פרשת תזריע

Dvar Torah

One Word

 ויקרא יג:ב-ג

אָדָם כִּי־יִהְיֶה בְעוֹר־בְּשָׂרוֹ שְׂאֵת אוֹ־סַפַּחַת אוֹ בַהֶרֶת וְהָיָה בְעוֹר־בְּשָׂרוֹ לְנֶגַע צָרָעַת וְהוּבָא אֶל־אַהֲרֹן הַכֹּהֵן אוֹ אֶל־אַחַד מִבָּנָיו הַכֹּהֲנִים: וְרָאָה הַכֹּהֵן אֶת־הַנֶּגַע בְּעוֹר־הַבָּשָׂר וְשֵׂעָר בַּנֶּגַע הָפַךְ ׀ לָבָן וּמַרְאֵה הַנֶּגַע עָמֹק מֵעוֹר בְּשָׂרוֹ נֶגַע צָרַעַת הוּא וְרָאָהוּ הַכֹּהֵן וְטִמֵּא אֹתוֹ:

“If a person will have on the skin of his flesh an appearance… The Kohen shall look at it and declare him contaminated.”    (Vayikra 13:2-3) 

In the Parasha reading this week we learn about one who gets Tzara’at - leprosy.  We find that if a person sees an appearance on his skin and it looks like Tzara’at, they need to show it to the Kohen.  When the Kohen looks at it, he can either call it clean, contaminated, or he can’t tell yet and puts the person into solitude for seven days.  After that, the Kohen will check again and decide, clean or contaminated.  Until the Kohen pronounces the person one way or the other, they are not by any means impure or contaminated.

This seems a bit strange.  What if we would treat modern medicine this way?

A man has a sore throat, headache and is dizzy. Imagine if he would not consider himself to be sick until the doctor pronounces him “sick with strep”.  Of course, we know that he was actually contagious before he even went to the doctor.  Yet we find with Tzara’at that the person is not condemned until the Kohen declares him impure.   

Tzara’at is a punishment for speaking slander– Lashon Hora.  To teach this person the power of speech, the Kohen only says one word and makes the person impure. 

From here we can see how powerful and meaningful each and every word we speak is. 

Parsha Questions

1) How long is a woman טמאה after having a baby boy born? (ויקרא יב:ב-ד)

2) Explain the juxtaposition of the laws of kosher and the babies birth? (רש"י ויקרא יב:ב)

3) What special מצוה is done on the eighth day after the birth of a baby boy? (ויקרא יב:ג)

4) How long is a woman טמאה after having a baby girl born? (ויקרא יב:ה-ח)

5) If one finds a נגע on themselves, to whom should it be shown? (רש"י ויקרא יג:ב)

6) Why is a נגע shown to this group of people ONLY? (רש"י ויקרא יג:ב)

7) What color is a נגע? (ויקרא יג:ג)

8) What is done if it is not clear is the נגע is indeed צרעת? (ויקרא יג:ד-ה)

9) Where can צרעת grow?

10) What is the main cause of one getting צרעת?

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TORAH TRIVIA!

Super Stumper Question:

This a question to ask others and discuss the answers.

Answer to last week’s question:

The only Mitzvah that can only be done sitting down is standing up for one’s elders.

Question of the week:

What Beracha is ONLY say on a Wednesday?

 FOOD Section!

Can you guess what this recipe connects to this week’s Parsha?

Spice Cake

Ingredients

Cake:

3 cups cake flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

2 sticks margarine, softened

2 cups sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 eggs

1 1/4 cups soy or almond milk

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour 3 (8-inch) round cake pans.

In a small mixing bowl whisk together cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, ground nutmeg, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, and ground cloves.

Cream the margarine, sugar, and salt until light and fluffy with an electric mixer. Beat in the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the dry ingredients and the buttermilk alternately beginning and ending with the dry.

When the batter is well mixed and smooth, divide it amongst the 3 prepared cake pans and bake about 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes come out clean. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes then turn out to cool completely. If the cake layers have domed a little during the baking process, slice off the tops with a long serrated knife so they are flat and even.

Place the first layer, cut side down, on a cake pedestal or serving plate. Spoon about 3/4 cup of buttercream onto the center of the cake. Spread it almost to the very edges with an offset spatula. Repeat with the remaining 2 layers. Garnish the top of the cake with finely chopped nuts and cocoa powder.