The laws of impurity and purity, tuma and tahara, are of the most complex and intricate in Judaism. Not only are these laws detailed and complicated in terms of their observance, they are also seemingly completely irrelevant to our daily lives. This week we learn about the affliction tzara’at. Far too often tzara’at is mistakenly defined as leprosy. While tzara’at may look like leprosy, it certainly is and is caused by very different things. (The JPS translates tzara’at as a “scaly infection”. This is more accurate, yet the word “infection” implies that the condition is medical, which we shall soon see is not the case.) The truth about tzara’at is that nobody really knows what it is. There is no medical treatment to get rid of it. Our Rabbis (Chazal) explain that tzara’at is a spiritual affliction, not a medical one. To prove this notion, the Rambam quotes from our Parsha...
This week’s parsha introduces the complex concept of Tumah v’Taharah — impurity and purity. Rabbi Lashak, Regional Director of Southwest NCSY and Euro ICE, probes this tricky topic with a story where a heroic individual faces down a pack of hungry lions. Find out how it ends! Connect on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/myNCSYAlumni Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ncsyalumni
This week we read about the “eighth day”, yom ha’shemini, which was the inaugural day of the Mishkan. The commentators explain that this day is the first day of Nissan, one year after the Exodus. We read about all of the specific services that Aaron and his sons were commanded to do in order to kick-off the future of all services in the Mishkan. This entire episode is actually quite strange. This is because this “eighth day” that is being celebrated was already recorded in a previous part of the Torah. In the last section of Parshat Pekudei (Exodus 40) we already read about the inauguration of the Mishkan! The entire latter half of the Book of Exodus all culminated towards the final goal of God’s Presence filling the Mishkan, which is recorded in the last verses of Pekudei (40:34-38). And all of that happened on the first of Nissan, the exact same day as our “eighth day.” Why do we repeat it here? Furthermore, this event is actually described a third time in the Torah, in the Book of Numbers. In the Parsha...
Many of the rules outlined in the Torah help us navigate the maze of life and pertain to pleasure, especially regarding food. These are the ones that are easiest to over-do! The rules in Parshat Shemini act as an instruction manual to help us live pleasurably but also prudently, and Rabbi Phil Karesh, Educational Coordinator
What is so important about this passage that it is the only one required by Torah law to be read publically every year? Why does this reading have to be done the Shabbat before the holiday of Purim? What exactly does the nation of Amalek mean for us today? In order to understand the answers to these questions, we must first examine Parshat Zachor a little bit more carefully.
In this week’s Torah portion we are given the details of the various sacrifices given in the Temple. While last the commandments regarding the sacrifices were more general, and addressed to the people as a whole, this week the commandments are a lot more specific, and are addressed specifically to the Kohanim (Priests).
It was a truly fateful day when King Achashverosh couldn’t fall sleep… At the pinnacle of peril in Megillat Esther, the story of Purim, megillah readers briefly switch to the melody of Yom Kippur. Why is this? Rabbi Greenland, International Director of NCSY, explains that by looking at Jewish history not as timeline, but more
This week’s Torah portion deals with sacrificial laws, which are very complicated and constitute an entire Seder (~1/6th) of the Talmud. It is easy to get lost in the details which can seem irrelevant to our current lives, and to blow off learning the entire Book of Va’Yikra. For the next couple months we will be discussing this book, and I want to go on the journey with all of you in trying to find the lessons that are hidden amongst the detailed laws that can seem rather dull at first glance. There is one main distinction that is made between different types of sacrifices in this week’s reading: voluntary vs. obligatory sacrifices. Among the obligatory sacrifices are the offerings given for atonement, for sins committed unintentionally.
Parshat Vayikra opens the third book of Torah by outlining korban, burnt offerings. This week, Rabbi Ari Strulowitz of Midwest NCSY, interprets the wording of the second verse: “a man from AMONG you brings a sacrifice.” While some mitzvot are must-do’s, many others are voluntary, and so perhaps this sacrifice can be considered a voluntary