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From: heb_roots_chr@mail.geocities.com Sent: Sunday, April 6, 1997 10:10 PM To: Hebraic Heritage Newsgroup Subject: Torah Weekly - Tazria
Date: Sat, 5 Apr 1997 21:53:58 -0200
Reply-to: ohr@jer1.co.il
From: "Ohr Somayach" <ohr@jer1.co.il>
To: " Highlights of the Torah weekly portion" <weekly@jer1.co.il>
Subject: Torah Weekly - Tazria
X-To: weekly@virtual.co.il
* TORAH WEEKLY *
Highlights of the Weekly Torah Portion
with "Sing, My Soul!" thoughts on Shabbos Zemiros
Parshas Tazria
For the week ending 5 Nissan 5757
11 & 12 April 1997
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Overview
The Torah commands a woman to bring a Korban after the birth of a child. A
son is to be circumcised on the eighth day of his life. The Torah
introduces the phenomenon of Tzara'as (often mistranslated as leprosy) -- a
miraculous disease that attacks people, clothing and buildings to awaken a
person to spiritual failures. A Kohen must be consulted to determine
whether a particular mark is Tzara'as or not. The Kohen isolates the
sufferer for a week. If the disease remains unchanged, confinement
continues for a second week, after which the Kohen decides the person's
status. The Torah describes the different forms of Tzara'as. One whose
Tzara'as is confirmed wears torn clothing, does not cut his hair, and must
alert others that he is ritually impure. He may not have normal contact
with people. The phenomenon of Tzara'as on clothing is described in
detail.
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Insights
WHO'S FIRST?
"When a woman conceives..." (12:2)
If Man is worthy - if he makes his soul the essence of his being - then he
precedes all Creation. For it was the spirit of Man that hovered over the
depths even before the creation of light. But if he is not worthy - if he
glories in his physical dimension - then in terms of the physical
precedence of Creation, even the mosquito preceded him...
For this reason the Torah deals with the laws of purity in Man after the
laws of purity in animals: Just as the physical creation of Man follows
that of the animals, so his laws are explained after the laws of the
animals. This applies only when man behaves as nothing more than a
sophisticated animal. However, if man relegates his physical side to his
soul; if he fulfills the purpose of Creation by recognizing and serving his
Creator, then he precedes all Creation.
(Based on the Midrash and Rashi)
TWO SIGNS
"And on the eighth day, the flesh of the foreskin shall be circumcised."
(12:3)
The greatness of Shabbos can be seen from the fact that a boy is not given
Bris Mila until he is eight days old - until he has experienced Shabbos.
In other words, the reason that Bris Mila is performed on the eighth day
after birth is so that the he can experience Shabbos before the Mila. Only
by passing through the holiness of Shabbos, can he reach a level where he
becomes fit to enter into the holiness of the Jewish People through Bris
Mila.
(Yalkut Yehuda)
MORE THAN SKIN DEEP
"And on the eighth day, the flesh of the foreskin shall be circumcised."
(12:3)
The custom at a Bris is to say to the parents "Just as he has been brought
into the Covenant (Bris), so should he be brought to Torah, marriage and
good deeds." Just as he has been brought into the Bris, which is now an
inseparable part of him, thus also should all the other mitzvos of the
Torah form an inseparable part of him.
(Iturei Torah)
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Haftorah - II Kings 4 - 5
Muscle-Bound
Just as this week's Parsha deals with the spiritual affliction known as
tzara'as, so too the Haftorah's subject is Na'aman, a foreign general in
the army of King Amram. Na'aman treated Jews contemptuously, but Elisha
showed him however strong a person is, life and health are a gift from
Hashem.
Pride And Prescience
"Let him come to me now, and he will know that there is a prophet in
Yisrael." (5:8)
Our Sages teach us that one of the causes for the leprous-like spiritual
disease called tzara'as is haughtiness and pride.
Therefore, its cure is that the one who is afflicted should humble himself.
It was for this reason that the prophet Elisha commanded "Let him come to
me please." Meaning that even though I can cure him from afar, since his
tzara'as is an affliction of his ego and he views himself as a great man
and a fearsome warrior, he can only be healed by humbling himself. It will
be a great affront to his dignity to be summoned by me.
Even after Na'aman came to Elisha, Elisha did not greet him personally, but
rather he sent him as messenger with instructions how to cure himself.
All this was to bring him to a level of humility that would make it
possible for him to be cured.
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Sing, My Soul!
Insights into the Zemiros sung at the Shabbos table
throughout the generations.
Tzur Mishelo Achalnu
The Rock, from Whose food we have eaten
"May the Sanctuary be rebuilt, Yibaneh haMikdash,
the City of Zion replenished ir Tziyon t'malay,
and there shall we sing a new song." v'sham nashir shir chadash
The Midrash calls attention to a connection between the rebuilding of
Jerusalem and the songs of praise sung by Israel to its G-d. In Tehillim
147, which we say each morning, we quote King David's words that "it is
good to sing to our L-rd ... Hashem builds Jerusalem and gathers in the
dispersed of Israel." Jerusalem, concludes the Midrash, will only be
rebuilt with the praise and zemiros we sing to Hashem.
There is also contained in this phrase the idea that when the final
redemption takes place none of the old songs will be adequate for
expressing our joy and a "new song" will have to be composed.
Our singing of zemiros today is only a rehearsal for the "new song" which
will herald the rebuilding of the Beis Hamikdash, soon in our days.
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Written and Compiled by Rabbi Yaakov Asher Sinclair
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