Metzora

When the boogeyman of the mob is demystified, we have the humanity to look even our enemy in the face as a real, breathing human soul. 

A resource for clergy speaking about Israel at 75.

The Kli Yakar (16th century, Prague)... says that it is this stinginess that brings “tzara’at of houses,” that our refusal to share is what will ultimately destroy our homes and society.

The experiences of those returning from incarceration recall the Torah’s description of someone with tzara’at, an infectious and highly stigmatized skin disease. 

Commentary on Parshat Metzora (Leviticus 14:1 – 15:33) One of the most powerful experiences I had during my rabbinic training was serving as a hospital chaplain. I practiced chaplaincy with a group of five other people on the path to becoming clergy of various faiths, and we were trained by a supervisor – an ordained...

Commentary on Parshat Tazria (Leviticus 12:1-13:59) In the world of Tazria, scaly, raw, and oozing pustules called tzara’at erupt on the skin and spread impurity through the camp. Those who suffer from this illness are isolated. The word used in Leviticus to describe this skin ailment is nega, which specifically means a plague sent by...

In our parashah, we learn about the mysterious affliction tzara’at. Further on in the Book of Numbers, Miriam the Prophetess is stricken with tzara’at as a punishment for speaking against her brother Moses. Miriam and her other brother Aaron – we’ll have to save the question of why Aaron goes unpunished for another d’var Torah...

“I am a nester,” my friend said just weeks before Pesach, as we pondered the ramifications of her house having been dismantled for mold remediation. Her home is sacred space for her, a place set apart to replenish herself. Normally, she would have been cooking up a storm in her house. Instead, we baked a...