Greetings from Adas Israel the Jewish Congregation of Northern Iowa, based in Mason City. Homes around the world are in a flurry of activity getting ready for Passover that begins on Friday evening the 15th of April. That is also the time for the Adas Israel Community Seder which is back after a year-long absence. We will gather at 7:00PM for a brief Erv Shabbat Service and then move into the Seder. The cost for the expertly prepared meal is $30 per person, $75 for a family of four and for larger numbers please contact President Alan Steckman who can be reached at 641-424-9362 and leave a message or you can text him at 641-420-7251. Checks may be sent directly to Post Office Box 621 Mason City, Iowa, 50402-0621. Then on Shabbat we will hold our Monthly Midrash at the shul starting at 10:00AM. Come to both and learn even more about Passover.
This Week...
This week's Torah Portion if Parsha Metzora (Lev. 14 - 15) as we read in the opening sentence. "Hashem spoke to Moses, saying, This shall be the law of the metzora on the day of his purification." Metzora is the Hebrew word for a person afflicted with a skin disease then there is a commandment as to what that person must do. Key to this is that the person becomes afflicted with this skin disease because of a degraded spiritual condition.
The rabbis say that the removal of the person from the camp allows him the opportunity to reflect on his deficiencies and to repent so that he can once again become part of the nation. As soon as that happens G-d will remove the mark and he can begin the process of reunification.
Look Back
To better understand metzora (the person afflicted) we need to look back at the Torah Portion of last week Here we learn that the skin disease has a name, and that is tzaraas. We find that in Lev. 13:2, "If a person (adam) will have on his skin . . .a tzaraas affliction..." As Rabbi Abraham Twerski z"l wrote, "The Talmud is very clear that the affliction of tzaraas (the exact nature of which is unknown to us) is a punishment for having spoken lashon hara, derogatory speech."
Here is where this gets really interesting. The Hebrew word the Torah uses for “person” in the above verse is adam. There are several other Hebrew words for “person”: enosh, ish, gever. The ethical writings state that each refers to a level of spirituality, and adam represents the highest level. We must understand, therefore, the Torah's choice of the word adam for a person afflicted with tzaraas.
The Chafetz Chaim said that the juxtaposition of this portion of the Torah to that of the previous portion dealing with non-kosher animals is to teach us that people who may be meticulously careful about what goes into their mouths should be equally as scrupulous about what comes out of their mouths. There are sins which a Torah observant person would never do, but as for lashon hara, it is a rare person who is saved from it. Hence, even a spiritual person, adam, is vulnerable to lashon hara.
The Lesson
Here the lesson for us all is clear. in order to refrain from becoming an outcast we much watch our words carefully. Believe me, in the passion of the moment it is easy for us to say something evil about another person. While we might "think" those thoughts once we say them the "cat is out of the bag" so to speak.
But, there is another lesson here that has to do with gossip which is also defined as lashon hara or the "evil tongue". Gossip is the worst. And each of us are called to truly "watch our tongue" especially when hearing gossip. The correct way to deal with a person who is peddling gossip is to ask them to stop unless there is proof of the charges. Often, on reflection, if the gossip does not make sense it is a severe problem to repeat it. Deal?
Shabbat Shalom and Happy Spring Cleaning...no, really! Where do you think the whole idea of "spring cleaning" came from? Yes, once again the Jewish effort to entirely cleanse our homes of chametz...think even crumbs of bread. You're welcome.
See you for Pesach!
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