D'var For Metzora

This week's parshah is Metzora.

Last week’s Parshah described the signs of the metzora (commonly mistranslated as “leper”)—a person afflicted by a spiritual malady which places him or her in a state of ritual impurity. This week’s Torah reading begins by detailing how the recovered metzora is purified by the kohen (priest) with a special procedure involving two birds, spring water in an earthen vessel, a piece of cedar wood, a scarlet thread and a bundle of hyssop.
A home can also be afflicted with tzaraat by the appearance of dark red or green patches on its walls. In a process lasting as long as nineteen days, a kohen determines if the house can be purified, or whether it must be demolished.
Ritual impurity is also engendered through a seminal or other discharge in a man, and menstruation or other discharge of blood in a woman, necessitating purification through immersion in a mikvah.
 

 

"Metzora in a Nutshell." Chabad.org. Chabad, n.d. Web. 12 Apr. 2016.

Shabbaton

We had such an amazing Shabbaton a couple weeks ago!! Everyone who didn't go, missed out!!!!!

D'var For Tazria

This week's d'var is written by Bonnie Tursky.

In this week's portion there is a continued discussion about pure and impure laws. The law states that when a woman gives birth, she must be purified. The purification may include immersing in a mikvah or bringing offerings to the Holy Temple. The law also says that if the child is male, he must be circumcised when he is eight days old. 

On a much different note, this portion also discusses the plague of tzaraat, which is more commonly known as leprosy. This infection creates white or pink patches on the skin, and can even leave dark red or green patches on one's clothing. When someone notices these symptoms, the law says to call for a kohen, or priest, who can determine whether or not the symptoms are pure or impure. If it is decided that the person has been plagued with tzaraat, they must be quarantined away from the city that he or she lives in until recovery. The person's clothing must be burned if the tzaraat continues to spread.