Weekly Torah Portion

Dvar Torah by Baal Koreh Marc Lamb.

These beautiful spring days between Passover and Shavuot are days of great opportunities for us.  Passover commemorates our freedom from the bondage of both physical and spiritual slavery and Shavuot celebrates the giving of the Torah to the Jewish people.

The portion of this week, Tazriah-Metzorah and last week's portion Shmini are perfectly placed in the middle of this season, as they both deal with purifying our bodies and making ourselves holy for the giving of the Torah.  These Torah portions offer us very practical and real ways for our bodies to be purified and holy. 

Shmini is about the laws of eating -which foods we are permitted to eat and which we are not permitted. Tazriah-Metzorah is about the laws of impurities of the outer body, leprosy and how to make our bodies pure. 

The Rabbis ask why these two portions are juxtaposed one after the other.

 There are many answers, but a very simple and logical answer is often cited. 

Shmini discusses the laws of kosher and has to do with what we take into our bodies.

While Tazriah-Metzorah discusses what comes out of our bodies.

The Torah recognizes that we humans need to eat to live and God blessed us with   the sense of taste so we can receive great pleasure from food. How wonderful it is to enjoy a great meal or try a new restaurant. We like to look back and recall with fondness our mother’s and grandmother’s recipes. 

God encourages us to eat but with restrictions.

In Tazriah-Metzorah, the laws of leprosy affect those who speak Lashon Harah- evil speech- gossip and slander. God recognizes that humans are by nature story tellers and social creatures. We like to live in communities near each other and communicate with each other. God recognizes that aspect of human nature and encourages us to join into communities and care for each other. Yet here too, there are restrictions. Story telling is fine. We can all enjoy novels, movies and TV shows. Talks and discussions can be wonderful and educational. However, we mustn't let words that we speak or words that we write hurt other people.

So, in both of these portions, God is restricting what comes into our mouths and what comes out of our mouths.

God gave us a mission- to be a holy nation.  How can we be a holy nation in an unholy world that does not respect holiness?  And how can we be close to God in a world where it is often hard to find God?

The beautiful thing about Judaism is that we have opportunities in our everyday lives to do things that make us close to God and make us holy. These Torah portions talk about those opportunities, Be scrupulous about what goes into your mouth - don't overeat, don't eat unhealthy. If you eat other living creatures- eat kosher.

And be scrupulous about what comes out of your mouth.  If your words will hurt someone- don't say them.  We all know how destructive words can be and how the wrong words can ruin friendships, marriages and damage communities. 

As the spring turns to summer and we get closer to Shavuot, let us continue to bring God into our lives and do the mitzvot that make us a holy nation. Eat with intention - don’t over eat, eat healthy, eat kosher. Speak with intention - speak positively. If you have nothing good to say - say nothing. 

These seemingly small things all add up. They help us to be holy and bring us closer to the revelation of Mt Sinai, the giving of the Torah and the presence of God in our lives. 

I wish you Shabbat Shalom.