Shalom Everyone, I'm excited to share some exciting news and upcoming events:
1. Starting on Pesach, the Shabbat and Holiday Nursery program will be back for kids 0-6.
2. Starting next week I will be giving a special Pesach class for BEBY NEXTgen demographics called: SWEETER THAN HONEY: Mysical Insights into the Passover Seder. It will be a DAILY 20-minute blast of the deep transformational mysteries of the Seder experience.
3. Bryna and Tikka are back for Pre-Pesach songs and stories.
4. At the end of April, Beth Emeth will be welcoming a guest Cantor from Israel, Yakov Zingboim. There will be a special opportunity for him to meet and connect with the NEXTgen community! Watch for details.
There is so much happening at Beth Emeth. I look forward to seeing everyone back in shul soon!
SCROLL DOWN FOR MORE PROGRAMMING AND REGISTRATION INFORMATION!
Parshat Tazria - Under Your Skin
This week's parshah describes a strange skin disease called "tza'ra'at". Our Rabbis explain that it was a physical disease that was caused by spiritual sickness. They teach that the main cause for tza'ra'at was speaking lashon harah - destructive speech.
Someone with tza'ra'at was brought to the Cohen who would be able to tell if a person was healing or not based on the appearance of the disease. If it appeared only on the surface of the skin, it could be healed after one week of quaranteen. If, after that one week, the tza'ra'at was visible UNDER the skin, then the person was made to go into another week of quaranteen.
We all make mistakes and sometimes we say the wrong things and sometimes even speak badly about other people. The tza'ra'at on the surface of the skin was a reminder to not speak about others: it needed a correction of behaviour. After one week, a person will have examined their behaviour and will try to be better.
If, however, the tza'ra'at was under the skin, then it meant that the cause of tza'ra'at was not only speaking badly, but it was because a deeper personal flaw: a personal desire to speak badly about others. When the negative behaviour is beneath the surface, or "under the skin", it will take more time to heal.
While we don't have tza'ra'at today, sadly there is always a lot of lashon harah. This parshah reminds us to think about our words, make sure they are constructive and helpful, and that we never let any negativity get under our skin.
Discussion Questions:
1. There is an expression "sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me". Do you think that is really true? Why?
2. What is the problem with speaking lashon harah?
3. Why do you think the Torah uses a skin disease to remind a person about a spiritual sickness?
4. How can we apply the example of tza'ra'at - something on the surface that represents something deeper - to other challenges in our lives?
Beth Emeth Bais Yehuda Synagogue 100 Elder Street Toronto, ON M3H 5G7
