Dear friends;

I hope that you’ll enjoy the following Parashiot summary, followed by a Dvar Torah;

” Parashiot in a Nutshell ”

G-d warns against unauthorized entry “into the holy.” Only one person, the Kohen Gadol (“high priest”), may, but once a year, on Yom Kippur, enter the innermost chamber in the Sanctuary to offer the sacred ketoret to G-d.

Another feature of the Day of Atonement service is the casting of lots over two goats to determine which should be offered to G-d and which should be dispatched to carry off the sins of Israel to the wilderness.

The Torah warns against bringing sacrifices anywhere but in the Holy Temple, forbids the consumption of blood, and details the laws prohibiting incest and other deviant sexual relations.

The Parshah of Kedoshim begins with the statement: “You shall be holy, for I, the Lord your G-d, am holy” followed by dozens of mitzvot (commandments) through which the Jew sanctifies him or herself and relates to the holiness of G-d. These include: the prohibition against idolatry, the mitzvah of charity, Shabbat, sexual morality, honesty in business, honor and awe of one’s parents, prohibition against taking revenge and holding a grudge against another Jew; and also the ultimate principle of Torah is mentioned, which is:
— Love your fellow as yourself.

” Dvar Torah ”

Towards the end of Parashat Acharei Mot, the Torah talks about the forbidden relationships. It talks about prohibitions against sexual relationships with someone’s parents, step-parents, children, step-children, siblings, step-siblings, aunts, uncles, and the like. It even talks about the prohibition against marrying two sisters at the same time, since this will create a rivalry between the two sisters who are suppose to love each other, rather than to hate one another!

Towards the end of all these prohibitions, the Torah also condemns male homosexuality. It says the following for a man: ” Do not lie with a man as you would with a woman. It is an abomination.”

Although the Torah clearly condemns the act of homosexuality, but in today’s modern day society this prohibition is widely challenged.
The people who are pro homosexuality come up with some strong and valid arguments.
In favor of the homosexual, they say that he cannot control his sexual preference. They even bring in “genetics” to explain his preference. They continue their argument by saying that sexual preference is subjective. It is inappropriate to label heterosexual behavior as proper and homosexual behavior as a perversion. Two people study a single piece of art. The beauty of the work inspires one. The other observer finds the work boring and mediocre. Is one correct and the other mistaken? Of course not! Each is entitled to his or her individual opinion. Why should the issue of sexual preference be treated differently? How can heterosexuality be regarded as more proper than homosexual preferences?

Well, how does our Torah answer these questions? How do our Chachamim comment on this issue? Since homosexuality is a very sensitive subject, many of the Chachamim try to avoid talking about it and I couldn’t find much commentaries on this topic. But still some of the medieval commentators such as Rambam, Ramban and Ibn Ezra do reveal their opinion.

Despite all of the modern notions about homosexuality, the Torah considers it unnatural, and therefore is an abomination.  It is forbidden without exception!! Something which is a disgusting act in the eyes of Hashem, should be a disgusting act in our eyes too. All the Chachamim agree that the Torah clearly condemns the act and there is no way around it. But the question that still bothers me is how do the Chachamim explain the genetic issue?? What if a person is really genetically attracted to other men?? What if it’s not his fault and he was born like that? What if he really isn’t attracted to women at all?

Although most of the Chachamim disagree that homosexuality is a genetic or a medical issue, but for the argument’s sake,, let’s assume that it is true. Accordingly, our sages gave the following explanation for the genetic issue problem: They say that the answer to this dilemma lies in the Pasuk (verse) itself. The Torah says that “you shall not lie with another man”……… It doesnot say you should not desire another man!! The Torah is telling us that even if you desire another man, you should have control over your desires!! Just because you desire something, doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to have it!! For the same reason that if you really desire to be with a married woman but you need to have control over your desire since the Torah forbids it, so too, to be with another man, you also need to control yourself since it’s what Hashem demands from you. Hashem never gives us a commandment that is impossible to keep! Since it is written in the Torah in Parashat Nitzavim; ” The commandments that I give you today — it is not distance from you and not far from you. It is not in the heaven, nor across the sea…. Rather, it is very close to you; in your mouth and in your heart to perform it.” Yes, for some people it might be easier to keep a mitzvah, and for some it might be more difficult, but it’s never impossible!!

But the argument doesn’t end here. The homosexual person might say: ” But I’m really not attracted to women?! To me, that is a disgusting act!!” How do we answer this question now?

Well, when I was a kid, I had a friend who would never eat beef, chicken or fish. He would not even come close to them. He claimed that it made him feel nauseous. So every day and every night his Mom had to make him a separate dairy dish for lunch and for dinner. Until one day she was fed up, and she said to herself: ” I had enough! No more of this nonsense!!”. So from that day on she made sure to only make beef, chicken or fish for lunch and dinner everyday. The boy did not eat anything for a few days, but the Mom continued with her stubbornness. He cried, he moaned and he complained, but it was to no use. Until one day, he came to realize that for sure there is not going to be any food other than beef, chicken or fish any more, so he started to eat some of the dinner that the Mom prepared. At the beginning, he did feel nauseous, and he did threw up, but the Mom did not give up. Everyday he ate a little bit more and more and he felt less and less nauseous until eventually he began to like eating meat!

Same idea goes with sexual relationships. If a person knows for sure that there is no alternative than sleeping with the opposite sex, then eventually he is going to like it. Only when there is a choice that he can compare, only then he can show preference towards the forbidden relationship. Some people can only drink soda and not plain water. But if there is no soda ever, do you think that they are not going to drink water?

Yes my friends, Judaism is all about having control over our desires. Hashem wants us to overcome our desires and to be in full control. And this is what separates us from the other nations and makes us the unique nation of G-d; His “Chosen People”! Hashem wants us to have control over what we eat, what we say, what we see, what we hear, and above all, to have control over our sexual desires. All these prohibitions in the Torah is for our own good and is for making us stronger people. Being free to do whatever you want, is not freedom; it means that you are not in control; your desires are controlling you!!

So my friends, remember that Hashem never gives us a commandment which is impossible to keep. It might be challenging, but it’s never impossible!

Shabbat Shalom, Chag Sameyach & Regards;

Martin

Dear Friends;

I hope that you will enjoy the following Parasha summary followed by a Dvar Torah;

” Parsha in a Nutshell “

The Torah describes the purification procedure for a metzora (a person afflicted with tzara’at) upon conclusion of his isolation. This process extends for a week and involves korbanot and immersions in the mikveh. Then, a kohen must pronounce the metzora pure. A metzora of limited financial means may substitute lesser offerings for the more expensive animals.

Before a kohen diagnoses that a house has tzara’at, household possessions are removed to prevent them from also being declared ritually impure. The tzara’at is removed by smashing and rebuilding that section of the house. If it reappears, the entire building must be demolished.

The Torah details those bodily secretions that render a person spiritually impure, thereby preventing his contact with holy items, and the Torah defines how one regains a state of ritual purity.

” Dvar Torah “

Parashat Metzora, which is usually read together with last week’s Parashat Tazria, is always read in the month of Nissan. Accordingly, the Chachamim say that there must be a connection between the parsha, the month of Nissan and Chag HaPesach. So, what is the connection?

Well, we all know that Pesach starts on 15th of Nissan, and from the beginning of the month, we, specially the women, are all extremely busy with final stages of house cleaning and getting rid of all the Chametz. I don’t think there is any other Mitzvah in the Torah that the Jews, especially in our community, take it so seriously and perform it at its best. Getting rid of the Chametz is so important to us that we clean our homes from top to bottom so immaculately, by cleaning behind every piece of furniture, scrubbing behind the stove and under our refrigerators, switching over the dishes, covering the countertops, cleaning our basements and much, much more. By the 14th of Nissan, there won’t even be a trace of any chametz left in our houses!

In this week’s Parsha, the Torah also talks about some kind of “house cleansing”. The Torah says: ” When you enter the land of Canaan that I give to you as a possession, and I inflict a tzara’at disease upon a house in the land you possess, the owner of the house shall come and tell the Kohen saying, “Something like an affliction has appeared upon my house.” The Kohen shall command; and they shall clear the whole house before he enters to examine the affliction, so that nothing else in the house shall become contaminated.”

As we had discussed in last week’s Parsha, according to most commentators, “Tzara’at” is a heavenly disease that falls upon people’s homes, furnitures, clothing and eventually on human skin due to committing the sin of “Lashon Ha’ra”, gossiping and negative talking about someone else. The affliction process was something as follows: The wall of the house of the person who indulged in evil talk will undergo a color change. If the person repents, the house becomes pure again; but if he persists in his evil ways, so much so that his house is demolished, then his furniture and accessories will suffer discoloration, but they will regain their purity if he repents. If he fails to abandon his bad ways, to the extent that they have to be burnt, then his garments are affected by the tzara’at. If he repents, they regain their purity…. and if he continues with his ill behavior, the affliction will eventually fall on his body.

This evaluation brings up the following question. We know that this disease was not contagious because it was brought upon a person who committed a specific sin, and could only be stopped if he repents and stops his evil ways. So, why does the torah tells the person whose house walls are afflicted by tzara’at to empty the contents of his house before the Kohen comes to examine it so that the household items won’t become contaminated? We know that if he repents and stops from his slanderous ways, the disease is going to go away and the house will become pure again?! So why to go through the hard process of cleaning the house?

Rabbi Frand gives the following beautiful explanation. The household items of the person whose walls might be afflicted by tzaraat is not going to become contaminated. The only reason the Torah is telling him to remove all the contents of the house, is to give him a warning that if he doesn’t stop from his slanderous ways, his household items are going to be afflicted by the disease too. During the process of taking out the household items, the person may come to realise that what he is doing is wrong and he needs to stop. There is no way to purify the house unless he purifies himself! House cleansing has to be accompanied by spiritual cleansing! All the effort that he has put into taking out all the contents of the house is going to go to waste, if he doesn’t stop from his evil ways. Only then, when he changes himself, does the hard labor of house cleansing become productive and the household items will remain pure!

Yes my friends, in Judaism, physical cleaning has to be accompanied by spiritual cleansing too. They go hand in hand. When you clean your house so thoroughly from any Chametz in your possession for Pessach, you have to make sure to clean the chametz inside you too! Chametz is a fermented dough that rises. The Chachamim say that the chametz within us or the “spiritual chametz” so to speak, is the “Ga’ava”– the person’s ego and the sense of superiority that he has over the others. Pessach is the time to get rid of all these. We should respect every human being for what they are and we should never look down on other people. Just because we might have more money than others, or better looks, a better looking wife or a larger family, doesnot make us superior over them. We are all children of Hashem who deserve to be respected equally. Keep in mind that all the effort and the energy that you’ve put into cleaning your house will be worthless if you don’t get rid of the chametz inside you too!

Pessach is the time to get rid of any grudges you might have towards your fellow Jew. Pessach is the time to get rid of any anger you might have toward your loved ones. Pessach is the time to forgive others and to come close to them again. Pessach is the time to love and not to hate. If we can do all these, then we can proudly say that we have got rid of ALL of the chametz in our possessions, both physically and spiritually! And then, we can be sure to have a Happy and a Kosher Passover!

Shabbat Shalom and Regards;

Martin