Even On Difficult Days

Try to greet others with a smile, particularly your spouse. . .even if you have had a particularly difficult day.

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Toledot 5776-2015

"Rebecca Inquires of G-d" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Toledot, we learn of the births of Jacob and Esau. Isaac is forty years old when he marries…

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Toledot 5780-2019

“A Lesson from Jacob and Esau: Understanding and Accepting Differences” (Updated and revised from Toledot 5760-1999)   by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald   In this week’s parasha,…

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Tazria 5771-2011

“Childbirth and Ritual Impurity” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald Our latest grandchild, Yosef Yehudah Berger, was born to our children, Ayelet and Gavriel Berger, on Thursday, March 10th,…

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Mishpatim 5772-2012

"Capital Punishment: Revenge or Restitution?" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald With fifty-three commandments--thirty negative and twenty-three positive, parashat Mishpatim ranks fourth among…

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Traditional Jewish Views on Birth Control

Judith, the wife of Rabbi Chiya, having suffered in consequence [of pregnancy] agonizing pains of childbirth, changed her clothes [in disguise, in order to get an unbiased answer] and…

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Pinchas 5780-2020

“The Pain of Giving Reproof” (Updated and revised from Parashat Pinchas 5761-2001) by, Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald On Thursday, July 9th, Jews the world over will observe the fast of Shivah…

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Pinchas 5761-2001

"The Pain of Giving Reproof" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald On Sunday, July 8th, Jews the world over observed the fast of Shivah Asar B'Tamuz, the Seventeenth day of Tamuz. The fast marks…

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Shemini 5774-2014

“This is What the L-rd Meant When He Said” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Shemini, we read of the untimely and tragic deaths of Aaron’s two sons, Nadav and…

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Devarim 5779-2019

“Judaism’s Unique View of Justice and the Judicial System” (Revised and updated from Devarim 5760-2000) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald   This week, we begin reading the Book of…

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