Abraham Ibn Ezra
Biblical scholars study his Torah commentaries, poets read his verse, grammarians look to his linguistic work and a lunar crater is named in his honor. Meet Rabbi Abraham ben Meir Ibn…
The Songs of the Ibn Ezra
The joy of Shabbat is expressed in many ways throughout the “Day of Rest.” For those of a musical bent (and even for those not so musically inclined), one of the joys of the Shabbat meals…
A Famous Family of Translators
In the early Middle Ages, the global Jewish community was basically divided between those living in lands controlled by the church and those in lands controlled by the Arabs. The dominant…
Events in Granada
Joseph ibn Naghrela (1035 - 1066) was only 21 years when he succeeded his father, Samuel (Shmuel Hanagid), as the vizier of Granada, Spain. Shmuel Hanagid had assumed this position after…
Shemot 5769-2009
"Does Moses Contradict G-d?" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week's parasha, parashat Shemot, G-d appears to Moses in the midst of a burning bush charging him to go to Pharaoh and to…
Duties of the Heart
The concept of “being spiritual” is often assumed to be a fairly recent one, resulting, perhaps, from the enlightenment’s deconstruction of organized religion. The idea of…
Duties of the Heart
The concept of “being spiritual” is often assumed to be a fairly recent one, resulting, perhaps, from the enlightenment’s deconstruction of organized religion. The idea of…
Bo 5773-2013
"Interfacing with the Non-Jewish World" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Bo, we read of the last three plagues--locusts, darkness and the death of the…
Yitro 5773-2013
"The Third Commandment: Against Perjury and Profane Swearing" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Yitro, we encounter the first of the two references to the Ten…
Bechukotai 5776-2016
“The Tochaycha–G-d’s Daunting Reproof of Israel" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Bechukotai, contains the first of two Tochaychot--תּוֹכֵחוֹת, G-d’s reproofs or…