Weekly Parsha

Refuah Sheimah: Nahum HaLevi ben Bracha, Chaim Moshe ben Esther, Yehuda Baruch ben Sarah, Stephen Waczkiewicz (Shimon ben Sarah), Yossefa (Josie) "bat Sharon", Rafael ben Gladis e Esther Bracha "bat Sarah".

Continue praying for: Teddy Welz, Miriam Hanna (Mariana) "bat Zulay", Adina (Heidi) "bat Sarah" e Yosefa (Josie) "bat Sharon"

Pray for the  "Refuah Shleima"  (rapid recovery) of "  our community" . May G-d deliver us from this crisis quickly and grant a full recovery to those who are sick, Amen!

Tazria-Metzora

Leviticus 12-15

The Torah continues with the laws of physical and spiritual purity. The focus of this portion is upon tzora’as, a supernatural physical affliction sent to warn someone to refrain from speaking badly about others. The disease progressively afflicted home, clothes and then one’s skin — unless the individual corrected his ways and followed the purification process stated in the Torah.

As mentioned above, there are three types of speech transgressions:

1) Loshon Hora (literally “evil tongue”) — making a derogatory or damaging statement about someone even though you are speaking the truth.

2) Motzie Shem Ra — slander — where what is spoken is negative and false.

3) Rechilus (literally “tale bearing”) –telling someone the negative things another person said about him or did against him.

The Torah writes regarding one who is afflicted for speaking gossip or tale bearing:

“All the days the plague is in him … he shall dwell alone; outside the camp shall his dwelling be” (lev. 13:46).

What lesson can we learn from this?

The Sages said that since the metzora caused the separation of friends and the separation of husbands and wives, he should also be separated from others.

The isolation of the metzora gave him time for introspection. He could now recall the marriages and friendships his malicious gossip has dissolved. Removed from society, he would feel the mental anguish he caused others when his slander caused them to be ostracized.

From here we see that a person should learn from his own experiences the pain that others feel when they suffer. If anyone ever spoke Lashon Hora against you, you certainly did not like it. Remember those feelings and refrain from speaking against others.

The difference between stumbling blocks and stepping stone --  is how you use them

Shabbat Shalom, 

R. Tank

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Rabbi Tank is a professor at the American Jewish College in New York, where he teaches classes on Talmud, Jewish History, and Contemporary Jewish Law. Rabbi Tank is dedicated to finding modern utility and meaning in ancient wisdom texts and is pleased to provide spiritual, cultural, social and educational programming to communities around the world. 

Rabbi Tank was educated at Yeshivas in New York and Miami. He studied Biblical Archeology at Bar Ilan University and Jewish Studies at Harvard University. Rabbi Tank has a Bachelor degree in Business Administration and he is also graduated in International Economic Development from the University of Oxford. 

Rabbi Tank is actively involved in peace negotiations and relief operations. Rabbi Tank is the director of international affairs at the World Jewish Confederation in the United States and He is member of the White House National Religious Leaders , an Executive Office of the President of the United States in Washington, D.C.