Tazria & Metzora
A friend of mine was in Israel for the year learning at a Yeshiva and his Rebbe invited him and a few of the other students to come to a wedding he was singing at. He told them the hosts would not mind. The wedding culture in Israel encourages others to come and join in the celebration.
Being hungry Yeshiva students they jumped at the opportunity. The Rebbe gave them the address because he had to go early to set up the equipment. The boys showed up to the affair not having eaten in a week, they could not see there Rebbe but figured they would start eating and then find him later. They got food from the buffet and sat at a table with a few other guys trying to blend in. My friend began devouring his food and turned to the young man next to him making casual conversation he said, whose side are you on? The Bride side or the groom side? The young man responded, you are at a Bar Mitzvah. Read More
Being hungry Yeshiva students they jumped at the opportunity. The Rebbe gave them the address because he had to go early to set up the equipment. The boys showed up to the affair not having eaten in a week, they could not see there Rebbe but figured they would start eating and then find him later. They got food from the buffet and sat at a table with a few other guys trying to blend in. My friend began devouring his food and turned to the young man next to him making casual conversation he said, whose side are you on? The Bride side or the groom side? The young man responded, you are at a Bar Mitzvah. Read More
Tazria
This week's parsha opens with the sacrifices that a women must bring after she gives birth. It then discusses the mitzvah of brit milah followed by the laws of Tzarat.
The Lubavitcher Rebbe points out an interesting aspect of Brit Milah, the timing. Brit Milah should be done on the eighth day, this teaches that someone else is responsible for completing the Mitzvah because the baby is obviously helpless. If the father is not around the community is responsible for the child's Brit. Hillary Clinton discusses the concept of a community helping to raise a child in her book, "It Takes a Village". Read More
Metzorah - A lime to a lemon a lemon to a lime
We have all heard the expression, when life gives you lemons make lemonade. But when times are tough it can be difficult to have a rosy outlook. The truth is cultivating a positive perspective in difficult times is a talent, a skill that needs to be constantly and consistently developed in order for it to be affective.
In last week’s parsha we learned all about Tzarat, a disease that afflicts a person’s physical appearance. However, in this week’s parsha we learn that Tzarat does not only affect a person's physical appearance but it can also affect one’s garments, vessels and even ones own house! Read More