Articles in Tazria
Tazria Mitzorah: A Sign of Love
The Walls Know
We love closed doors for the cover they provide; what we do behind them others can’t know and what they don’t know can’t hurt them. We can be irascible, immoral and impossible in private, yet parade in public as amicable, wise and generous and no one will be …
Tazria: Arab Spring
The Source of the Wave
The wave of unrest, dubbed Arab Spring, that spread across the Middle East n the spring of 2011 is commonly traced to Mohamed Bouazizi, a poor Tunisian street vendor, who set himself on fire in December, 2010, to protest police harassment. Mohamed’s desperate suicide sparked outrage …
Tazria Metzorah: Our Clash Of Priorities
A Curious Order
Tzara’as was a skin condition prevalent in Biblical times. Our sages taught that rather than a physical illness tzara’as was a symptom of a spiritual malaise; it struck the gossip as a consequence of Lashon Hara.
Tzara’as exhibited in four places, on skin, hair, clothing and the walls of …
Tazria: Touched By Kindness
Am Ordinary Event
The other day something happened that meant little when it occurred, but upon reflection came to mean a great deal. I was entering the post office with a mountain of envelopes balanced precariously in my arms. Taking in the perilous state of my load a girl of perhaps …
Tazria: Food for Thought at your Dinner Table
Sunday: What we Eat
Nutritionists believe that the quality of our food is critical to our state of health. We are directly affected by the food we eat; heavy foods cause sluggishness and light foods boost our energy. The Torah maintains that food also affects our spiritual character. Kosher food hones …
Tazria Mizora: The Priest and the Pariah
Inopportune
There is an ancient tradition by which Jews pledge to charity in the hope of bringing merit to a loved one that has fallen ill. (1) Similarly, rabbis often suggest that performance of Torah commandments stimulates blessing from above.
Doesn’t this rise to the heights of hypocrisy? Is devotion for the …
Tazria Mitzorah: Circumcision – The Mark of Truth
Eight Days
A baby is born, Mazal Tov, now the mad rush begins. Whom do you call first? Parents before siblings, siblings before friends and friends before colleagues. Every call brings new questions: what is the baby’s, weight, size, eye color and, of course, gender. Is it a boy or a …
Tazria Mitzora: Isolationist Joys
Not A Simple Pain
In discussing the subject of “Tzoraas: Biblical leprosy,” our sages explained that it was not a physical ailment but a manifestation of a spiritual malaise. The Jewish body is intimately linked with the soul and when the soul is ailing the body responds accordingly.
The spiritual ailment of …