Torah Commentary
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Together, we will champion the lessons of Passover by bringing greater wholeness, justice, and belonging to our world.
Together, we will champion the lessons of Passover by bringing greater wholeness, justice, and belonging to our world.
Torah Commentary
The Mystery of Birth and Rebirth
This week's portion Tazria falls in sync with the fourth of our five pre-Purim through pre-Passover special Shabbatot, when we include special readings for Torah and haftarah.1 This week on Shabbat HaChodesh, the haftarah from Ezekiel prepares us for the important new month, the month when we celebrate our Exodus from Egypt.
Again and Again
Imagine, if you will, that today is not today, and you are not who you thought you were when you woke up this morning. Imagine that today is really some years prior to today, and you are here to meet with the rabbi in preparation for becoming bar or bat mitzvah.
A Disease that Walls Get? Decoding Tzaraat and Facing Our Fears
It's time for all Leviticus fans to haul out their decoder rings! In Leviticus 13 and 14, we encounter a strange disease called tzaraat, which can be contracted by human beings, walls, stones, or cloth. Tzaraat has been translated variously as "'scale disease,' 'scaly disease,' 'eruption,' and (erroneously) 'leprosy' " (The Women's Torah Commentary, ed. Tamara Cohn Eskenazi and Andrea L. Weiss [New York: URJ Press, 2008] p. 659).
The Plagues of Our Time
The Issue
Parashat Tazria: How Do We, As Jews, Deal with Illness and Those Who are Ill?
Another perspective on this week’s Torah portion. Written by teens, for teens.