Oneg Tazria Metzora

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A Torah publication that enables local Rabbonim and Avreichim to share their insights and Divrei Torah on a variety of different levels, to provide something for everyone

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The author can be contacted at drowe@aish.org.uk

Why does tzara’as occupy such a central place in Torah?

And what might we be able to learn from it nowadays?

Perhaps most strange, at first, seems the link between lashon hora, a Chet of speech (Erchin 16a) and an affliction of skin.

Surely an affliction of the mouth might be more appropriate?

The first clue is the recognition that skin itself, is a result of the very first lashon hora in Torah the lashon hora of the nachash in Gan Eden. Indeed on closer reflection all the elements of Tazria and metzora bear echoes of the Chet and punishment.

It was there that humans were given the physical form including a ‘garment of skin’ (Ramchal Da’as Tevunos; Bereishis 3:21).

It was there that the pain of childbirth and difficulties came into being. And It was there that death and bodily Tumos entered the world. It is there we must search to discover the roots and lessons of the mitzvos in Tazria.

The Rambam in the Moreh Nevuchim writes that prior to the Chet knowledge was of Emess and Sheker. Ratzon Hashem was reality and all else was illusion.

After the Chet knowledge became

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‫כ"א לעומר‬ ‫קריאת התורה‬ ‫ל"ג‬:‫ ט"ו‬- '‫ א‬:‫ י"ב‬:‫ויקרא‬

‫הנץ החמה‬

Rabbi Daniel Rowe

hir hashirim Rabbah (5:20) describes Vayikra as the centrepiece of Torah. But the pinnacle of Vayikra is the ‘Torah of man’ in Tazria-Metzora. (Vakira Rabbah 14:1;Rashi 12:1)

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subjective - ‘tov ve’ra’. We speak about ethics in the language of aesthetics (experiences based on the senses). Just as we might describe a positive of scene, food or music as ‘good’, ‘beautiful’, or ‘wonderful’, so too we might describe a great act using the same vocabulary. Conversely a negative sensation might be described as being ‘horrible’, ‘bad’, or ‘disgusting’, so too we might describe immoral act in similar terms.

When we speak of sensations we do not describe the world the way the world is, but the way that we are. If food or music makes us feel ‘good’ we describe it as if it is ‘good’ and vice versa.

The nachash offered man to start seeing the world through our own subjective eyes; to become miniature gods defining reality through our own feelings. “... the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened and you will become like G-d, knowing good and bad” (Bereishis 3:5) After the chet, just as Adam chose to become the centre of reality, so did every part of him. No longer could Adam be one being; instead he appears in billions of different pieces, each one of whom sees reality through their own eyes. It is self-centredness that is the root of each tragic breakdown. It manifests most perniciously in lashon hora. Speaking lashon hora re-enacts what the nachash

K I N D LY S P O N S O R E D

In Memory of

Leslie and Freda Aaronson

did. It misjudges and demonises others, creating further breakdown at every societal level - from individual to marriage to community to nations.

At the centre of Torah, Tazria teaches us that human ability to speak in the language of the nachash can lead directly to our ‘garment of skin’ becoming the skin of the nachash: “Hakadosh Baruch Hu told the nachash: ‘You have spoken lashon hora, you will be cursed with tzara’as!’”

(Midrash Tanchuma, Metzora 2) Tazria, then, teaches us that the goal of every Jew must be to return to the level of Gan Eden, and it shows us how.

It requires us to learn to see reality through one another’s eyes, and to learn to see reality through the Ribbono shel Olam’s ‘eyes’ (so to speak). Thus Rabbi Akiva can famously teach that ‘ve ahavta le reyacha kamocha’ is indeed the ‘klal gadol baTorah’.

It is also why Talmud Torah - seeing reality through the perspective of the Ribbono shel Olam must be ‘keneged kulam’.

It shows us the secret of our avoda and how we can help bring the final ge’ula to the world.

May we merit in the days of sefira to bring achdus to the world, to be mekabel Toras Hashem, and to see the day of ‘Hashem echad ushemo echad’ bimhera beyameinu.

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SEDRA SUMMARY

Rabbi Aurbach’s Old Jalopy

Thank you to Chabad.org

T

he Parshah of Tazria continues the discussion of the laws of tumah v’taharah, ritual impurity and purity.

A woman giving birth should undergo a process of purification, which includes immersing in a mikvah and bringing korbanos to the Holy Temple. Male babies are to be given a bris milah on the eighth day of life.

H

arav Moshe Ahron Aurbach, ‫זצ''ל‬, who was known as a great Baal Chesed in Toronto, was once driving with two passengers in

the back of his car. As they were traveling, his passengers started to speak ‫לשון הרע‬. Rav Moshe Ahron repeatedly asked them to change the topic, but to no avail. His entreaties fell on deaf ears. Rav Moshe Ahron brainstormed.

Tzara’as (often mistranslated as “leprosy”) is a supernatural plague, which also can afflict garments. If white or pink patches appear on a person’s skin (dark red or green in garments), 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 tamei or tahor.

After thinking for a few moments, he fearlessly stopped his car in the middle of a very busy intersection and pretended that his car had stalled! He pulled out the keys and got out to “fix” the car. The scene was incredible – there were cars coming from every direction! People were honking and beeping, and there was traffic backed up all over. After a few minutes tinkering with the motor, Rav Aurbach closed the hood,

A person afflicted with tzara’as must dwell alone outside of the camp (or city) until he is healed. The afflicted area in a garment is removed; if the tzara’as spreads or recurs, the entire garment must be burned.

gave it a few good bangs and got back into the car. He jiggled the key in the ignition, and the car started. For the rest of the ride, the only topic his passengers could talk about was “Rav Aurbach’s old jalopy”! (As told to me by

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his grandson Harav Aryeh Walden Shlita)

arshas Metzora begins by detailing how the recovered metzora is purified by the Kohen with a special procedure involving two birds, spring water in an earthen vessel, a piece of cedar wood, a scarlet thread and a bundle of hyssop.

THE PASUK SAYS (‫נט‬:‫)יג‬, “Zos Toras Nega tzaraas.” The ‫ בעל הטורים‬writes that the words "‫ "זאת תורת‬appear five times in connection with the ‫מצורע‬. The ‫ בעל הטורים‬explains that this teaches us that the sin of ‫ לשון הרע‬is so great that it is considered like one who speaks ‫לשון הרע‬

A home can also be afflicted with tzara’as by the appearance of dark red or green patches on its walls. In a process lasting as long as nineteen days, a kohen determines if the house can be purified, or whether it must be demolished.

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was ‫ עובר‬on the 5 ‫ חומשים‬of the ‫תורה‬.1

Parshah

feel comfortable making another person feel guilty that they are doing something wrong and if they “chap” themselves talking, they do not want to be that “Tzaddik” who suddenly stops talking. What is the solution? Based on the above story, one must think of tricks and methods that will wiggle themselves out of the issue, to protect them from being a victim of hearing or speaking ‫לשון הרע‬. For instance, when on the phone, one can pretend that the phone has lost service or the battery died. This is called thinking out of the box.

When the Chafetz Chaim went to receive a haskama for his sefer, from the Rov of Lida, the Rov rebuked him: “What business does such a young man like you have, writing a sefer on such a serious and complicated subject?” The Rov refused to give his haskama. When the Chafetz Chaim walked out, the Dayan, who was the brother of this Rov, approached the Chofetz Chaim and said, “Don’t feel bad, that is how my brother always responds.” The Chafetz Chaim immediately countered, “‫ !ח''ו‬The Rov is right a young man like me should not be writing on such important and complicated laws...” The Chafetz Chaim was ‫ מצדיק‬the Rov’s words. After hearing the Chafetz Chaim’s response, the ‫דיין‬ returned into his brother’s room and told him what had happened. The Rov immediately sent a messenger to call HaRav Yisroel Meir back, and willingly gave him a most beautiful haskama.

(One can take a look in the beginning of the Sefer

A Difficult Battle ‫ לשון הרע‬is probably one of the most difficult

Chofetz Chaim where this haskama appears.)

battles. A common reason is that people do not 1 ‫ו‬:‫ויקרא רבה טז‬.

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‫אריאל יהודה בן יהודית נ”י‬

‫לרפואה שלימה בתוך שאר חולי ישראל‬

‫לרפואה שלימה בתוך שאר חולי ישראל‬

1. livingwithmitzvos.com

Why is there no tzara’as nowadays?

This page is sponsored by Federation

3

Rabbi Alan Lewis

Yeshurun Federation and Beis Din Registrar

The author can be contacted at rabbi.lewis@federation.org.uk

Parshah

The Elixir for Life

T

he famous story is told in the Midrash (Vayikra Rabbah) about a pedlar who travelled around the neighbourhood of Tzippori, offering for sale the elixir of life. From his study, Rebbi Yanai heard the pedlar proclaiming: ‫“ מאן בעי סם חיים‬who wants the potion for eternal life? Rebbi Yanai asked him for a sample. The pedlar refused saying “People like you do not need it”. After much importuning however, he consented to show it R’Yannai. He took out a book of Psalms and, opening it, pointed to the text:

’‫ סור מרע וגו‬... ‫ נצור לשונך מרע‬... ‫מי האיש החפץ חיים‬ “Who is the man who desires life?... guard your tongue from evil…” on seeing this R’Yannai exclaimed:

‫כל ימי הייתי קורא פסוק זה ולא הייתי יודע היכן הוא פשוט עד שבא רוכל זה והודיע‬ ‫מי האיש החפץ חיים‬ “All my years I have read this verse without knowing the simple explanation of the words, and now this pedlar has shown me their meaning.”

Rabbi Shimon Schwab zt’’l asks, what new insight did the pedlar give Rebbi Yanai that he didn’t already know?

Did Rebbi Yanai not know the rest of the verse ‘guard your tongue from evil’?

We can now discern a new true interpretation of the possuk as follows; ‘who is the man who desires life – everlasting life?’

Why does he desire this life of eternity? Because he ‘loves days’, one who loves days where there are no limits to time (that is to say the world to come); ‘to see only good in a world that is completely good.” How can such a world be found?’

‘Guard your tongue from evil’ and the moment you do so, you become a person who belongs to Olom Haboh (the world to come). This is just like the pedlar who gives his goods to the purchaser immediately on payment without taking credit to deliver the merchandise at a later time.

It is upon this fact that Rebbi Yanai said ‘throughout all my days I would read this verse and I didn’t comprehend how simple and easy it was to achieve eternity until this pedlar came and demonstrated it to me’.

Holding back your tongue has an instant impact on your personal world to come.

A Quick Vort: Ma’ayanah shel Torah

Also how do we explain R’ Yanai’s words ‘I didn’t know how simple it is’?

by Yisroel Avrohom Kaye

Rav Schwab explains that one cannot compare a pedlar to a shopkeeper since the shopkeeper can be a creditor and sometimes the purchaser is willing to give the money upfront on the proviso that the shopkeeper will find him the merchandise at some later time. However, the pedlar could never be a creditor, for as soon as the buyer gives the pedlar his money for the goods the pedlar passes on the goods immediately to the purchaser.

On this pasuk the medresh says that if a man is worthy of it, they shall say of him "You come before all the works of creation, but if he is not worthy, they shall say of him "even the gnat comes before you".

In this situation the pedlar in our story goes around selling his merchandise without giving any credit – the sale takes place immediately.

The Ksav Sofer questions why the laws regarding kashrus, dealing with ritually unclean animals precede those that relate the ritually unclean humans.

Initially Rebbi Yanai thought the pedlar was selling the elixir for life but when the pedlar said ‘my elixir has no application to life in this world rather it was a potion for life in the world to come and for the likes of you Rebbi Yannai it was never intended, Rebbi Yanai was astounded.

Therefore, when the pedlar showed Rebbi Yanai the verse in his book of Tehillm, It was at this point Rebbi Yanai gained a tremendous new understanding into the words of this possuk, this new insight was the realisation that at the moment a person guards, stops his tongue from gossiping, there is an immediate reward (recorded in the verse), that a person can merit eternal life.

TEXT

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The pasuk (Vayikra 12:2) says "If a woman conceives and gives birth to a male then she shall be unclean for seven days"

By nature, man has many physical disadvantages to animals. Animals can feed themselves with little or no preparation and effort, nor do they need clothing. Irrespective of this, man is higher and more important than all other living things because only man has been given the task of serving Hashem and studying Torah.

However, the Ksav Sofer explains, man can lose this positon of importance by not fulfilling his mission. If man does not occupy himself with the service of Hashem, he has to concern himself with all of the burdens that not even animals need worry about.

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What is the understanding that the final verdict to the appearance of tzara’as must be said only by a Kohen?

Rabbi Reuven Chaim Klein

4

Author of Lashon HaKodesh: History, Holiness, & Hebrew (Mosaica Press)

The author can be contacted at historyofhebrew@gmail.com

A Word for a Thought There seem to be three synonymous words in Hebrew which all mean “thought”: hirhur (hirhurim in plural), machshavah (machashavot in plural), and raayon (raayonot in plural).

In the following paragraphs, we will explore the nuances between the meanings of these three different words and how they reflect different stages of man’s thought process.

T

he Vilna Gaon (in his commentary to Sefer Yetzirah) and others explain that the word machshavah refers to a pure, abstract thought, while hirhur means a thought that has already been transferred or formulated into possible words. Indeed, Rabbi Pinchas ha-Levi Horowitz (1731-1805) writes that the word hirhur is related to the Hebrew word hirayon (pregnancy) because a hirhur refers to the conception of a thought that will eventually germinate into verbalisation.

word ratzon, but rather means the same as machshavah. Nachmanides (to Numbers 2:14) also writes that raayon is synonymous with machshavah. Either way, it seems fairly clear that raayon is another word for “thought”.

What, then, can be the difference between the words raayon and machshavah?

(Interestingly, Rashi, in his commentary to Daniel 2:29–30, defines raayon as hirhur, as opposed to machshavah. This contradicts Rashi’s above cited explanation that raayon means machshavah.)

Alternatively, the Vilna Gaon writes that a machshavah transpires in the brain (the seat of the intellect), while a hirhur takes place in the heart (the seat of emotion).

Rabbi Meir ha-Levi Abulafia (1170–1244) writes in his commentary Yad Ramah (to Sanhedrin 38b) that the word raayon is an Aramaic translation of the Hebrew word machshavah. This suggests that the words raayon and machshavah are indeed synonymous—but the former is Aramaic, while the latter is Hebrew.

What does the word raayon mean? There is ample reason to argue that raayon refers to one’s intellectual will. That is, when translating/converting Hebrew words into Aramaic, the letter tzadi in Hebrew commonly becomes an ayin in Aramaic. Thus, the Hebrew word ratzon (will) becomes raavon in Aramaic.

This would seem to suggest a correlation between the word raayon and raavon (which are spelled almost exactly the same).

Rabbi Shlomo Aharon Wertheimer (1866– 1935) takes a different approach. He writes that a raayon is the beginnings of a thought.

It is the type of idea that simply materializes in one’s head as he clears his mind to rest. A raayon is a spontaneous, sometimes fleeting, idea which upon further consideration and

However, Rashi (to Brachos 55b) explicitly rejects this etymology by forcefully stating that the word raayon is not related to the Hebrew

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deliberation can potentially be developed into a well-formulated concept. A machshavah, on the other hand, is the result of deliberate and focused thinking. The word machshavah is related to the word cheshbon (calculation), as it denotes intended and purposeful pondering.

Similarly, Rav Moshe Shapiro zt’’l explains that the word machshavah is related to the word chashuv (“important”) because a machshavah is not simply a thought but is a person’s thought-process in weighing the importanct of a specific action and deciding whether or not he should do it.

In short, the three words for “thought” in Hebrew are not exactly synonymous, but can be traced to three different points on one’s track of thought. In the beginning, a spark of a prototype of an idea surfaces in one’s mind.

This is called a raayon. If one follows the thought, contemplates it, and develops it to its logical conclusion (known as hogeh/higgayon), the resulting thought becomes a clearer, more mature idea—a machshavah. As one completes his train of thought and prepares to verbally express what he is thinking, the theoretical and conceptual brainwaves are converted into words. Those unspoken words are known as hirhurim.

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What is the connection between the different parts of Parshas Tazria – first it discusses the Yoledes, a woman after childbirth and then the different types of tzara’as (on the skin and on clothes)?

Rabbi Avraham Blickstein

5

Kollel Mevaser Israel, Darchei Hora’ah Institutions

The author can be contacted at abrahamblick@gmail.com

The True Remedy for Tzara’as

Parshah

Of Tzara’as and War

The haftara of this week’s parasha recounts the story of Na’aman, the head of the Aramian army. Aram was a neighbouring country to Eretz Yisrael, and Na’aman was a mighty warrior, but he had tzara’as. His troops would go into Eretz Yisrael and take captives, and on one occasion they captured a young Jewish girl, whom they placed as a maid in Na’aman’s house. When she saw that Na’aman had tzara’as , she informed his wife to convince him to visit the prophet Elisha in Shomron, who could cure Na’aman of his affliction. Na’aman’s wife heeded her words, and after much persuasion, her husband went to the King of Aram to seek his counsel. He related to him the words of the girl, and the King agreed that Na’aman should go to Elisha and request a remedy.

Na’aman agreed to go, and his first point of call was to the King of Yisrael, bringing with him a letter of approbation from the King of Aram, with a request to be healed. The King saw the letter and became very distressed, tearing his clothes and proclaiming “am I like G-d who can give life? Surely, the King of Aram is merely seeking a pretext against me!”

He imagined that this was a way to ensnare the kingdom of Yisrael into another war.

bring his healing! Na’aman was furious at this treatment! Not only had he been treated with disrespect, but the ‘magical’ cure that he had anticipated was merely to go and dip in an Israeli river!? Why, there were plenty of beautiful rivers in Aram in which he could dip; he had no need for this nonsense.

Na’aman was ready to go to war for this insolence, were it not for his servants, who insisted that he give Elisha’s instructions one try. After all, it couldn’t hurt to dip in the river?

Luckily, he heeded their advice, and after dipping seven times, his skin miraculously returned to its former unblemished state. He returned to Elisha, full of thanks and praise to the G-d of Yisrael who had performed for him such a miracle.

The news that the King had torn his clothes travelled fast and the situation was spinning out of control. Elisha quickly sent a message to the King asking him why he tore his clothes.

“Surely”, asked Elisha, “the King knows that there is a Navi in Israel who can heal tzara’as?” The King sent Na’aman to Elisha, and he arrived with the riches he had prepared to pay Elisha, amidst a large escort of people.

Understanding the Story This incident begs understanding. What was Elisha thinking? Na’aman was a general and ambassador; and surely deserved a bit more respect than the manner in which Elisha had treated him? Additionally, the King of Yisrael himself had sent Na’aman; surely this alone should have prompted Elisha to ‘lay out

When he arrived, however, his face fell.

Elisha did not come out to greet him as is befitting a mighty warrior and ambassador to the King of Aram, but sent a young boy out with a simple message – to go and immerse in the Jordan river seven times, and this will

the red carpet’ and treat Na’aman like visiting royalty? Furthermore, why did Elisha send him to dip in the Jordan? Surely, it is tefillos that heal tzara’as; Elisha could have made a mass gathering of Jews to pray for Na’aman, thus demonstrating national feeling and compassion for him. Why did he act in the manner he did, almost risking an all-out war?

The answer is simple but profound.

Tzara’as is caused by haughtiness; by feelings of grandeur over others, as is demonstrated by someone who speaks ill about his fellow.

Elisha understood that the true cure for tzara’as was for Na’aman to step down from his lofty pedestal, and embrace a less arrogant attitude. It was not enough simply to cure the tzara’as; Elisha wanted to destroy the evil roots that cause the tzara’as to grow. By treating him in a derogatory manner, and showing him that his self-worth is far lower than he believed, Elisha was truly treating the tzara’as. When the arrogance goes, it takes with it the tzara’as, and only when Na’aman realised that he was not worthy, and that he must heed the voice of another, even when he believed that he knew better, at that moment was he cured!

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4. livingwithmitzvos.com

Can the metzorah when sent outside the camp to be alone, be together with other metzoraim or even there must remain alone?

Rabbi Eli Birnbaum

6

AISH, UK

The author can be contacted at ebirnbaum@aish.org.uk

tefilah She'asah Li Kol Tzarki

New T efilah Series

‘The Field of Roses’

”‫ ֶׁש ָע ָֽׂשה לִ י ּכָ ל ָצ ְרּכִ י‬,‫ֹלקֽינּו ֶמֽלֶ ְך ָהעֹולָ ם‬ ֵ ‫ָּברּוְך ַא ָּתה ה’ ֱא‬ “You are the Source of all blessing, Hashem our G-d, King of the Universe, who has provided me all of my needs.”

Standing in Barrack 52 in Majdanek, I understood the meaning of this Bracha for the first time in my life. You see, Barracks 52 – one of the many almost pristinely preserved relics of this kingdom of darkness – holds a display of over 56,000 shoes taken from their owners within moments of their welcome into death’s cold embrace.

As we stood there, shivering despite the early spring sunshine, our guide – the inimitable Tzvi Sperber of JRoots – turned to the hushed mass and posed the following question: ‘What is the significance of this exhibit?

Of all the personal effects seized by the Nazis, why did the museum here salvage and display so many thousands of shoes? What message does it whisper to you?’

There is a silence that prevails in such places that transcends conventional norms of respect or reverence for the solemnness of situation or occasion. A silence that almost dares you to speak, dares you to have the audacity to voice an opinion in the place where six million were robbed of theirs. And so, the group waited, each absorbed in his or her own thoughts.

‘When someone takes your shoes away’, Tzvi continued, ‘it sends a single message loud and clear’...

Your journey ends here.

These words lingering in my mind, a solitary white shoe in the middle of the vast pile caught my eye. It had belonged to a young girl, and quite a wealthy one at that. What were her dreams? What were her aspirations?

What future beckoned to her from the horizon?

It no longer mattered. Her journey ended here, her dreams turned to nightmares and her horizon blackened by the crematoria’s smoke.

As we filed out of Barrack 52, I glanced back at Entrance Field III, the ‘Rose Garden’.

Of course, nothing actually grows in this ‘field of roses’. How can soil soaked in blood give forth life?

Field III acquired its nickname for a number of reasons. Perhaps the most horrific of all

was an activity that brought sadistic joy to the agents of death and destruction. In the depths of the Polish Winter, when temperatures in Lublin drop well below freezing, the inhumane guards would force the female prisoners to stand outside, barefoot, while they took excruciatingly slow prisoner counts. These counts, infamous throughout all camps, could take hours. And every time a prisoner failed to respond or had the temerity to collapse and feint in the middle of a count, the SS Officer would start again from the beginning.

‘The Field of Roses’.

What an absurd name. A name acquired from the patches of red left behind in the snow as the Jewish women were forced to rip the skin from the soles of their to free themselves from the frozen ground and limp, bleeding, back to their miserable barracks.

Your journey ends here.

The blessing of “‫ ” ֶׁש ָע ָֽׂשה לִ י ּכָ ל ָצ ְרּכִ י‬is, by all accounts, a peculiar one. As put by the Shulchan Aruch (O’C 46:1) : ‘When a person puts his shoes on, he should recite this blessing’.

Peculiar in the sense that surely the blessing three prior to this (‘who clothes the naked’) should already cover the donning of shoes as just another item of clothing? And if it doesn’t, wouldn’t the logical blessing to deal with shoes be the one after our own (‘who prepares the footsteps of man’)?

Shoes either belong with ‘clothing’ or with ‘footsteps’...surely, to interweave a concept as grand as ‘fulfilling all my needs’ with the action of wearing shoes threatens to belittle that concept in its entirety? I would readily understand the directive if the Shulchan Aruch had said something along the lines of: ‘if a person is generally healthy, having a steady source of income and a settled family life, he should recite the blessing...’, but shoes?!

In Majdanek, I finally understood. Without shoes, a person is essentially stuck. Even in the modern era, with all our advanced modes of transportation, how many people do you see on a daily basis leaving the house without shoes on?

At an elemental level, shoes represent the most reliable mode of getting from A to B, the ability to turn a distance into a destination.

Without them, that distance remains distant,

and we are forced to accept the here and now as a stagnant destination.

Sometimes, we want our current location to be our destination1. When the kohanim performed the Temple service, they did so barefoot2; you are in the holiest place on Earth...why would you wish to journey on from here?! Similarly, when Moshe encountered the A-lmighty at the burning bush, the instruction was self-explanatory: “Remove your shoes from your feet, for the ground upon which you stand is holy!” (Shemos 3:5).

Indeed, sometimes we do not want to wear shoes3. We want our journey to end ‘here’ and to bask in the holiness of that unique destination.

But in day to day life, our shoes – beyond the physical comfort they afford and necessity they fill – represent our potential to journey onward, to fulfil evermore intricate aspirations and conquer new horizons. When we recite this blessing, our focus may well be on the pair of shoes on our feet, but its true meaning is stunningly more profound than this.

Unlike those precious souls that stood shivering, literally frozen to the ground in the Field of Roses, we are able to thank the A-lmighty for granting us the capacity and opportunity to journey beyond the here and now. The ability to do so, the freedom to actually get up and accomplish our dreams, should be intoxicating4.

And thus, once a day we praise Hashem for something breathtakingly valuable: Thank You, for giving me the wherewithal to journey onward.

1 Thus in Shemos Rabbah 2:6 – “Wherever the shechinah (Divine Presence) is revealed, it is forbidden to wear shoes”.

2 See Rambam Hilchos Bias Mikdash 5:17 – if a kohein performs any of the avodah service with even the slightest barrier interposing between his feet and the floor, that entire service is rendered invalid and must be repeated.

3 See Talmud Berachos 57b: If one dreams that a deceased person is removing various items from his house, he needn’t be concerned. If however the item being removed is a shoe or sandal, it is not a good sign as it implies that a member of the household has reached the end of their journey and will pass on to their final destination.

4 I would like to suggest that this is a possible interpretation of the terse Talmudic dictum: “A person should sell the very beams of his house in order to buy himself a pair of shoes” (Shabbos 129a). A person without shoes is a person without goals, aspirations or dreams. He is content sitting at home, resigned to the here and now. And thus, our sages teach, he might as well dismantle his house. For without the ability or desire to conquer new horizons, that house is little more than a prison, testimony to the slow decay of its inhabitant’s very existence. A person without a journey isn’t alive, and his home isn’t a home. Sell it, and start your journey.

Rabbi Dovid Hoffman

7

Author of the Torah Tavlin series of books on Torah, Haggadah shel Pesach, Yamim Noraim, and other Jewish topics, as well as the universally acclaimed series on the Holocaust, entitled 'Heroes of Spirit' and 'Heroes of Faith'

The author can be contacted at torahtavlin@aol.com

Parshah

The Great Exchange

The Chovas Halevavos (Shaar HaKniah 7) reveals that when one speaks lashon hara, he loses his mitzvos, and he gains aveiros. He loses his mitzvos, because his mitzvos are transferred to the person he spoke lashon hara about. And he gains sins, because the sins of the person he slandered, becomes his.

riddle

Parsha

The Chovas Halevavos writes, “If someone speaks lashon hara on you… tell him, ‘Don’t speak about me, my brother. Have mercy on your merits, so they won’t get lost from you, without you recognizing it. As it has been told about one of the chassidim who discovered that someone spoke lashon hara on him. He sent him a bowl filled with fruits from his country, and attached a note that said: The gifts — your mitzvos and good deeds — that you sent me have arrived. I therefore express my gratitude to you with this bowl…’ Another chassid said, ‘Many people will come to the judgment (in heaven) and will be shown their good deeds, and will find among their merits many mitzvos that they never performed. They will say, ‘We never did these matters.’ And they will be answered, ‘They were performed by the persons who spoke lashon hara about you.’

[Their mitzvos went to you.] And those people, who spoke lashon hara, will discover that they are missing merits and mitzvos that they performed. They will be told, ‘You lost them when you spoke about this person, and when you spoke on that person...’ Some people will find in their ‘book of faults’ sins that they never committed. They will complain, ‘We never did these aveiros.’ They will be answered, ‘These were given to you because of ploni and ploni whom you spoke against. [Their sins were given to you] as it states, ‫והשב לשכנינו שבעתים אל‬

‫חיקם חרפתם אשר חרפוך‬..., “they will return to you sevenfold to your bossom, for the disgrace that they disgraced [others]…’ (Tehillim 79:12).”1 A great exchange takes place by speaking lashon hara. The person’s good goes to the other, and he receives the other’s bad. Taking this into consideration, no one will ever desire to speak lashon hara; the loss is just too great.

Based on these ideas, the Ben Ish Chai asks the following question: Shulchan Aruch (606:1) teaches that before Yom Kippur, it’s important to ask forgiveness from the people you wronged, so you can attain the atonement on Yom Kippur. The Rema writes, ‫והמוחל לא‬ ‫ יהיה אכזרי מלמחול‬the person whom you ask forgiveness, shouldn’t be cruel. He should forgive you.

The Ben Ish Chai asks, after studying the Chovas HaLevavos and discovering how much 1 It states, ‫אכן נודע הדבר‬, “now the matter is understood” (Shemos 2:14). Rashi writes, “Now I have an answer to the question I was wondering about. What sin did Yisrael do, more than all the seventy nations, that they are punished with back-breaking labor? But now I see [that they speak slander] and they deserve it.”

The Sfas Emes zt’l explains that because of their lashon hara, they lose their merits (as the Chovas HaLevavos explains) and therefore they deserved the slavery punishment.

It is written ‫זאת תהיה תורת המצרע ביום טהרתו‬, “This will be the law of the metzora on the day of his purity” (Vayikra 14:1).

Reb Zvi Kaziglover zy’a explains that ‘Torah’ is written in this passuk because when he cleanses himself from his tzaraas, he will also get back his Torah and mitzvos that were taken away because of his lashon hara.

QUESTION

There is a word in this week’s Parsha that has something different in it that is common with ten other words spread throughout the Chamishoh Chumshei Torah What is the word, what is the connection with those other words, how many of the other ten can you get and finally where are they all in the Torah?

Thank you to Boruch Kahan bkahan47@yahoo.co.uk

CLUE

BIG

QUIZ TIME

??

livingwithmitzvos.com

one gains when someone speaks lashon hara on you, who will want to forgive? The lashon hara freed him from his aveiros and the lashon hara gave you many mitzvos. Why should one forgive, and forfeit all this goodness? And how can we call the person who doesn’t forgive cruel? Wouldn’t everyone want to hold on to those great benefits?

The Ben Ish Chai explains that whatever he loses by forgiving, he gains back in the merit of forgiving his fellow man. The Gemara teaches, ‫כל המעביר על מדותיו מעבירין לו על כל פשעיו‬, “Whoever forgives others, his sins are forgiven” (Yoma 23). It’s true that when someone spoke lashon hara on you, you lose your sins (and they are given to the speaker) but when you forgive the speaker, it will also atone for your sins. As the Gemara teaches, one’s sins are forgiven in the merit that he forgives others.

By forgiving others you are also performing the mitzvah of ‫השבת אבידה‬, to return lost items, because you are returning all the mitzvos that came to you due to the lashon hara. The reward for ‫ השבת אבידה‬is in accordance to the value that he returns. So when one forgives, and gives back all the mitzvos, he will earn immensely from the mitzvah of ‫השבת אבידה‬.

Therefore the Rema advises that one shouldn’t be cruel, and he should forgive his fellow man.

By forgiving, he gets reimbursed for whatever he loses.

ANSWER FROM LAST WEEK [Question: Rashi on the first Possuk of this week's Parsha tells us that the day that the Mishkan was erected was Rosh Choidesh Nisan, and ten crowns were taken. There is another Maamor Chazal telling us of a number of additional things that also happened on the day the Mishkan was erected.

What is it and connect that Maamor Chazal to something written in our Possuk?]

The Gemoro Gittin (Daf 60a) tells us that the day the Mishkan was erected eight different Parshios were mentioned. Our Possuk says Vayehi Bayom Hashemini (8).

5. Why is there the need for three types of tzara’as on three different objects: people, clothes and buildings?

Rabbi Yehonasan Gefen

8

Rabbi for Keter HaTorah

The author can be contacted at gefen123@inter.net.il

Parshah

THE TWO BIRDS

T

he Torah discusses the affliction of tzaraas that comes about as a punishment for lashon hara (negative speech) and the subsequent process required for its purification. One of the stages is the requirement to bring two birds; to slaughter one and to undergo a process with another one and ultimately release him alive. Rashi, based on the Gemara in Arachin, teaches us the symbolism of the use of birds;1 the sin of lashon hara comes as a result of chatter – birds chatter and therefore the offerings relating to them are symbolic of the chatter that results in lashon hara. Rav Shlomo Ganzfried2 asks a number of questions on this process. Firstly, why was it necessary that two birds be involved, why was one insufficient? Furthermore, why was one killed and the other left alive?3 He answers by elaborating on the symbolism of the birds. The bird that is killed corresponds to the kind of speech that involves lashon hara.

It comes to teach us that there is no place 1 Arachin, 16b.

2 Author of Kitsur Shulchan Aruch; this source is from his work on Hashkafa, Apiriyon.

3 See there for his additional questions: Tallelei Oros, Vayikra Aleph, pp.282-283.

for this kind of speech. However, if only this single bird was offered then one may come to believe that the only way of avoiding lashon hara is not speaking at all. Thus the Torah tells us that there is a second bird that should be left alive; this corresponds to positive forms of speech such as Divrei Torah. This speech is not only acceptable but life-giving. He proves this with a verse from Mishlei: “Death and life are in the hands of speech”4 Torah is called an eitz Chayim, tree of life, therefore we see that positive speech such as Torah is life-giving.

We learn from Rav Ganzfried that silence is not the solution to avoid speaking lashon hara. Indeed it is said that the Chofetz Chaim zt”l was a talkative person; what did he talk about? Torah and Mitzvo observance. Whilst it is inconceivable to fully emulate his level of pure speech, there is a vital lesson that we can learn from Rav Ganzfried’s words and the Chofetz Chaim’s example. There are forms of speech that do not constitute outright lashon hara but they often ultimately result in lashon hara or at least avak lashon hara.5 Perhaps the 4 Mishlei (Proverbs), 18:21.

5 A Rabbinic form of forbidden speech.

most obvious example of this is talking about other people: In the course of conversations it is very common for other people’s names to arise and, without any outright negative intentions, it is very common that lashon hara arises soon after.6 In this vein, one Rav was asked how he avoids speaking lashon hara. He answered that he strives to never speak about other people.7 This may be difficult to fully accomplish but as in all areas of Avodas Hamiddos (self-growth) one can take small steps to improve in this area by gradually reducing the amount of time talking about others. And we learn from Rav Ganzfried that simply shutting one’s mouth completely is not the ideal way to improve.

Rather one should strive to raise the level of the content of their speech. This doesn’t only mean speaking words of Torah – there are many other areas that can be discussed that have constructive purposes. The main point is to strive to replace gossip about other people with more positive forms of speech.

6 A connected problem is discussion about ‘politics’ which often leads to outright lashon hara. In this essay we are mainly discussing talking about people that we know.

7 Presumably he was not referring to constructive speech about others, rather meaningless gossip.

ANSWERS 1. Tzara’as was a punishment that was special. It showed clearly the direct result

who tell the affected man what to do. In the same vein, the purpose of his evil speech was to provoke argument and get people to separate from each other. of sin. This can only work for people who are on a high spiritual level who His punishment is therefore to be sent outside all three camps to be alone and will take this message to heart and repent. However, nowadays we are on separate from other people. such a low spiritual level that we are almost all guilty of Loshon Hora and we would not be able to all be sent away! It is because of this lowly situation 3. The connection and theme of Parshas Tazria is Mechusar Kippurim, people that this blessing in disguise of tzara’as was taken away from us nowadays. who become tamei and despite going to the mikva and waiting until nightfall, (See Ramban, 13:47 and Alshich, 13:2.) Chafetz Chaim (Shaar HaZechira they still need to bring a korban the next day. These include the Yoledes and 6) answers that since we do not have a Beis HaMikdash and are unable to the Metzorah. This theme is continued into the next parsha, Parshas Metzorah, sacrifice the proper Korbanos which are necessary for the purification of that again discusses tzara’as of houses and Zovim. the Metzora, Hashem has mercy on us and has removed the phenomenon of 4. We find in the haftora of Parshas Metzorah that four Metzoraim were together Tzaraas from our midst. Hashem does not want to place a punishment upon us, by the entrance gates and had a discussion, etc. We see from here that they can from which we cannot cleanse ourselves. stick together with fellow metzoraim and only need to remain separate from everyone else.

2. There is the principle of midda kineged midda, meaning that Hashem will pay the person back in the same way as he acts. The tzara’as is caused by the sin of 5. Even though there is one sin of Loshon Hora, the punishment comes in stages Loshon Hora, speech. Therefore the punishment is that it requires the speech and on different things. Each stage is a warning that if it goes unheeded then of the Kohen to pronounce the verdict. Since this is a spiritual illness, instead of the punishment continues. It comes from outside, affecting first his house a doctor being involved, the Kohanim, the spiritual elite of the people (as seen continues and works inwards. It comes closer, appearing on clothes and then eventually on the skin of the person himself! in that they are chosen to do the avoda in the Beis Hamikdosh) are the ones

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