Tazria-Metzorah 5783-2023
“The Torah’s Home Security System”
(updated and revised from Tazria-Metzorah 5766-2006)
In parashat Metzorah we learn of the perplexing law of the house that is afflicted with tzara’at. This ancient law has much to teach us about the positive values and behaviors that must permeate a Jewish home, and the ruin and destruction that result from improper role models and examples.
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Tazria-Metzorah 5781-2021
“Circumcision and Shabbat”
(updated and revised from Tazria-Metzorah 5764-2004)
When the prescribed day for a circumcision falls out on the Shabbat, which commandment takes precedence? In the Torah passages found in parashat Tazria, we discover the true essence of both these mitzvot, and how they each bind the Jewish people to G-d and to eternity
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Tazria-Metzorah 5780-2020
“Challenging the Stereotypes: Purity and Impurity in Childbirth”
(edited and revised from Parashiot Tazria-Metzorah 5761-2001)
In parashat Tazria, we encounter one of the most perplexing laws found in the Torah–-the law of impurity and purity of a mother following childbirth. A host of explanations are offered by the commentators and thinkers. Although none of the answers are entirely satisfying, they do reveal a great deal of wisdom and insight on the part of the Torah, reflecting a rather extraordinary understanding of the essence of human relationships.
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Tazria-Metzorah 5777-2017
“Insights to be Gleaned from the Metzorah, the Person Stricken with the Tzaraat Disease"
The Tzaraat disease and its accompanying rituals, appear at first blush, rather primitive. However, Tzaraat, like many other obscure concepts that appear in the Torah, when studied carefully, is deeply insightful and conveys a message of timeless importance to all of humankind.
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Tazria-Metzorah-Yom Ha’atzmaut 5775-2015
“Finding the Silver Lining”
The ancient biblical affliction--Tzaraat, seems to convey the message that affliction and disease can at times be redemptive.
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Tazria-Metzorah 5773-2013
"Ritual Impurity and Tzaraat: A Contemporary Understanding"
The Biblical texts of parashiot Tazria and Metzorah seem quite foreign to contemporary thinkers. It is possible, however, to interpret the challenging concepts reflected in these parashiot in a more contemporary light and in a manner that may be more palatable to modern thinkers.
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