Loyalty, A Prayer for the Government
Today, May 1st, is International Workers' Day, which is a celebration of the labor movement. It is also, officially, Loyalty Day, a federally sanctioned day for affirming one’s loyalty to…
Devarim 5775-2015
“Looking Through the Pain, Toward a Bright Future” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald With this week’s parasha, parashat Devarim, we begin reading the fifth and final book of the Torah, the…
B’ha’alot’cha 5766-2006
"With G-d as our Guide" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week's parasha, parashat Beha'alotecha, we are told that the travels of the ancient Israelites in the wilderness were…
Shemot 5771-2010
“Pharaoh’s Three Counselors” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Shemot, the intense suffering of the Israelites in Egypt begins. The rabbis of the Midrash are…
Genesis,Weekly Message,Va'eira
Va’eira 5773-2013
"The ‘Outstretched Arm’ and the ‘Mighty Hand’" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Va’eira, the process of the Israelites’ redemption from Egypt begins, as the…
Va’etchanan 5770-2010
"Moses Blames the People for His Fate" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald As this week's parasha, parashat Va'etchanan, opens, Moses pleads with G-d to allow him to enter the land of Israel. In…
Noah 5769-2008
"Nimrod and the Financial Meltdown" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In Genesis 10, the Torah features a long list of descendants of Shem, Cham and Yafet. It is a litany of begets and begats…
Kee Tavo 5767-2007
"Can the Promise of G-d Keep the People Holy?" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald Parashat Kee Tavo is one of the two parashiot in the Torah that features the Tochacha, the terrifying…
Eikev 5764-2004
"Battling the Contemporary Abominations" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week's parasha, parashat Eikev, Moses once again encourages the people of Israel to put their faith in G-d.…
Vayishlach 5770-2009
"The Rape of Dinah: Impossible to Fathom!" by Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald In this week's parasha, parashat Vayishlach, we learn of the brutal abduction and rape of Jacob's daughter, Dinah. The…