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Torah Portion

Understanding The Struggle
Between Physical And Spiritual

This indicates a spiritual handicap.
He is not prevented from full mem-
bership, just from some of its bene-
fits. He is not truly free; the physical
world has a greater influence on him
than is meant to be.
The eating of the tree of knowl-
edge resulted in death, birth pangs
hen one looks at the
and dependence of women on men
overall content of the
(to the degree that in the primary
five books of the Torah
family unit a woman after birth is
with the 54 divisions
incapacitated and dependent upon
that we read weekly. it should strike
another, the man). These were con-
us that the 15 central portions deal
sequences, not punishments.
with very specific rituals.
This means that at the
This week's Tazria Torah
most acute and intense
portion begins by discussing
points where people should
the laws of a woman after
be experiencing the close-
she gives birth, and the laws
ness to the Almighty are
of tz'raas, a skin malady that
the very places where God
results from speaking
sets up the fence, a fence
defamatory remarks about
that must be equally pow-
another person.
erful enough to have the
But we must look at the
desired impact and repel
broader picture of the
us.
struggle between the physi-
The temple ritual is one
RABBI
TZVI
cal and the spiritual to
that provides the steps to
HOCHSTADT
understand all of Torah's
come back and reacquire
Special to the
dictates. The birthing
the sanctity and kedusha
Jewish News
mother is profoundly
that is humanity's destiny.
involved in the physical act
Our highest level of spir-
of bringing life into the world,
ituality alternatively to birth and the
which is also a sublimely spiritual
creation of life is in our ability to
experience; but the experience is
speak. When a person uses his
hardly one could describe as filled
mouth, to connect to others, to
with transcendental and the sublime.
inspire others, to engage in the study
At the point of bringing physical
of God's wisdom and to pray offer-
life into the world, spirituality is
ing praise and supplication to his
pushed at an extreme distance. Even
creator, he/she transcends. The book
for the time after- as she continues to
of Leviticus is offering us guidelines
recover and nurse the infant, a very
to appreciate the range the human
physical and physically demanding
condition forces us to choose: eleva-
experience dominates.
tion or diminishment.
The result of pure physicality is a
The choice is illustrated to go
blockage to relate spiritually, termed
from the highest level of holiness
as tuma or closure, poorly translated
and godlike behavior by creating life
as impurity or defilement. When we
or, conversely, to divest the self of
are exposed to extreme physicality,
one's divinity by speaking negatively.
such as death, menstruation or birth
Both extremes arepresented. The
pangs, then a rededication to sancti-
choice is ours. ❑
ty, kedusha, is not only recommend-
ed for the sake of our soul, but also
for us toreacclimatize ourselves and
our perceptions to the elevated
source of our existence and destiny.
The foreskin is similar in that
here is something more than sym-
bolic connecting us to our physicali-
What was the most harmful
ty placing us at a distance from a
thing someone ever said about
greater spiritual consciousness. In
you? Whom do you know that
the laws of Passover, someone who,
is constantly gossiping and in
for whatever reason, was unable to
what ways is that person get-
be circumcised is forbidden from
ting you down? What is the
partaking in the Passover sacrifice.
one thing you could undertake
to reduce gossip in your life?
Tzvi Hochstadt is associated with Aish

Shabbat Tazria:
Leviticus 12:1-13:59;
II Kings 4:42-5:19,

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Annual Passover
Second Seder
Thursday, April 20,2000

Minchah/Ma'ariv Service - 6:00 p.m.
Seder - 7:00 p.m.

Conversations

Ha Torah, Birmingham.

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The seder will be conducted in Hebrew and English

Rabbi David Nelson, Cantor Sam Greenbaum and
Rev. Sammy Semp will officiate.

We will be pleased to attend the Second Seder at Beth Shalom
Non-members
Members
$40
Adults
$46
$30
$22
Children

is enclosed
Our check for $
Total number of reservations:
# Children members
# Adult members
# Children non-members
# Adult non-members

NAME

PHONE

For more information please call 248-547-7970

la AN

4/7

2000

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