Midway Jewish Center
57 Years Going Strong: 1953-2010 !
THE CYBERSHUL

330 South Oyster Bay Road
Syosset, NY 11791
www.mjc.org
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Shabbat	Tazria-Metzora
Parashah	Tazria-Metzora
Secular Date	April 17, 2010
Jewish Date	3 Iyar 5770
Day of the Omer	18th Day in Sefirat HaOmer
Shabbat Begins	7:16pm
Shabbat Ends	8:18pm
MJCyber Shul Minyan	1425 (keep growing!)
Last Week’s Minyan	1424
Upcoming Observance	Yom Hazikaron, Israel’s Memorial Day—Monday, April 19. We remember the brave soldiers who have given their lives for MediNAT YisraEL, the State of Israel.
Upcoming Observance	Yom Ha’Atzma’UT, Israel’s Independence Day— Tuesday, May 20. Happy birthday to MediNAT YisraEL. This year, Israel celebrates its 62nd birthday. How to celebrate? Hmmm…Buy an Israeli flag and wave it, eat a falafel and hummus, sing the national anthem (i.e., Hatikvah), and contact your travel agent to plan a visit to Israel, the homeland of the Jewish people.

TORAH READING

Tazri'a

TazRI’a refers to childbirth and initiates a discussion of the tumAH or impurity surrounding childbirth, skin disease, and discharges from the sexual organs. What a subject for a holy book! Is nothing sacred? But, of course, the fundamental point of TazRI’a is precisely that Judaism looks upon all aspects of life in its connection to God. For a tradition that is so life-affirming as Judaism, the loss of blood or semen, or a skin discoloration that might be the harbinger of death, raises deep concerns. A woman is temeiAH twice as long after the birth of a girl than she is for a boy. After either period, she offers those scarifies which render her ritually pure. Someone afflicted with a swelling, rash, skin discoloration, scales, etc., would go to Aaron or one of his sons, that is the kohaNIM, for a full examination. Is the condition of no concern or is it the dreaded biblical disease of tzaRA’at, typically translated as leprosy? The kohaNIM and the people learn the difference. The leper is isolated from the rest of the camp and warns others not to come too close. TzaRA’at may also damage wool or linen fabrics and leather. Again, the kohaNIM diagnose the severity of the problem and how to treat it.

Metzora

MetzoRA is a leper or the person afflicted with tzaRA’at, whatever that peculiar affliction might be (it is typically translated as leprosy). Our portion begins with welcoming the recovered leper back to the community. A bird is slaughtered and its blood mixed with fresh water. A live bird is dipped into the solution with hyssop and crimson thread. The recovered leper is sprinkled with this solution and the bird is set free. Since expensive animal sacrifices are involved, the Torah outlines one ritual for people of substantial means and a modified ritual for those of modest means. TzaRA’at might also manifest itself within homes as a mold of sorts. The koHEN is consulted and the house may be shut up for a week’s time, and if necessary, demolished. If the house is salvageable, it is cleansed with the bird ceremony as outlined above. The Torah also deals with zaVIM, men who have had a genital discharge or find discharge impossible, and women who are menstruating. Both situations qualify them as temei’IM or ritually impure. Their tuMAH is regarded as contagious, affecting both human beings and inanimate objects.

A SHABBAT THOUGHT

My definition of a free society is
a society where it is safe to be
unpopular.

~~ Adlai Stevenson ~~

WEB OF THE WEEK

The Israel pavilion at the Shanghai 2010 World Expo. This is really something to see - the splendid architecture and the graphics - truly amazing!

http://www.aish.com/v/90073102.html

Happy Birthday, Israel!

AURAL TORAH

CAN A JEW BE CRITICAL OF ISRAEL?

We’re experiencing some difficulty with our recordings, so Aural Torah is posted on the blog—
http://writingsoftherara.blogspot.com/

The CyberRav would love you to join the blog and leave a comment… Let’s start talking Torah!

EACH WEEK, THE AURAL TORAH WILL APPEAR IN A NEW BLOG CALLED

WRITINGS-OF-THE-RARA

(thanks to the Kolodny’s for their clever crafting)

just paste this url into your browser and leave your comments— http://writingsoftherara.blogspot.com/

The Most Creative Minds in America Read the MJCyberShul

Benjamin Netanyahu, (1949- ), The ninth and current Prime Minister of The State of Israel

Honor or Memorialize Loved Ones for a New Lower Price

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GOTTA QUESTION?
THE CYBER RAV HAS AN ANSWER AND GOOD NEWS--
THE CYBER RAV IS ALWAYS IN
SEND YOUR QUESTIONS TO rafirank@mjc.org
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DEAR CYBERAV… I’VE GOTTA QUESTION

BLESSING OF THE IN-LAW CHILDREN

Dear Cyber Rav,

I have always blessed my children at the Shabbat table, but now I face a new situation: What is a father suppose to do when it comes to blessing a son-in-law or daughter-in-law? My son recently married so I now have another young person at my Shabbat table. I think I know what you'll say: you can't be too rich, too thin, or have too many blessings. But does that mean each married child then gets blessed twice, once by his/her father and once by his/her father-in-law? And if that's the case, can a father bless his child and child-in-law as a couple? What's the traditional approach?

Doubly Blessed

CYBER RAV ANSWERS

Dear Doubly Blessed,

Now this is the kind of problem I like—how many blessings for the kinder? When it comes to blessings, we do not distinguish between children and children-in-law. Does that mean that kids will get blessed twice? Maybe-- but that can't be bad. I don't think the same blessing can ever be said the same way twice, and I don't think the way you say a blessing will ever be like how someone else says a blessing. And it's not that the words change (they don’t), it is that we change and in our own changes and evolutions, we bring different hopes and aspirations for what we wish for our children, and somehow all that is woven into the words. I think you could do the blessing for both as a couple, which might be nice, but the initial blessings are pretty gender specific, so perhaps you need to bless one first and then the other and then bless both together with the three-fold benediction. Good luck. Anyone would be lucky to get a blessing from you. Love to all your kids!

Rabbi Rafi Rank
CyberRav

Shabbat Shalom and uMo'adim LeSimhah

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