Metzora

The Tongue and the Heart

The Content of Kingliness and Servitude

Based on Harav Shaul Yisraeli – from Shirat Hageula pp. 22-25

Based on Harav Shaul Yisraeli – from Shirat Hageula pp. 22-25

Tzaraat

Heaven is indeed conscious of our thoughts, actions, speech, and behavior. And that these have consequences both for the good and for the better.

Leprosy, Exile, & the Final Redemption

Connecting the phenomenon of  leprosy of the house, and the steps taken to resolve it, to how the story of the final Redemption will play out.

The Power of Shame

The new social media have brought about a return to an ancient phenomenon, public shaming. Tthis gives us a way of understanding the otherwise bewildering phenomenon of tsara’at.

The Historical Root of Lashon Hara

From Siach Shaul, p. 326-328 (1944)

Lashon hara is an expression of evil. An evil eye (ayin hara) looks for something or someone who is above it, and upon finding it, poisons the person’s tranquility and does not allow him to enjoy things he could have enjoyed.

How to Praise

The Sages were eloquent on the subject of lashon hara, the sin they took to be the cause of tsara’at. But there is a meta-halachic principle: “From the negative you can infer the positive”.Therefore there must in principle be a concept of lashon hatov, good speechץ

A Skin Disorder...Only in Israel?

The Torah limits the disease of Tzra'at (according to the Ramban), to the land of Israel. Is that positive or negative?