MHA-FYOS Dean's Blog

Kedusha , holiness, refers to the identity that an object has of being associated with or designated for service of Hashem. Items in the Temple, a kohen and a sefer Torah all have kedusha as each one is designated for serving G-d. Tahara , halachic purity refers to the state of being prepared to encounter the Almighty in the Temple. Specifically, one must be in a state of tahara prior to entering the Temple. Note that the halachic state of impurity is not bad or a sin. Most people in history were regularly in a state of impurity. The beginning of this week’s parasha deals with these two concepts – holiness and purity – as they relate to giving birth. The Torah explains that when a woman gives birth, she is tameh – halachically impure – for a period of time. The Torah explains that if she has a boy, she is tameh for seven days. On the eighth day, her son is circumcised and she continues to be tameh from that eighth day for another thirty-three days - a grand total of forty days. ...

This and next week’s parshiyot are called torat hanegaim – the laws related to tzara’at – the Divine Punishment of an “eruption” – a nega – on the home, clothing and/or skin. Tzara'at is not a naturally occurring disease in the sense that its cause is not exposure to disease nor is it communicable. Rather, tzara'at is a Divine Punishment brought on by sin. Rashi explains that this punishment is prominently associated with two sins - lashon hara – sins of speech – and gasot haruach – arrogance. Some averot – like not eating kosher food or having illicit relationships – typically stem from physical desire. Others – such as not believing in the existence of G-d – can stem from a philosophical mistake. But averot like lashon hara and gasot haruach are members of a unique class of sins. These are sins that stem from a character flaw – a problem in the person’s personality. In next week’s parasha , Rashi teaches a foundational principle about tzara'at : the process of atonem...