Dear Friends;

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

” Parsha in a Nutshell “

The Torah commands a woman to undergo a process of purification and to bring a korban (sacrifice) after the birth of a child. A son is to be circumcised on the eighth day of his life.

Tzara’at is a super-natural plague, which can afflict people as well as garments or homes. If white or pink patches appear on a person’s skin, a Kohen is summoned. Judging by various signs, such as an increase in size of the afflicted area after a seven-day quarantine, the Kohen pronounces it tameh (impure) or tahor (pure).

A person afflicted with tzaraat must dwell alone outside of the camp until he is healed. The afflicted area in a garment or home must be removed; if the tzara’at re occurs, the entire garment or home must be destroyed.

” Dvar Torah “

The main topic of discussion in this week’s Parsha and the week after is a disease called Tzara’at. There is no English translation for this disease, since this disease never existed in any other cultures, but it’s somehow similar to Leprosy. This disease does not have any scientific proof to it, nor any medical remedy, but rather, it is a heavenly disease brought down by Hashem and cured by Hashem. The Chachamim say that this disease is a punishment for those who have committed “Lashon Hara”, gossiping and evil talking about someone else. This disease is an affliction that discolors human skin, hair, beard, clothing, household items and even homes; but it is discussed in greater detail when it falls on the body. Tzara’at appears as a white patch on various parts of the body. If afflicted, the person is quarantined and then reevaluated; if condemned, he is sent outside the Jewish camp, isolated from the whole congregation, until he heals, which is a sign that he has repented his slanderous ways. The whole procedure was a very embarrassing event. If contaminated with the disease,the Kohen had to accompany the convict to outside of the camp in front of the whole congregation and he had to announce in loud voice that he has Tzara’at. The Chachamim say that the punishments given in the Torah are usually measure for measure. The same way that the victim of an evil gossip is avoided and disrespected by everyone else; the same way the gossiper is put to shame and forced to isolate himself from the rest of the community. They also say that the purpose that Hashem puts the convict through all these hardship wasn’t “Chasbe Shalom” to hurt him, but rather, the reason was to put him through a “Spiritual Rehab”, so that he would spend some time by himself in order to realize that what he did was wrong and to repent.

The Torah tells us then that the fate of the stricken man is totally dependent upon the will of the kohen. The kohen is shown the negah (blemish) and has complete authority to declare it “tamei” (impure) or “tahor” (pure), which determines the faith of the victim whether he could stay or leave the camp. In fact, even if all signs point to the declaration of impurity, if the kohen, for any reason deems the person tahor or refuses to declare him tamei, the man remains tahor. But the way the Torah demands from the Kohen to examine the blemish on the afflicted person before declare him impure is quite strange. The Torah says: “And the kohen shall look at the “negah” affliction on the skin and behold it has changed to white and appears deeper than the skin of the flesh – it is tzara’at and the kohen shall look at the man and declare him tamei”!

The question that is brought up by the Chachamim is quite simple. How many times does the Kohen need to look? If he looks at the blemish and it’s clearly tzara’at, then why does he need to look at the man again before publicly declaring him impure?! As the saying goes; if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, then it must be a duck!

Rabbi Kamenetzky gives a beautiful explanation to this question. The kohen who is instructed to deal with the stricken individual should not only look at the affliction, but he must look at each person individually too. The Kohen must realize what consequences his verdict will bring upon the person and what the victim has to go through! Even if the “negah” has all the attributes that should lead to a declaration of impurity, there are other factors that must be weighed. If the man is a groom, about to be wed, impurity must not be declared. If the man is expecting a new baby sometime soon; if he is moving to a new house or if it will ruin any upcoming festivities, then a declaration of contamination must be postponed. The kohen, a man of love and peace, is not expected to embarrass or humiliate the afflicted person when he is in a state of joy, but rather, he is obligated to hide the truth. A person who has committed Lashon Hara and has humiliated someone publicly, deserves to be humiliated himself. But the Torah is telling us otherwise! The Kohen is expected to show compassion towards the afflicted one! The purpose of the tzara’at is not to punish the person or “chasbe shalom” to get back at him, but rather, it’s suppose to make him realize what he did was wrong and help him to change his ways. And that’s why the Torah demands from the Kohen not to just look at the blemish, but rather, he should look at the man and his future!

Yes my friends, there is a great lesson to be learned from this scenario. When we want to announce something publically about someone else, whether it’s true or not, we should look at the man first and think of the consequences of our action! How will our announcement affect his life? It’s very easy to call someone a thief, a crook, a womanizer or an alcoholic, but we have to remember that this stain might stay with him for the rest of his life. The torah is telling us that embarrassing someone publically is so bad that sometimes we are allowed, even obligated, to hide the truth! If Hashem has so much compassion even towards a sinner and doesn’t want to embarrass him in public, then how much more we should have compassion for our fellow jews and not to humiliate them in public!

The Pirkei Avot says; “judge all of the people in a good way,” and do not look at the partial person: rather, judge all of the person — even a flaw may have a motivation or rationale behind it. That’s why when you see a flaw in a man, you should look beyond the flaw and you should look at the entire man!!

Shabbt Shalom & Regards;

Martin

Dear Friends;

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

” Parsha in a Nutshell “

Parshat Shemini begins by discussing the events which occurred on the eighth and final day of the inauguration service in the Mishkan (Tabernacle). After months of preparation and anticipation, Aaron and his sons are finally installed as Kohanim (priests) in an elaborate service. Aaron blesses the people, and the entire nation rejoices as Hashem’s presence rests upon them. However, the excitement comes to an abrupt halt as Aaron’s two elder sons, Nadav and Avihu, offer a “strange fire before G-d, which He commanded them not” and die before G-d. Aaron is silent in face of his tragedy.

Aaron is informed that the Kohanim are forbidden to enter the Mishkan while intoxicated, and the Torah continues to relate the events which occur immediately after Nadav and Avihu’s tragic death. The portion concludes with a listing of the kosher and non-kosher animals, and various laws about tumah, ritual contamination!

” Dvar Torah “

In this week’s parsha, we learn about a very painful tragedy. The two elder sons of Aaron, Nadav and Avihu, die together in an instant. The story goes as follows: After the completion of the construction of the “Mishkan” (G-d’s mobile Sanctuary), it was time for Mishkan’s inauguration. The excitement was filled in the air. Everyone came to watch this joyful event, somewhat similar to the ribbon-cutting ceremony of the tallest building built in the city — in this case, the house of G-d. The structure of the Mishkan was completed and all the vessels were placed in their right spots and the altar was all ready to begin the first sacrifice ceremony. Aaron and his sons have been appointed as the only Priests to do the ceremonies. For seven days Moshe, Aaron and his sons rehearsed the inauguration ceremony procedures, and finally, it was on the eighth day that G-d’s Presence would finally descend upon the Mishkan, and it was time for the ceremony to start. The joy was in the air and the whole congregation came anxiously to watch this fascinating, never-seen-before event.

But, suddenly, the celebration went terribly wrong. The Torah tells us that just before the ceremony started, the two eldest sons of Aaron, Nadav and Avihu, entered the Holy of Holies, the Kodesh HaKedoshim, without authorization. They decided to offer their own incense, something they assumed would surely bring joy to their Creator. But tragedy struck. A fire came forth from the heaven. And the fire that should have consumed their offerings, consumed them as well, and they both died! The beloved children of a beloved leader on a beloved day in a beloved service were gone in an instant, from glory to death. Aaron’s joy turned to mourning. The Torah reveals to us Aaron’s unexpected reaction;  “And Aaron was silent”. The man who had been Moses’ spokesman could no longer speak. The man of speech became speechless!!

Wow, what a tragedy! The immediate question that comes to our Chachamim’s mind and should comes to our minds too is, why?! Why did Hashem react so harshly with Nadav and Avihu?! All they did was, they brought an unwanted gift for Hashem! At the time of Golden Calf,The Benei Yisrael brought offerings for an idol and they didn’t die in an instant?! And now, Hashem’s two loyal servants, sons of Aaron Hakohen, mistakenly bring an unwanted offering to show their love for G-d, and they die in the most tragic manner?! Why, why, why?!

Well, many explanations are given. Some say that the reason for their death was that they came drunk into the sanctuary in front of G-d. Others say, they were too eager to exercise leadership, that’s why they took their own initiative which was disrespectful in the eyes of Hashem. Another opinion says that they disrespected their teachers Moshe and Aaron, by not consulting with them first before bringing their own offering. And the commentaries goes on and on and on….

But to me and maybe to Aaron too, none of these explanations justifies their tragic death. We are talking about the same compassionate G-d who forgave the nation for their despicable sin of the Golden Calf, why couldn’t he find it in his heart to forgive his two loyal servants who mistakenly might have been disobedient.

Well, Rabbi Yisachar Frand, has a wonderful insight to this episode that might explain it all. He says that although, all of the explanations for Nadav and Avihu’s death may be true, but none of the explanations should be convincing, because we should never be content with the reason of death! Hashem wants us to feel sorry for the deceased and to feel compassion towards the dead! Every dead person deserves to be mourned for! We are not here to judge people and to find a justified reason for someone’s death!! We are here to love everyone and accept that the only reason for someone’s death is because it was G-d’s will! Do we have to understand G-d’s will? No! But do we have to accept Hashem’s decisions? Yes! Nadav and Avihu should not be remembered as two drunken outcasts who committed a sin, but rather, they should be remembered as the high Priests and the loyal servants of G-d who were rightfully given a respectful funeral and mourning period. Aaron kept complete silence after this tragedy, because any show of emotions or any spoken words would have revealed lack of faith due to lack of understanding!

Yes my friends, our religion is not a religion of logic; it’s a religion of faith. In times of distress and tragedy, sometimes we search for answers but our efforts seems to be used in vain. We are not content. Nothing seems to make sense. We may even start questioning G-d’s decision, chasbe shalom, but it does not give us the right to lose faith in him. After all, if we believe that G-d is a superpower, then our lack of understanding should not bother us so much, since we believe that G-d has more power of understanding and judgment. We learn from Aaron’s silence that not being content with the reason for a tragedy is not a sin, but losing faith in Hashem, is! Remember that our G-d is a compassionate G-d, who is slow to anger and abundant in kindness and truth. He loves his people and he wants the best for us. He doesn’t want to hurt us, and if we are faced with a tragedy, we should believe that Hashem knows what is best for us and we should accept his decision.

In the Oxford dictionary, a “tragedy” is defined as a “sad event; a series of drama with an unhappy ending”! In Judaism, however, a tragedy is defined as a sad event which is an act of G-d beyond human understanding, but we have faith in Him that he surely knows what he is doing!

Shabbat Shalom & Regards;

Martin