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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Balak 5775-2015

“Uncovering the  ‘Layers’ in the Biblical Narrative” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald Although the opening verses of this week’s parasha, parashat Balak, seem straightforward, the nuanced…

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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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Mikeitz/Chanukah 5777-2016

“Pharaoh Was Agitated” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Mikeitz, Pharaoh dreams two well-known dreams, the dream of seven fat cows that emerge from the Nile…

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Balak 5779-2019

“History Repeats Itself! Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose” (Revised and updated from Chukat-Balak 5760-2000) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s Torah portion, parashat…

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Chukat-Balak 5780-2020

“Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose--History Repeats Itself!” (Updated and revised from Parashiot Chukat-Balak 5760-2000) by, Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald   This week’s Torah…

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Balak 5767-2007

"The Enemy Within" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald One of the most intriguing and perplexing patterns found in Scripture is the frequent emergence of evil from good and good from evil. Adam…

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Va’etchanan 5780-2020

“The Mandate for Parental Involvement in Jewish Education” (updated and revised from Va’etchanan 5761-2001) by, Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Va’etchanan, we…

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Va’etchanan 5761-2001

"The Mandate for Parental Involvement in Jewish Education" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week's parasha, parashat Va'etchanan, we encounter not only the Ten Commandments, but also…

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Chukat-Balak 5760-2000

"History Repeats Itself! Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose" by Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald This week our Torah portions are doubled. We read both parashiot Chukat and Balak. Parashat…

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