Nisan 5, 5785 / May 2-3, 2025
Parashat Tazria-Metzora
Torah: Leviticus 12:1 - 15:33
Haftarah: 2 Kings 7:3-20
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This d’var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for the hostages.
This d’var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for all who have been wounded in the terrorist attacks and in fighting against the terrorists, as well as innocent non-combatants caught in the crossfire.
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Lunch and Learn meets Mondays at 12:30 PM on Zoom and Facebook Live. We're continuing to read and discuss the Midrashic collection Ein Ya'akov.
On May 5, we'll be at BT Yevamot 47a, page 37 of Ein Ya'akov (Glick edition) Volume 3 -
Lunch and Learn meets Mondays at 12:30 PM on Zoom and Facebook Live. We're continuing to read and discuss the Midrashic collection Ein Ya'akov.
On May 5, we'll be at BT Yevamot 47a, page 37 of Ein Ya'akov (Glick edition) Volume 3 -
'... ת"ר גר שבא' - "Our Rabbis were taught: when a proselyte comes ..."
Ein Ya'akov (Glick edition) is available for on-line reading or as a downloadable PDF at:
https://hebrewbooks.org/9630
A pointed Hebrew text version with different pagination is available at Sefaria:
https://www.sefaria.org/Ein_Yaakov?tab=contents
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Check out our wonderful community, and get lots of info about our various programs and becoming a Member at: https://bnaihayim.org/
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Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source.
A pointed Hebrew text version with different pagination is available at Sefaria:
https://www.sefaria.org/Ein_Yaakov?tab=contents
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Check out our wonderful community, and get lots of info about our various programs and becoming a Member at: https://bnaihayim.org/
----------------------------------------------------------------
Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source.
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DON'T BE AN ESTRANGER
“This is the law of the metzora (mistranslated as 'leper') at
the time of his purification; he shall be brought to the priest. The priest
shall go outside the camp…” Leviticus 14:2-3
Until his condition clears up, the “leper” remains
outside the camp. The Torah says he shall be brought to the priest, then
immediately says that the priest shall go out of the camp to the leper.
There is a lesson here for us. Those who are outside of
our community, who are isolated or withdrawn, for whatever reason, don't
automatically come back to us, even after the condition that caused them to
withdraw has passed. How much the more so is this true of those who are not
ready for “purification”. Consider the poor, the homeless, the disabled and the
foreign-born - all of the strangers among us who are estranged from
us.
Each of us has the obligation to bring them to us, to
integrate them into our community and welcome them. We are frequently told in
the Torah that we must treat the stranger with love and respect because we were
once strangers in Egypt (see Exodus 22:20; 23:9) - we know, or we ought to
know what it is like to be the Other. Arguably, we are COMMANDED to know what it is like to be a stranger.
And if you say that it is the job of someone else, “the
priest”, you don't get off the hook that easily. Every Jew has the holiness,
the power and the obligations of the priest. God tells us that “you shall be
for Me a kingdom of priests and a holy people.” (Exodus 19:6)
Just a few weeks ago, we read/sang the above opening sentences of the Seder Shel Pesach. It's an invitation to the estranged to feed their bodies ("all who are hungry") and their souls ("all who are in need"). Please,
invite someone who might be estranged from the community, who might otherwise have no community, to join you at the synagogue or at your table. You have
nothing to lose, and only holiness to gain.
Shabbat Shalom!
Rabbi Richard A. Flom, Rabbi Emeritus
Temple B'nai Hayim
הַלּוֹמֵד מִכָּל אָדָם ?אֵיזֶהוּ חָכָם
Who is wise? The one who learns from every person.
Ben Zoma - Pirkei Avot 4:1
Who is wise? The one who learns from every person.
Ben Zoma - Pirkei Avot 4:1
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