How do we look at our spouse? What is the first thing we notice in another person?
This week's Torah portion discusses the disease of Tzaraat, which affects someone who speaks lashon harah, evil talk or gossip about another person.
However, the Torah makes it very clear that the only one who can diagnose whether someone has been stricken with tzaraat (and therefore becomes impure and needs to separate from the community for a number of days), is the Kohen. No one else has the authority to determine this.
Why specifically the Kohen? And it can be any Kohen, doesn't have to be a Kohen who is very wise or learned.
The answer the Torah gives us is because the Kohen is called an "Ish Chesed", a man of kindness. The Kohen by nature is predisposed to kindness.
And so only the Kohen can make the call whether a person has indeed done the wrong thing.
Only someone who is kind, coming from a place of love, can inform another person that they are at fault. Without judgment, without smugness, without any feeling of superiority.
May we strive to be like the Kohen and always look at each other with kindness and love, seeing the good in the people around us. And then even if we have to admonish someone, it is done properly and gently with love and care.
Great events and programs are coming up, and we look forward to celebrating together!
Jteen Shabbat 100, on April 23, bringing teens together to celebrate Shabbat!
Lag Ba'omer Outdoor Family Fun Night on April 29, a community wide event!
Women's Flowers, Cheesecakes and Wine on May 12, enjoy a ladies night out!
Shavuot Mega Ice Cream Party on May 17, ice cream and Torah outdoors!
Fair Lawn Jewish Day Camp Staff Applications and Camper enrollments are currently open and filling up fast.
Give your kids, teens and college students an Awesome Summer Adventure. ENROLL TODAY!! www.FairLawnCamp.com
Outdoor Weekly Shabbat Kiddush
Now that that weather is nice we will be moving the weekly Shabbat Kiddush outdoors so that more people can attend and participate.
YOU ARE INVITED: 10:00am: Every Shabbat for social distant services indoors.
12:00pm: Kiddush lunch with food and L'chaim outdoors.
Looking forward to seeing you and celebrating life with you in person!
Join for an outdoor Teen Shabbat experience!
Connect with over 100 teens from our community, for a unique Shabbat experience exclusively for teens grades 9 -12.
Cocktails, Candle Lighting, Kiddush, Dinner and Dessert
Full BBQ dinner! Cold beer for adults! Rides and giant inflatables! Cotton candy! Music!
Arts & crafts! Round the fire marshmallow roasting!
Admission includes all rides, attractions, crafts, all food and drinks and full BBQ dinner.
Early bird before April 19. Complimentary for Partners in Pride
Join for a women's night out, creating your own beautiful flower arrangement, enjoy wine, cheese desserts and great discussion!
Reserve a table with your friends!
Discussing life in the light of Chabad Philosophy
On Zoom:
Meeting ID: 895 6598 0718
Passcode: tanya
Presented in English by Rabbi Mendel Zaltzman
MVP Mitzvah Volunteer Program
Thursdays 4-5pm
For boys and girls in Grades 6th- 8th
At each weekly program MVP's will prepare special personalized packages for seniors that will be delivered safely in time for Shabbat.
Join the weekly meetings at the Bris Avrohom of Fair Lawn location, to prepare and personalize the packages and have some treats and fun while we work.
A BISSELE HUMOR
A little Jewish boy was telling his mother about how he had won a part in a play that was being done at school.
His mother asked, "What is the part you will play, Michael?"
Michael responded, "I shall play the Jewish husband,"
to which the mother replied, "Well, you go right back to that teacher and tell her that you want a SPEAKING part!"
WEEKLY eTORAH
Often, people like to characterize events or experiences as either positive or negative. Our brains prefer the ease and simplicity of clear distinctions. Life, however, is more complicated than that. Often, the positive and negative overlap in surprising ways; often, the greater potential for risk holds the greater potential for profit. The more potent the experience the more likely it can be either deeply traumatizing or profoundly enriching.
An interesting illustration of this principle is the Tzara'at, the mysterious discoloration, which would appear, in biblical times, on the Jewish home in the land of Israel. As the Torah describes in this week’s portion:
And the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, When you come to the land of Canaan, which I am giving you as a possession, and I place a lesion of Tzara'at upon a house in the land of your possession.
The Torah then proceeds to elaborate on the details of the discoloring and how, in some cases, it was necessary to remove the discolored stones (and, in some cases, the entire home would have to be destroyed).
Rashi, the classic biblical commentator, offers opposing explanations as to the purpose of Tzara'at. Rashi explains that Tzara'at would appear as a punishment for “Lashon Hara” for evil speech. Yet he also offers another interpretation:
because the Amorites had hidden away treasures of gold inside the walls of their houses during the entire forty years that the Israelites were in the desert, and through the lesion, he (the Israelite) will demolish the house and find them.
What are we to make of these opposing explanations? Is the Tzara'at an indication of negativity, a sign of impurity which must be removed, or is it a sign which appears in order for the Jew to take possession of the treasure behind the wall? Rashi teaches us that the positive and negative explanations are both true simultaneously. The same force which the pagans used for impurity, when used correctly could, in fact, be a great treasure.
Indeed, the Amori was the name of the nation that hid the treasures in the walls. The word Amori comes from the word Amor, which means to speak. The Torah is alerting us to the power of the word. Few things can be as destructive or as constructive as the spoken word.
The Tzara'at was designed in order to lead us to a treasure. Indeed, the Jewish home must be free of the impurity of destructive speech. The stones that captured the energy of pagan speech must be removed. Yet removing the negativity is always just a first step, never the ultimate goal. The Torah teaches us that the power of speech must be used to build, to comfort, to empower. Words have a way of reaching deep within ourselves, releasing the inner treasures of our soul, and allowing us to understand, empathize and connect to the people around us.
