This Shabbos we discussed parsha Metzora, including commentary by Rav Yeager. We discussed the upcoming holiday of Pesach, in particular the differences between Shabbos and Yom Tov. And we discussed some of our fundamental values, including life and healing the world. Rob Golder led discussion. I also want to thank Howard and Norm for helping to provide the Kiddush.
We discussed how Shabbos is well defined to occur every 7 days. Today we have calendars, but in the historic past we would actually count days to determine when Shabbos would occur. It is important that we observe Shabbos on what is known in our country as Saturday, because that is 7 days from our last observance, however what do we do if we do not know the day of the week? We discussed how if we are lost in the desert, we would start counting the days, and observe Shabbos every 7 days. Howard shared that astronauts in space would base the timing of Shabbos on their departure location on earth. We will very likely have Jewish astronauts and may actually colonize space one day.
We discussed how the timing of Yom Tov is agreed upon today, but in the past it was historically based on court rulings. These court rulings were based on the testimony of witnesses, and would determine the beginning of each and every month. Rob pointed out that today we don’t have these courts, so we are “stuck” with the months and holidays as they are regardless of the actual positioning of the moon. We are also "stuck" observing holidays for 2 consecutive days. We discussed the reason for 2 consecutive days being that there was uncertainty with respect to the status of the moon.
We discussed how the determination of months was based on witnesses who would come to court and testify. We discussed some of the criteria that would be necessary to be a witness, such as being an adult (based on halakha) and not being a gambler. Today of course science has advanced and we can communicate very quickly across communities, however we no longer have a court, so holidays such as Rosh Hashanah are celebrated for 2 days, even in Israel. However, we did discuss that some of the other holidays are only celebrated for 1 day in Israel, because historically there was more certainty on which days these occurred.
We discussed the Shehecheyanu blessing, and how in Memphis we may want to say this when seeing blooms for the first time in the Spring, which is usually from pear trees in March. Larry shared how we can use this or other blessings to “hedge our bets”, when we are not sure whether the timing is right to be saying the blessing for another meaning. Larry pointed out that we can say a blessing on the second day of Rosh Hashanah, which "headges our bets", as some - but not everyone - considers the second day a continuation of the first day.
Norm shared how his son Gabriel recently went to Poland. I related to this as my father grew up in Costa Rica, and almost the entire Jewish community there originated in Poland, my grandmother. Norm shared how this trip was an opportunity to appreciate our value of life. We can look at the life we have today, with freedom of religion and the existence of Israel, and from a visit to places like Poland realize we should be appreciative and not take things for granted. Norm also commented on our value of healing the world, which is our mission and purpose.
We discussed parsha Metzora, including commentary by Rav Yeager. We discuss how human beings can develop tzara’at, which can appear as white spots on the body. This is a spiritual malody that can come about when we engage in forbidden speech, known as “lashon hara”. Upon contracting this disease, a consultation with a Kohen is part of the healing process.
We discussed how buildings can also contract tzara’at. In the case of a building, a Kohen will visit and determine a course of action. This may include doing nothing, replacing the stones that are infected, or in the most extreme cases tearing down and rebuilding an entire building.
One of the interesting things we discussed from Rav Yeager, is the idea that the white spots that appear with tzara’at are actually the beginning of purity, and not the disease itself. Howard shared some thoughts that the color white indicates to us our potential and what we could be. Rob shared from Rav Yeager how we can embark on a T’Shuva process which will expand the white spots to cover the entire body, at which time we will be entirely pure.
This is a summary of what we discussed. No halachic rulings are intended or should be inferred.
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