Homeward Bound
“…And he will initiate atonement for himself and for his household….” – Vayikra 16:6 וְכִפֶּר בַּעֲדוֹ וּבְעַד בֵּיתוֹ – ויקרא טז, ו One of the integral components of the Kohen Gadol’s service on Yom Kippur was the bull offering, the blood of which he sprinkled in the Kodesh Hakadashim, the Holy of Holies, to atone “for himself and for his household.” […]
Treasure Land
“…When you come to the land of canaan… and i will place a lesion of Tzora’as upon a house in the land of your possession…” – Vayikra 14:34 כִּי תָבֹאוּ אֶל אֶרֶץ כְּנַעַן . . וְנָתַתִּי נֶגַע צָרַעַת בְּבֵית אֶרֶץ אֲחֻזַּתְכֶם – ויקרא יד, לד When tzora’as appeared on a person’s skin, its initial and most obvious effect was the impurity […]
Keeping Your Head Underwater
“…He must immerse all his flesh in water – Vayikra 15:16 וְרָחַץ בַּמַּיִם אֶת כָּל בְּשָׂרוֹ – ויקרא טו, טז The Torah’s laws concerning ritual impurities and their means of purification are in the category of chukim, divine decrees that transcend any reason or understanding. Nevertheless, writes the Rambam, there is an important lesson in character development hinted by one of […]
Skin Deep
“…This shall be the law of the Metzora, on the day of his purification…” – Vayikra 14:2 זֹאת תִּהְיֶה תּוֹרַת הַמְּצֹרָע בְּיוֹם טָהֳרָתוֹ – ויקרא יד, ב The Talmud (Sanhedrin 98a) records a conversation between Eliyahu Hanavi and R’ Yehoshua ben Levi regarding the whereabouts of Moshiach. Eliyahu tells R’ Yehoshua that Moshiach can be found at the entrance to […]
Preventive Medicine
“…All the days the lesion is upon him… he shall dwell in isolation; his dwelling is outside the camp…” Vayika 13:46 כָּל יְמֵי אֲשֶׁר הַנֶּגַע בּוֹ . . בָּדָד יֵשֵׁב מִחוּץ לַמַּחֲנֶה מוֹשָׁבוֹ – ויקרא יג, מו The impurity of a metzora, a person afflicted with tzora’as,is unusually severe in that a metzora’s mere entry into a home conveys impurity […]
The Qualified Judge
“…It is a lesion of Tzora’as; when the kohen sees it, he shall pronounce him unclean…” – Vayikra 13:3 נֶגַע צָרַעַת הוּא וְרָאָהוּ הַכֹּהֵן וְטִמֵּא אֹתוֹ – ויקרא יג, ג A person afflicted with tzora’as can only be deemed pure or impure by a kohen. “If the kohen present does not know how to assess the skin discolorations [to determine […]
Drawing Down vs. Drawing Up
“…And it was on the eighth day… And Moshe said, “This is what G-d has commanded that you do, and the glory of G-d will appear to you…” – Vayikra 9:1-6 וַיְהִי בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁמִינִי . . וַיֹּאמֶר משֶׁה זֶה הַדָּבָר אֲשֶׁר צִוָּה ה’ תַּעֲשׂוּ וְיֵרָא אֲלֵיכֶם כְּבוֹד ה’ – ויקרא ט, א-ו The Zohar compares Moshe and Aharon to shushvinin, […]
Parashat Shemini – What’s the deal with Kosher animals??
One of the most dominating parts of an observant Jew’s life is his diet. All food must be Kosher in-order to be eaten. But why? what’s the deal with Kosher food? does G-d really care what I eat? and if so, then why non Jews are not obligated to eat Kosher? All that in this fascinating video by Rabbi Anava […]
A Fish’s Tale
“…The owl, the shalach, and the little owl…” – Vayikra 11:17 וְאֶת הַכּוֹס וְאֶת הַשָּׁלָךְ וְאֶת הַיַּנְשׁוּף – ויקרא יא, יז Rashi comments regarding the identity of the shalach bird, “Our rabbis explained that it draws up fish from the sea.” This reflects the name shalach, similar to the Hebrew word for drawing out, sholeh, indicating that the […]
Ensuring our Freedom
“…If the holy one, blessed be he, had not taken our fathers out of Egypt, then we, our children, and our children’s children would have remained enslaved to pharaoh in Egypt…” – The Haggadah וְאִלּוּ לֹא הוֹצִיא הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא אֶת אֲבוֹתֵינוּ מִמִּצְרָיִם, הֲרֵי אָנוּ וּבָנֵינוּ וּבְנֵי בָנֵינוּ מְשֻׁעְבָּדִים הָיִינוּ לְפַרְעֹה בְּמִצְרָיִם – הגדה של פסח We acknowledge in the Haggadah […]
The Shabbos That Made It Big – Shabbos Hagadol
Shabbos HaGadol was the beginning of the Redemption and the miracles (Shulchan Aruch Harav, Orach Chaim 430:4) בשבת הגדול היתה התחלת הגאולה והנסים – שלחן ערוך אדה”ז סת”ל סק”ד A number of miraculous events are attributed to the Shabbos that preceded the exodus from Egypt, earning the Shabbos before Pesach the title Shabbos Hagadol, the Great Shabbos. Yet the Alter […]
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