The Leper

Shavua Tov. A big part of today's double Parsha was the discussion about צרעת, leprosy. One who has this disease is quarantined and not allowed to be around other people. The leper has created divisiveness because of his slanderous speech, so that he also has to be separated.

The Torah tells us that the leper has to declare the words, טמא טמא to anyone that approaches. The Talmud explains that the reason he says the word טמא twice is first to warn people not to touch him for otherwise, they, too, will become defiled, and the second טמא is  to ask people to pray for mercy on his behalf. This shows how destructive negative speech can be.

The Talmud further mentions that this is the source for making tomb stones above Jewish graves. Just as the leper gives fair warning not to get defiled, the general public is also warned to stay away from the dead for fear of defilement.

Yesterday was eighteen with ספירת העומר

Holiness in Child Bearing

The discussion of child bearing in the Parsha is a very complex subject. On the one hand, there is so much Kedusha in bringing a child into the world. Parents are considered partners with Hashem in creation. But, on the other hand, the new mother has created a state of impurity upon herself by giving birth.

Some say this טומאה is connected to certain negative declarations the woman might make. She might even swear that she will never want to have another child and have to endure such pain. Later she regrets having made such statements.

Others say that she needs to be separated for a time, because the act of childbirth is a very physical act where it is difficult to think of spirituality at a time of discomfort. She needs a time to get her bearings and get back on track.

As believing Jews, we are meant to try to elevate even the mundane act and bring Kedusha to everything we do. Even from the time of conception, the thoughts of the couple have a big effect on the child they bring into the world.

The אור החיים הקדוש says that this is how we explain that the great King חזקיהו fathered two evil sons. He was married to the daughter of a prophet. Yet, she is blamed for having improper children because of improper thoughts at the time of conception.

The lesson of the Parsha is that we should make a concerted effort to bring קדושה into every act that we do. Shabbat Shalom

Yesterday was sixteen with ספירת העומר

Special Brit Milah Laws

This week we have a double Parsha of תזריע-מצורע. There is a Pasuk that seems redundant regarding Brit Mila. After discussing a woman who has given birth to a male, the Torah says that on the eighth day he should be circumcised. We already know about this from Avraham Avinu.

Here the Torah is teaching that Brit Mila is done even if the eighth day is Shabbat. However, a baby born by Caesarian is not circumcised on Shabbat when it is the eighth day.

It is also interesting that a baby born during twilight time, or בין השמשות on Friday evening is not circumcised until Sunday. If that day was a Chag, then not until Monday. And if it was a two day Chag outside of Israel, then not until Tuesday, the eleventh day from birth.

This is why the Mishna says that a Brit can be on the eighth, ninth, tenth, or eleventh day.

Yesterday was fifteen with ספירת העומר. Chodesh Tov

Special Kohein Laws

We came across an interesting Halacha regarding who a Kohein is allowed to marry. The problem is how we define the word זונה from the Torah. It is clearly written that a Kohein may not take a זונה as a wife.

Any Jewish woman who had relations with a non-Jew is a זונה. The same applies to a Jewish woman who was with a man, who at that moment if they wanted to marry, they could not. This would include an already married woman who had an affair, would also be considered a זונה.

An additional problem is how we view the convert. A Kohein may not marry a convert for the same reason of זונה. However, despite an argument in the matter, Israel's Chief Rabbinate permits the daughter of a convert to marry a Kohein.

However, in a case where one's mother is Jewish but her father is not Jewish, the daughter is forbidden according to all opinions to marry a Kohein. The Jewish woman has defiled herself and it directly affects her offspring.

I hope this clarifies a very confusing matter in Jewish Law.

Yesterday was fourteen with ספירת העומר. And tonight is Rosh Chodesh.

You Are What You Eat

There is an important point to keep in mind as we make our final preparations for the Chag. Rav Pinchas Abuchatzeira שליט״א tells the story of a gentleman who approached him with a question after giving a Pesach Shiur. He asked: If we are celebrating our freedom, why must we be bogged down with so many details connected with the holiday? As free men we should be at ease to do whatever we feel like doing.

Rav Pinchas explained that it's true that the essence of Pesach is to celebrate our freedom. However, we follow חז״ל who say אין לך בן חורין אלא מי שעוסק בתורה. This means that one who is truly free and is not a prisoner to his work or even his lusts, is not really free. Only one whose priority is Torah and Mitzvot down to the last detail is the real free man. We must remember this particularly on Pesach.

We must also remember that tonight is בדיקת חמץ and it is preferable to do the search at the start of the evening from 7:30 onwards. חג כשר ושמח.

Yom Hashoah

Tonight and tomorrow we commemorate Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day. We are to pay tribute to our fallen brothers and sisters and the sacrifice they made for Klal Yisrael. Many believe that we would not have a State of Israel if not for the Shoah. The nations of the world were stricken with temporary guilt that allowed them to vote in the United Nations to establish a Jewish state.

This day should be one of giving tremendous gratitude and הכרת הטוב to Hashem for His abundant kindness.

Those under the age of forty have been fortunate to have lived an entire lifetime without witnessing any serious Jewish persecution. Today, Jews are free to practice their religion all over the world. And amazingly, the gates of Aliya are available to any Jew smart enough to take advantage of it.

I remember the persecution of Soviet Jewry, Syrian Jewry, Iranian Jewry, and Ethiopian Jewry. We often forget that our Galut was long and bitter and filled with poverty and every kind of suffering imaginable. The Holocaust was the worst of all persecutions.

This day of Yom Hashoah should be one of recognition as to how fortunate is our lot. And in the words of Rav Meir Kahane זצ״ל, "Never Again!"

Yesterday was twelve with ספירת העומר

Admitting When Wrong

Shavua Tov. After the death of the two sons of Aharon, Moshe Rabbeinu gets angry at Aharon's surviving sons, Elazar and Itamar. He was really upset with Aharon but expressed it to his two nephews.

On that day, the first of Nissan, three sacrifices were offered. One was by the Nassi, or tribal head, Nachshon of Shevet Yehuda. A second sacrifice was for the inauguration of the Mishkan, and a third was the regular sin-offering of Rosh Chodesh.

The Kohanim were to eat a portion of all three sacrifices. Aharon declined eating from the third sacrifice. For this, Moshe was upset and asked why they didn't eat of the חטאת, the sin offering.

Aharon explained that the first two sacrifices were once in a lifetime sacrifices so he agreed to eat from them. But the third sacrifice was a regular monthly sacrifice and he was in a state of אונן, where he was busy with burying his dead. Aharon felt that it would not be pleasing in the eyes of Hashem to partake of such a sacrifice.

Moshe showed his greatness and humility by accepting his brother's argument. In essence, he was admitting he was wrong. This was most praiseworthy and set a great example for all of us to follow. There's no shame in admitting when we are wrong. It takes a big person to do this.

Yesterday was eleven with ספירת העומר

Accepting Adversity

This week's Parsha, שמיני, describes the tragic death of the two sons of Aharon, Nadav and Avihu. Most Kabbalists claim that their intent was pure in their efforts to perceive Hashem on the highest level.

The one deserving of the most praise during this incident, was Aharon himself. The Torah says simply, וידום אהרון, and Aharon was silent. The של״ה הקודש says that he received great reward in accepting Hashem's decree. Later in the Parsha, Hashem spoke to him alone in the merit of his silence.

The של״ה הקודש continues to explain how important it is for all of us to accept with love Hashem's afflictions and strictness with us. The Rabbis of the Talmud discuss how we are to embrace יסורים, suffering, and realize that they are meant to cleanse and purify us.

The Chassidim took such a positive attitude about יסורים that they viewed them as a sign that good things were ahead. The idea was that the נגע, blemish, was really ענג, a delight.

The original teacher of this concept was אהרון הכהן. Shabbat Shalom

Yesterday was nine with ספירת העומר

Our G-d-Like Soul

It has often been said that we need to give more attention to our soul, which is Eternal, than the body that lasts until 120. It has also been said that our נשמה, is G-d like in nature because of its eternal aspect. Just as Hashem is Eternal, so is our נשמה.

The Talmud in Berachot 10 asks why King David said the words ברכי נפשי five times in Psalm 103. The Gemara's answer is that there are five similarities as to how the נפש, also defined as soul, is like Hashem Himself.

Just as Hashem fills the universe, the soul fills the body.

Just as Hashem sees without being seen, the soul sees without being seen.

Just as Hashem sustains the universe, the soul sustains the body.

Just as Hashem is pure and holy, the soul is pure and holy.

And just as Hashem resides in an inner sanctum, the soul resides in the most hidden part of the body.

Perhaps if we realized how important our soul is, we would give it more attention and nourish it with the "soul food" of Torah and Mitzvot.

Yesterday was eight with ספירת העומר.

The Three Oaths

Shir Hashirim has the verse השבעתי אתכם בנות ירושלים, that there was an oath with the daughters of Jerusalem. The Talmud at the end of מסכת כתובות says that this a reference to the "three oaths."

The claim of the Talmud is that there was an agreement between Israel and the nations at the time that Israel went into their lengthy exile. Israel agreed that they would not rebel against the nations that hosted them in Galut. The second oath is that Israel agreed that they would not come to Israel in a mass but a trickle. The third oath was on the part of the nations that they would not oppress Israel "too much." These became known as שלוש שבועות.

In recent years, religious anti-Zionists began quoting the "three oaths" as a justification for not moving to Israel. Mass Aliya constituted a violation of oath number two.

Many Zionist rabbis addressed this question by saying that Israel is no longer obligated to oath number two because the nations violated oath number three by oppressing us too much. This certainly was true with the oppression of the Holocaust as well as other persecutions during our long, bitter exile.

I don't think the three oaths had a practical application. It was more of a Midrashic concept. Therefore, Jews can feel free to make Aliya and need not worry that they are violating any oath.

Yesterday was seven with ספירת העומר.

Seventh Day of Pesach

Shavua Tov. Hard to believe that Pesach has flown by so quickly and tomorrow night is the seventh night of Pesach. The seventh day celebrates קריעת ים סוף, or the splitting of the Red Sea. This event is a close second to the Revelation on Mount Sinai on Shavuot.

Our rabbis tell us that the שפחה על הים, the maidservant by the sea, had more prophecy than יחזקאל בן בוזי. Yechezkel's prophecies were considered the deepest and highest of any prophet.

The entire nation was transformed and elevated to the point where they witnessed the "Hand of G-d." In this state, they saw an image of G-d as a powerful warrior fighting on behalf of עם ישראל. (At Mount Sinai they saw Hashem as a saintly sage with a long white beard.)

The only images that one can witness is in a subconscious state as in prophecy. Claiming to see an image of G-d in a conscious state would be blasphemy or idol worship.

Our focus on the last day of Pesach should be to acknowledge Hashem and His outward miracles. Even the nursing baby suddenly stopped nursing and praised Hashem with the words זה א-לי ואנוהו, this is my G-d and I will glorify Him.

Yesterday was four with ספירת העומר

שיר השירים

This Shabbat is שבת חול המועד and it is customary in Ashkenazi synagogues to read שיר השירים. The theme of Pesach is the גאולה, the redemption. Shir Hashirim also carries this theme.

It is well known that Rabbi Akiva pushed for שיר השירים to become part of Tanach. He said that if the other books of the Tanach are holy, then שיר השירים, written by Shlomo Hamelech, is holy of holies.

What appears to be a love story, is an allegory describing the love between Hashem and the Jewish people. There is also a bit of a plot in שיר השירים according to some commentators. Two lovers profess their deep love for one another and they are mocked by those around them. They are separated by the mockers. They write love letters to one another and look forward to the day they will be reunited.

In the end, when they are together again, all acknowledge that there love is true. The mockers represent the nations of the world. And the reunion describes the end of days, the גאולה, when the world realizes Hashem is true and His Torah is true.

Yesterday was two with ספירת העומר.

Festival Animals

The number of animals in Jerusalem on Pesach is mind boggling. There was a requirement to bring a minimum of three animals as sacrifices. The first was the קרבן פסח that was partly offered on the מזבח and the remainder eaten at the Seder.

The second קרבן was called עולת ראיה, which was a burnt offering. The Torah says that we are not allowed to come empty handed. ולא תראו פני ריקם. The עולת ראיה was a sacrifice for being seen, ראיה, at the Temple Mount.

The third sacrifice was the קרבן חגיגה, or the Festival Sacrifice. There is a commandment to rejoice on the festival. The Rabbis say, אין שמחה אלא בבשר, there's no joy like the joy of eating meat. Part of this sacrifice was offered on the altar and the majority was eaten by the contributor.

Aside from these three sacrifices, people also offered sin offerings that they owed as well as שלמים, peace offerings. There were other sacrifices besides these.

So we can see, that there were an incredible amount of animals on the festivals. This is what Yechezkel meant when he said that in the future the desolate cities will again be filled with Jews equal to the number of cattle brought for sacrifices on the festivals.

Don't forget ספירת העומר. Yesterday was one!

ספירת העומר

Moadim Lesimcha. Our Maariv tonight had five changes or additions. First we said מוריד הטל followed by ואתה חוננתנו followed by ותן ברכה and יעלה ויבוא and we began counting the Omer.

We must remember that ספירת העומר is the fulfillment of a Torah commandment. We are taught that we are to count seven weeks between Pesach and Shavuot.

On a spiritual level, we are to take into account that עם ישראל left the most decadent and impure place on earth, namely Egypt. After forty-nine days they had to prepare themselves for the greatest day in human history. That is, the receiving of the Torah and the revelation on Mount Sinai.

Each day we are similarly supposed to elevate ourselves spiritually in preparation for Shavuot. The Jewish people succeeded to such a degree of purity that they were on the level of Adam and Eve before the sin.

May this holiday season be one of spirituality and Kedusha.

Being Free

There is an important point to keep in mind as we make our final preparations for the Chag. Rav Pinchas Abuchatzeira שליט״א tells the story of a gentleman who approached him with a question after giving a Pesach Shiur. He asked: If we are celebrating our freedom, why must we be bogged down with so many details connected with the holiday? As free men we should be at ease to do whatever we feel like doing.

Rav Pinchas explained that it's true that the essence of Pesach is to celebrate our freedom. However, we follow חז״ל who say אין לך בן חורין אלא מי שעוסק בתורה. This means that one who is truly free and is not a prisoner to his work or even his lusts, is not really free. Only one whose priority is Torah and Mitzvot down to the last detail is the real free man. We must remember this particularly on Pesach.

We must also remember that tonight is בדיקת חמץ and it is preferable to do the search at the start of the evening from 7:30 onwards. חג כשר ושמח.

Keep the Fire Burning

Shavua Tov. There was a large room in the Beit Hamikdash called לשכת העצים. This was where wood was stored so that the fire on the מזבח remained burning 24/7. The Talmud in מסכת יומא discusses the orderly fashion in which the wood was neatly placed on the altar.

Today's Parsha describes the commandment to keep the fire burning and a further commandment to remove the ashes that remained. The removal of the ashes was not a task that was very glamorous to say the least. Yet the Kohanim viewed this Avodah as a great honor and even fought over the right to remove the ashes.

The constant fire bordered on the miraculous as it also applied in winter despite the rain and winds. The message is clear that we literally have to keep "the fire burning." We must never let it be extinguished. We have to maintain our enthusiasm and zeal in the observance of the Torah. This is especially true now that we are in the home stretch of our Pesach preparations.

Shabbat Hagadol

This Shabbat is called Shabbat Hagadol. It is considered an extremely important Shabbat. Aside from the custom of reading part of the Hagaddah during the course of the day, it is meant to be a Shabbat of a spiritual nature.

Just like Shabbat Shuva before Yom Kippur, on these two Shabbatot we are to listen to Drashot of big rabbis to prepare us for the Pesach holiday. Because of all of the cleaning and physical preparations, we easily can forget the spiritual message of Pesach.

The removal of Chametz symbolizes the removal of haughtiness and negativity. The eating of Matza is to emphasize humility in our service of Hashem.

There are two reasons why we call this Shabbat, שבת הגדול. The first is that the Haftarah uses the words, הנה היום הגדול בא, that a great day is coming. And the second reason is that some call it שבת הנס הגדול, the Shabbat of the great miracle. This refers to the tying up of the lambs, an object of Egyptian idol worship, to the bedposts on the Shabbat before the Exodus. These lambs were offered as the Pesach sacrifice and the Egyptians did not protest.

This Shabbat should be taken very seriously so that we appreciate the overall specialness of the holiday of Pesach. Shabbat Shalom

Children at the Seder

We must not forget that the most important people at the Seder are the children. Since one of the two Torah commandments to be fulfilled is והגדת לבנך, "tell your children", this must be taken seriously. (The other Mitzva is to eat Matza.)

Because the children are so important, we must gear the Seder towards them. It is nice to be able to share deep concepts among the adults, but it must not be at the expense of the children.

Even if we have to speed up the Seder, it is preferred over creating boredom for the kids. This is the reason we implement several unusual activities during the evening. Aside from מה נשתנה, we dip the Karpas in salt water, we take drops of wine for the ten plagues, we sing fun songs like והיא שעמדה and דיינו, and we make a game out of hiding the Afikoman. All of this, is to keep the children involved.

And by the way, it is written in the שלחן ערוך that it's a Mitzva to be certain that children take a good nap on Erev Pesach. We must not forget the children.

הגעלה

After preparing items for הגעלה, one must remember the following: We follow the concept of רוב תשמישו, the way it is used most of the time. Most utensils can be kashered with this purging in boiling hot water.

The principle is that the heat of the boiling water will pull out whatever absorbed tastes there are in the specific item. This includes things made of metal and wood and even plastics. Glass doesn't absorb but is still effective with הגעלה according to Rav Avraham Yosef, son of Rav Ovadia זצ״ל.

Our primary problem is with earthenware vessels such as china that may not be kashered. Earthenware only absorbs and the heat does not help.

Remember that silverware can easily be kashered and used on Pesach.

Yeshurun Synagogue on King George is offering free הגעלה on Wednesday and Thursday evening and Friday morning.

Reclining

One of the details that shows how seriously we take our Seder, is the matter of reclining, or הסבה in Hebrew. We are meant to follow the dictates of our sages and how they directed us in carrying out the Seder.

The Halacha is that both men and women are required to recline only when we drink the four cups of wine and the three times we eat Matza. If we do not recline, we have not fulfilled the commandment of eating Matza or drinking the wine and it must be repeated.

We lean to the left so that the קנה, windpipe, shall not come before the וושט, the food pipe, so that we don't choke.

The leaning is a symbol of our freedom to demonstrate that we appreciate that had Hashem not taken us out of Egypt, we would still be there. This may seem like an insignificant detail, but it should be observed like all Halacha.