The priestly code; the rules pertaining to sacrifices, diet, and morality; and the Land of Israel and festivals are discussed.
An urban legend claims that someone with a tattoo cannot be buried in a Jewish cemetery. I don’t know the source of this incorrect myth but Jewish mothers for decades have successfully used it to prevent their teenage sons/daughter’s from getting tattoos. Even though it won’t disqualify a corpse from burial in the Jewish cemetery, […]
What thought comes to mind when you think of holiness? For most, it conjures up people living a life of seclusion and abstinence where one is in a state of serenity and is free to ponder life’s conundrums. The Jewish view of holiness is incompatible with this notion. This week’s Torah portion begins with the […]
Rabbi O’s Weekly Parsha:Metzora (Leviticus 14-15) Critical Conversations Part II: The Most Important Question to Ask Yourself Before Speaking This week’s Parsha continues discussing the harmful effects of lashon hara, senseless negative speech. Many people don’t take speech seriously; they freely speak about others without regard for their feelings or the potential damage it can […]
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 […]
Refrigeration and Kosher Food: Rite or Right This week’s Parsha talks about kosher food and discusses the signs and details that render an animal, bird, or fish kosher. Being as so many people think that these laws stem from a lack of refrigeration and other considerations due to the limitations of the ancient world, we […]
An Effective Tool for Getting Love You Want Many people are familiar with an attitude about a task we aren’t looking forward to: “It is not very glamorous, but somebody has to do it.” And so the Torah begins this week’s portion by telling us the mitzvah of , removing the ashes that accumulate from […]
Enjoy Rabbi Oppenheim’s insights into Passover aspects Weekly Torah Reading: Metzora (Leviticus 14-15) (Being as Passover is a bit more than ten days away, we will discuss different aspects of Passover for the next two weeks) Are You a Freed Slave or A Free Person Anyone who has attended even one Passover Seder knows how […]
…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 […]
