Tazria

(12:1-13:59) Cleanliness and uncleanliness are defined in relation to childbirth and leprosy.

Rabbi O’s Weekly Parsha: Tazria-Metzora (Leviticus 12-15) Teach Your Children Well

April 20, 2018
Leviticus
Metzora, Tazria

I remember a recurring anti-smoking TV commercial growing up; it aired from 1967-1982. It began with a scene of a man on a ladder painting the side of a house while a little boy (about 3 years old) looked on with a paint brush in hand; he was helping. The narrator said, “like father, like […]

Rabbi O’s Weekly: Tazria-Metzora A Different Kind of Vacuum

April 28, 2017
Leviticus
Metzora, Tazria

Speak to the children of Israel, saying: When a woman conceives and gives birth to a male, she shall be tameh for seven days… If she gives birth to a female, she shall be tameh for two weeks. (Vayikra 12: 2, 5) Tumah (ritual impurity) is a spiritual status that impacts a person’s involvement in […]

Rabbi O’s Parsha Page: Tazria (Leviticus 12-13) Critical Conversations: Part 1

April 8, 2016
Leviticus
Tazria

The main topic addressed in this week’s Parsha is a condition called tzarat. Although it is generally translated as “leprosy,” other than the fact that it is a painful skin ailment, its exact nature is unknown to us and has not existed for thousands of years. It was not an airborne virus and it is […]

Want to be Effective? Change Your Perspective.

March 28, 2014
Leviticus
Tazria

…the Kohen shall look, and behold! – the affliction has covered his entire flesh, then he shall declare the affliction to be pure… (Leviticus 13:13) The portion of Tazria includes a detailed discussion of an affliction known as Tzara’at, one of the most misunderstood concepts in the Torah. Because Tzara’at afflicts the skin, it is […]