11 Lessons
Parashat Hashavua: More Mila than Brit?
Rabbi Yossef Carmel | Iyar 5785
Ketoret, Tzara’at, and Uziya
We will try to prove now that tzara’at is also the result of lacking between man and his fellow man. At first glance, this is almost a trivial task, as Chazal teach us that the main cause of tzara’at is lashon hara, one of the most basic interpersonal sins.
Rabbi Yossef Carmel | Adar II 25 5782
To be a Free Nation in its Land
Parashat Tazria opens with the command to do a brit mila on a baby’s eighth day. It would seem that we thereby make a bodily sign of being like slaves of Hashem, which would indicate that we left the bondage of Egypt to be slaves to Hashem. So in what way did we become free men? We will investigate this matter as we go through, in the coming weeks, the holidays of spring (Pesach, Yom Hashoah, Yom Hazikaron, Yom Ha’atzmaut, Lag Ba’omer, Yom Yerushalayim, and Shavuot).
Rabbi Yossef Carmel | iyar 4 5781
In Praise of Humility
Rabbi Yossef Carmel | Nissan 27 5780
Laws of Family Purity - Avoiding Misconceptions
The laws of purity and impurity are a part of the Torah that is seemingly beyond human conception. The Torah defines these laws in Bamidbar (19:2): “This is the chok of the Torah.” Rav, the great Amora, when discussing laws relating to our parasha, states: “It is one source – the Torah made it impure, and it made it pure” (Nida 35b). Nevertheless we will try to explain a few principles and what they are meant to teach us.
Rabbi Yossef Carmel | Nisan 29 5777
The First Surrogate Mother
Many have tried to explain the sequential significance of “Should a woman give forth seed and give birth to a male” (Vayikra 12:2). A baraita seems to take things literally: “If the woman ovulates first, she will bear a male. If the male’s seed is first, she will bear a girl.” Rabbi Tzadok cites further support for this correlation from the pasuk, “These are the sons that Leah bore for Yaakov in Padan Aram, along with Dina, his daughter” (Bereishit 46:15). Still, it is hard to understand what the Torah is hinting at and what the various rabbis are saying.
Rabbi Yossef Carmel | Adar II 29 5776
A Convergence of “Ot”s
Rabbi Yossef Carmel | 5771
The Connection between the Eye and the Skin
We have seen that tzarut ayin, an anti-social trait, is, in regard to tzara’at, comparable to the cardinal sins.
Rabbi Yossef Carmel | Nisan 5767
Take the Same Path Home
Parashat Tazria
Parashat Tazria
Rabbi Yossef Carmel | 1 Iyar 5766
A Solar Eclipse of Sorts
Parashat Tazria
Parashat Tazria
Rabbi Yossef Carmel | 29 Adar II 5765