Torah Tidbits
It's not just Barley to Wheat
If we are to internalize and personalize the Exodus and Matan Torah, it follows that we must do the same with the Omer period between Pesach and Shavuot.
Continue ReadingHow to Prevent Evil Eye (Ayin Hara)?
Where does the Evil Eye come from? Does it really exist? The Evil Eye is not just a mystical concept, but has a rational explanation, too. A person who flaunts his wealth and possessions becomes the focus and an object of envy.
Continue ReadingSedra Stats - Tazria-Metzora
of 54 sedras in Torah 27th 28th; of 10 Sedras in Vayikra 4th 5th; lines 128 159 287…
Continue ReadingAliyah by Aliyah - Tazria-Metzora
Perek 12, the shortest in the Torah with 8 p’sukim (not that we are responsible for the chaptering of the Torah), deals with “birth”. A woman becomes “ritually unclean” following a (normal) birth - one week for a boy - and on the 8th day the boy is circumcised - and two weeks for a girl. This period of TUM’A is followed by a special “waiting time” of 33 or 66 days for boy or girl respectively, after which the mother is to bring the korbanot of a YOLEDET.
Continue ReadingThe Halachot of Women & Men: Who may not enter into the Jewish nation
There is a discussion of a woman whose husband went abroad and was not heard from for over a year, and she remarried, and then the first husband appeared.
Continue ReadingWisdom & Wit
The Maggid of Kelm was once asked to speak in a small town which was known for its saintliness in all matters - except for tzedaka, where its members were quite miserly.
Continue ReadingParshaPix
A baby boy, a knife, a baby girl, a turtle dove and a lamb, an afflicted hand…. how would you explain these pictures?
Continue ReadingOne mo' time!
The first topic was introduced in a short-lived column called B.A.S.H. - Break Anti-halachic Shul Habits. We include it here because this Shabbat is Rosh Chodesh and the habit in question persists. It is the topic of AMEIN CHATUFA, a premature Amein, one that is said before the bracha upon which it is being said, is completed.
Continue ReadingShe Gives Birth to a Baby and Becomes Impure
What in the process of childbirth - bringing new life into the world - is connected with impurity? We would think the opposite - that with a new life life comes more purity… Recipe: Baby Carrots with Green Beans and Roasted Garlic
Continue ReadingParsha Points to Ponder - Tazri'a-M'tzora
Why does the section of laws dealing with a mark which a person finds on his head or beard begin with the words AND A MAN OR A WOMAN, V’ISH O ISHA (13:29), as opposed to simply A HUMAN (ADAM) as was used in the previous case
Continue ReadingVebbe Rebbe - Bottle of Scotch Left in Hong Kong
I spent some time in Hong Kong in the fall of 2007 and since I was planning to return the following summer, I left some things there, including a bottle of scotch, which I did not give thought to until I returned in May 2008. Is it chametz she’avar alav haPesach (=ChP; chametz owned by a Jew over Pesach)? While I did not include it in my mechirat (sale of) chametz, did my bitul (nullification of) chametz help?
Continue ReadingChizuk & Idud - Tazria Metzora
The laws of Parshat M’tzora relating to the nega’im of an individual have been explained at times, including by some m’forshim, as pertaining to a physical malady. Most, however, see all of the laws of tzara’at as referring to a spiritual deficiency of some kind. But all agree that tzara’at of the home is a purely supernatural phenomenon that occurs only in Eretz Yisrael.
Continue ReadingMy Servant Moshe [1]
Accepting that the words of the prophets are true; stressing the special prophetic status of Moshe; the singularity of the Torah that G-d revealed through him, and its eternal nature. These fundamental and basic principles of our faith may help to see all the murmurings of Israel in the books of Sh’mot and Bamidbar as challenges to the legitimacy or to the truth of Moshe as the messenger of G-d. Then we can better understand the idea of prophecy in general and of that of Moshe’s in particular.
Continue ReadingDivrei Menachem - Tazria-Metzora
The parshiyot of Tazri’a and M’tzora deal with the complex issue of spiritual impurity - particularly with the M’tzora, a person afflicted with an ailment akin to leprosy. The main cause of this disorder is Lashon Hara, the sinful habit of gossip
Continue ReadingThe Status of the Embryo
Last week we started looking at the unusual case of the Octomom who recently gave birth to octuplets. Prior to discussing whether one can perform a fetal reduction, we started looking at the sources that discuss the halachic status of the embryo.
Continue ReadingIn This Issue of Torah Tidbits
- Lead Tidbit
- Guest Article
- Jewish Law
- Wisdom & Wit
- Aliya-by-Aliya Sedra Summary
- Sedra Stats
- Vebbe Rebbe
- Portion of the Portion
- Parsha Points to Ponder
- ParshaPix Explanations
- TTriddles "Report"
- Ethical Teachings of the Torah
- Chizuk and Idud
- Towards Better Davening and Torah Reading
- Divrei Menachem
- "From Machon Puah"
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Sedra Stats
of 54 sedras in Torah 27th 28th; of 10 Sedras in Vayikra 4th 5th; lines 128 159 287…