Dear Friend,
It's natural for people to get dirty. Even the most pristine lifestyle will require the individual to regularly seek a cleansing process because, as said, it’s natural for people to get dirty.
But it’s also natural to want to get clean.
In fact, it is enjoyable and refreshing to get clean, particularly after experiencing being unclean. If there was no concept of getting dirty, there would be no particular benefit or joy from being clean.
In life there is more than physical dirt, there are also unclean thoughts, words and actions. The Torah is very specific and points out that an individual engaging in certain behaviors or who has certain experiences will become unclean.
The Torah is also very specific about how the individual can become clean again, and outlines the process for cleanliness, requiring the individual to become clean again.
It is such a great lesson and skill in life to be able to recognize when we need to do some cleaning, more importantly that we are able to do cleaning, that no matter how unclean or dirty an individual may be, there is always a way to get clean.
In fact in many cases, the very realization that “I need to get clean” is the result of having grown intellectually, emotionally and certainly spiritually.
One can even argue that the individual who becomes dirty and gets clean is much cleaner than the individual who never became dirty and therefore has never seeked cleansing.
Wishing you a good Shabbos!
Rabbi Mendel & Elke Zaltzman
Shabbos Times
Friday, April 8
Candle Lighting: 7:10pm Evening service: 7:15pm
Saturday, April 9 Morning service: 10:00am
Kiddush Brunch: 12:00pm Evening service: 7:15pm
Shabbos ends 8:12pm
Kiddush Sponsored by
Moshe and Sasha Hofman
in memory of their daughter Esther
May her memory be blessed
Join the table of Rabbi Mendel, Elke and family for a full traditional Seder, as we share anecdotes, stories, and insights into the story of Passover.
Enjoy a full Passover dinner, wines, grape juice and handmade Shmurah Matzah.
Passover Seder geared for families with Children
A complete and express Passover Seder with games, songs, prizes and an interactive, hands on Passover experience for children.
Full Passover Dinner served for all with choice of Wine or Grape Juice for the 4 Cups and Handmade Shmurah Matzah.
Thursdays 4pm- 5pm Geared for boys and girls in grades 6th - 8th, MVP is volunteering and Mitzvah madness, while connecting with other pre-teens and having a meaningful impact!
MVP is open to all junior teens free of charge!
A BISSELE HUMOR
Bill, Jim, and Scott were at a convention together sharing a large suite at the top of a 75-story hotel. After a long day of meetings, they were shocked to hear that the elevators in their hotel were broken, and they would have to climb 75 flights of stairs to get to their room.
Bill said to Jim and Scott, "Let's break the monotony of this unpleasant task by concentrating on something interesting. I'll tell jokes for 25 flights, Jim can sing songs for the next 25 flights and Scott will tell sad stories for the rest of the way." On the 26th floor, Bill stopped telling jokes and Jim began to sing. At the 51st floor, Jim stopped singing and Scott began to tell sad stories.
"I will tell my saddest story first," he said. "I left the room key in the car."
WEEKLY eTORAH
The two portions of Tazria and Metzora are perhaps the most difficult and technical in the book of Leviticus.
The first portion, Tazria, describes the laws of impurity caused by tzaraat, a form of leprosy that afflicts human flesh and garments. Tzaraat is a malady that came upon a person as a consequence of slandering or gossiping about another person, as well as other sins.
The next portion, Metzora, describes the process of purification from this leprosy. Only after discussing the purification of the body and garments does the Torah introduce a third type of leprosy, one that afflicts the walls of a home. This is immediately followed by the laws of purification for the home.
Why, when talking about the leprosy that afflicts the person and the garments, are the affliction and its purification taught in two separate portions? This is not the case when discussing the topic of leprosy of the home—the purification process is taught immediately after, and in the same portion as, the affliction.
Anyone looking at life objectively can appreciate that a setback can be an opportunity for growth. Challenge has the potential to bring out the best in the human soul.
But that is theoretical.
When we experience an actual struggle in life, our perspective may be very different. We do not feel anything positive or constructive in our moment of despair and pain. Pain hurts. It does not build.
Eventually, when we find the courage and strength to pick ourselves up and overcome the challenge, we feel as though we have reached a new state of being. Only after we are removed from the painful situation are we capable of looking back and realizing that the person we have become is very much a result of the previous challenge that we tried so hard to escape.
This is the reason that the affliction of tzaraat and its purification are written in two separate portions. From the human perspective, the purification is a new beginning; it is an escape from the impurity, not its culmination.
Things are very different from G‑d’s perspective. The purpose of the challenge is to lead a person to greater heights. But we humans are not always capable of seeing it that way.
In describing the tzaraat that afflicted the home, the Torah says: “When you come to the land of Canaan, which I am giving you as a possession, and I place an affliction of tzaraat upon a house in the land of your possession.” The Midrash teaches that from the words of the verse we learn that G‑d Himself placed the affliction of tzaraat on the house, so it was in fact a blessing. For when the Israelites removed the afflicted stones from their homes, they discovered treasures that the native Canaanites had hidden within the walls.
The tzaraat of the home was taught to us from G‑d’s perspective. Every affliction is just a facade, begging to be pulled away so we can discover a great treasure. By telling us the laws of the home’s purification immediately after the affliction, the Torah asks us to keep G‑d’s perspective in mind. This will give us the strength to transform challenge to treasure.
-adapted from www.chabad.org
