I
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Shabbat Tazria-Metzora:
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44
April 27 • 2006
I
magine sitting at
God afflicts his home with
home one day, and
tzaraat to remind him that,
you notice that a
"You didn't build that home •
patch of the wall in your
by yourself; I gave it to you."
And while God wants us to
kitchen has suddenly
turned a greenish-reddish
enjoy our homes, He also
color. What could it be?
expects us to appreciate our
Mold? Bad paint? If you're
blessings by sharing them
Rabbi Reuven
living in Michigan, prob-
with others.
Spotter
ably.
But, the powerful connec-
Special to the
But if you were living
tion to the Land of Israel
Jewish News
in Israel during the times
sends another important
of the Temple, instead of
message. This coming
Wednesday, May 3, we will
heading to Home Depot
to fix the spot, you would run to the
celebrate the 58th birthday of the
Kohen, the priest, to learn whether
State of Israel. As a modern Orthodox
Jew, I view the creation of the State
your house had been afflicted with
tzaraat.
of Israel not just as an important
national development for the Jewish
Among the different types of
tzaraat God can bring upon the Jewish people, but as a critical religious and
spiritual event.
people, the Torah lists tzaraat of the
I celebrateYom Ha'atzmaut not
home. "When you come to the Land
only
with a barbecue, but with joy-
of Canaan that I give to you as a pos-
ous
prayer
and song, giving thanks to
session, and I put a tzaraat mark on a
God
for
the
great gift He has bestowed
house in the land of your possession."
(14:34) Rabbi Shlomoh Efraim of
upon His people in our lifetimes.
Sometimes, I feel like we forget the
Luntchitz, the chief rabbi of Prague
message
of the tzaraat. We see Israel
in the early 1600s and the author of
not
as
God's
gift, but as a result of the
the commentary Kli Yakar, notes the
"strength and power of our arms."
strong connection between the giv-
We must always remember that while
ing of the land and the tzaraat of the
Israel certainly needs our funds and
home. Where else would the Jewish
political support, it needs our prayers
people have their homes, if not "in the
and spirituality as well.
land of their possession?" Moreover,
There's no better time than Yom
why make mention of the inheritance
Hiatzmaut to not only celebrate, but
of the land twice in the same verse?
to -also give thanks to God for the exis-
Kli Yakar answers these questions
tence of the State of Israel. ❑
with a startling insight into human
nature. Psychologically, our home rep-
resents our own private domain, our
own personal property. That mentality
Conversations
can often lead to a sense of entitle-
Do you think that tzaraat still
ment and stinginess: I built this home;
exists, not so much in our homes,
I filled it with fine furniture and pos-
but on a larger scale? How else
sessions (and that wide-screen plasma
does God send messages to the
TV), clothing and goods. And if I did
Jewish people today?
all the work, why should I have to
share it with others?
It is this sense of personal entitle-
ment and stinginess that tzaraat of
Reuven Spolter is rabbi of Young Israel
the home addresses. When a person
fails to share his goodness with others, of Oak Park.