoshim 5776-2016

“Tattoos" In Parashat Kedoshim the Torah proclaims the prohibition of making cuts on one’s skin as a sign of mourning and forbids drawing permanent tattoos on the body. Scripture, in…

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