Thou Shalt Not Steal A Person

The Eighth Commandment, lo tignohv, do not steal, appears to be an obvious law. Every civil code prohibits theft. However, in both syntax and placement, the Eighth Commandment appears to…

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Recognizing a Person’s Self Worth

If an inanimate object such as a penny has value, we should certainly recognize the inestimable value and intrinsic goodness to be found in each person who has been imbued with an element…

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Re’eh 5761-2001

"Charity! The Investment with the Greatest Return" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This coming week's parasha, Parashat Re'eh, is a truly edifying portion, and is filled with many…

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Re’eh 5779-2019

“Charity! The Investment That Keeps Giving” (Revised and updated from Re’eh 5760-2001) by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This week’s parasha, parashat Re’eh, is a truly edifying Torah portion,…

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Devarim 5760-2000

"Judaism's Unique Views on Justice and the Justice System" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald This coming week, we begin reading Deuteronomy, the final book of the five books of the Torah.…

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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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Tazria-Metzorah 5772-2012

“The Essential Ingredient for Repentance and Prayer--Humility” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In parashat Metzorah, the second of this week’s double parashiot, Tazria-Metzorah, we read of…

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Tazria 5765-2005

"Some Important Lessons That We Learn from the Ancient Biblical Tzara'at" by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald The primary theme of this week's parasha, parashat Tazria, is the ancient Biblical…

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Vayigash 5777-2017

“No ‘Man’ was with Joseph” by Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald In this week’s parasha, parashat Vayigash, the extraordinary story of Joseph and his brothers reaches its dramatic conclusion as…

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Tazria 5784-2024

Urgent message: It’s hard to believe that more than six months have passed since the murderous attack on October 7th, and that the most challenging situation in Israel continues, with…

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