This week's parsha
Unless otherwise noted, "This week's Parsha" comprises articles taken from contributors to the Chabad.org website. We show the original author's name here, so that proper attribution is given. For the sake of brevity, footnotes cited in the original author's writings are omitted from this website. If you need to see the citations, please refer to the original articles on the Chabad.org website.
Flourishing
"How are you?" asks an old friend. "Great!" you respond. "Fantastic, wonderful. Flourishing!" You smile, your old friend smiles, and you both move on. However, you think to yourself, things are more complicated than that, in all sorts of ways. In fact, are you right to be so cheerful?
According to Jewish teaching, yes. Of course there are times to confide one's problems to a friend, times to get help, and certainly there is a need to be aware of what is happening in one's life and to take firm action to deal with dangerous and otherwise negative situations. Yet at the same time, we can truthfully say, whatever the situation, that we are flourishing.
"Really?" you might ask. "Whatever the situation? What about if...? Come, on, be rational."
Our double Torah reading (this week, the Torah reading is comprised of two parshahs: Tazria, Leviticus 12-13; and Metzora, Leviticus 14-15) gives us a hint of this idea, as explained by the Lubavitcher Rebbe.
According to Jewish teaching, yes. Of course there are times to confide one's problems to a friend, times to get help, and certainly there is a need to be aware of what is happening in one's life and to take firm action to deal with dangerous and otherwise negative situations. Yet at the same time, we can truthfully say, whatever the situation, that we are flourishing.
"Really?" you might ask. "Whatever the situation? What about if...? Come, on, be rational."
Our double Torah reading (this week, the Torah reading is comprised of two parshahs: Tazria, Leviticus 12-13; and Metzora, Leviticus 14-15) gives us a hint of this idea, as explained by the Lubavitcher Rebbe.
Earthen Vessels
This week's Torah reading discusses the complex laws of ritual purity, tumah and tahara.
The Torah tells us that "every earthen vessel into which any [impure creature shall] fall ... shall be unclean."
There is an interesting distinction made in Jewish law between different types of utensils. If a source of impurity even comes within the inside space of a vessel which is made of earthenware, even if it doesn't touch the walls of the vessel, the vessel becomes impure. However, if it did not enter the vessel, even if it touched the walls from outside, the vessel remains pure.
With all other utensils, the opposite is the case: having a source of impurity placed within the space of a vessel does not make the vessel impure, whereas touching any part of the vessel does render it impure.
Why is this?
The Torah tells us that "every earthen vessel into which any [impure creature shall] fall ... shall be unclean."
There is an interesting distinction made in Jewish law between different types of utensils. If a source of impurity even comes within the inside space of a vessel which is made of earthenware, even if it doesn't touch the walls of the vessel, the vessel becomes impure. However, if it did not enter the vessel, even if it touched the walls from outside, the vessel remains pure.
With all other utensils, the opposite is the case: having a source of impurity placed within the space of a vessel does not make the vessel impure, whereas touching any part of the vessel does render it impure.
Why is this?
Appreciation
A key element in human relationships is the ability to express thanks. We also need the complementary skill: to accept thanks graciously. The simple step of appreciating the effort made by another person helps to join hearts, and to traverse the natural barriers, such as the layers of self, which divide one individual from another.
While the concept of giving thanks is important among human beings, it is also central in our relationship with G-d. Almost all of our responses to G-d through following the path of Jewish teaching can be seen as expressions of appreciation and thanks, for the infinite bounty that G-d bestows day by day -- despite all the apparent problems and the dark patches.
While the concept of giving thanks is important among human beings, it is also central in our relationship with G-d. Almost all of our responses to G-d through following the path of Jewish teaching can be seen as expressions of appreciation and thanks, for the infinite bounty that G-d bestows day by day -- despite all the apparent problems and the dark patches.
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