…you celebrate the good, the more good you discover that is worthy of celebration. SHEMINI: What you think of as your greatest weakness can become, if you wrestle with it, your greatest strength. TAZRIA-METZORA: In any relationship that matters to you, deliver praise daily. Seeing and praising the good in people makes them better people, makes you a better person,…
…is blind. Combine Priestly detail and Prophetic vision and you have spiritual greatness. [1] Tanhuma, Shemini, 12. [2] Sefer ha-Chinuch, Bo, Mitzvah 16. Which of the reasons given above do you think best explains the institution of the haftarah? What do you think the practice of reading the haftarah achieves today? What is the message of this week’s haftarah? …
The story of Nadav and Avihu, Aharon’s two eldest sons who died on the day the Sanctuary was dedicated, is one of the most tragic in the Torah. It is referred to on no less than four separate occasions. It turned a day that should have been a national celebration into one of deep grief. Aharon, bereaved, could not speak….
…before. Knowing more about his life (see Between Hope and Humanity (parshat Shemini), for example), it is obvious that he was a man of overflowing love for his fellow Jews and for all of humankind, and a worthy role model for us all. Thinking More Deeply It was the Priests who taught the people the specific ethic of holiness. The…
…by its alignment with the will and word of its Creator. Vayikra Tzav Shemini Tazria Metzora Acharei Mot Kedoshim Emor Behar Bechukotai Bamidbar (Numbers) The central theme of Bamidbar, the book of Numbers, is the second stage of the Israelites’ journey: physically from Egypt to the Promised Land, mentally from slavery to freedom. It is among the most searching, self-critical…
…we think ourselves inadequate. So did Moses. So did Aaron. What matters is the willingness, when challenge calls, to say Hineni, “Here I am.” Shemini: Reticence vs. Impetuosity To put it at its simplest: as we behave to others so God behaves to us. Do not expect God to be kind to those who are unkind to their fellow humans….
…yet have a global culture, global governance or a coherent vision of global concern. The Dignity of Difference, p. 165 I believe that we need to recover a sense of limits because, in our uncontrolled search for ever greater affluence, we are endangering the future of the planet and betraying our responsibility to generations not yet born. Limits (Shemini, Finding…
The Rabbis moralised the condition of tzara’at – often translated as leprosy – the subject that dominates both Tazria and Metzora. It was, they said, a punishment rather than a medical condition. Their interpretation was based on the internal evidence of the Mosaic books themselves. Moses’ hand became leprous when he expressed doubt about the willingness of the people to…
Imagine the following scene: The Lord Chief Justice, together with his senior judges, decide that law is a wonderful thing. They resolve to set aside a day each year to celebrate it. They write poems and compose songs in its honour. When the day comes, they each take a weighty tome — Halsbury’s Statutes would do nicely — and dance…
The Parsha in a Nutshell Parshat Metzora continues with the themes from last week’s parsha, including the process of purification for tzara’at, the decay that causes skin disease in humans and discolouration in garments and the walls of houses. The Core Idea The Sages identify tzara’at – the condition that affects human skin, the cloth of clothes, and the walls…