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    15 views4 pages

    Living Jewish Tazria-Metzora 786

    Uploaded by

    Danijel Davar

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
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    BVH Erev Shabbos Tazria-Metzora, 4th of Iyar, 5781; April 16th 2021 pe P| nving Jewish: OKI Nr eierct “Master of the Universe: Enough Already!” ‘There was a servant in the house of the tzadik, Rabbi Mordechai of Cher- nobyl, who used to stoke the fire in the winter stove. He was afflicted with severe psoriasis, and was cov- ered from head to toe with painful boils and other skin eruptions. It seemed like he was always bleeding, whether from the disease itself or from being unable to refrain from scratching at the relentless itching, Whenever the Rebbe saw him, he never said a word to him, even though he undoubtedly noticed the young man’s terrible suffering. His household and his chasidim were astonished, for the Rebbe’s tremen- «dous empathy for Jews in pain of any form was well-known, ‘One day, upon rising early in the moming, the Chernobyler came upon the servant erying and groaning in pain, furiously scratching at his head and other paris of his body, with blood oozing down from all over. ‘The tadik lifted his eyes and said, “Master of the Universe: let it be enough already!” ‘That day, the serv- ant suddenly died. Now the Rebbe’s household and the cchasidim were even more amazed. Realizing that the turn of events was certainly out of the ordinary, they pleaded with the Rebbe for an expla- nation, Finally, he told them the fol- lowing story. His father, the famous tzadik Rabbi Menachem Nachum of Chernobyl, ‘was desperately poor; the family was always teetering on the brink of star- vation. There was, however, a certain rich person in the town who loved the tzadik very much, and he used to provide the Rebbe with nearly all his, household needs. It came to pass that when this rich Spring Time in the Shett painting by Alex Levin, artlevin.com man realized how dear he was to the Rebbe, it went to his head and he proposed to R. Nachum that the tza- dik’s son marry his daughter. Of course, he would pay all the expens- es of both sides as well as provide a handsome dowry, he confidently told the Chernobyler. The Rebbe turned him down. The man continued to argue and plead his case, but the Rebbe was steadfast in his refusal ‘As a result, the man transformed from the tzadik’s biggest supporter into his fiercest enemy. Not only did he cease his financial aid, he actively sought to aggravate him, and was, constantly inventing new plots to make the Chemobyler’s life even more difficult One time, he somehow found out that Rabbi Nachum’s married daugh- ter was due to go to the mikveh that night. His antagonism had so fes- tered in him that he actually decided to hire some ruffians to pursue her through the streets on her way home. They did so in a brutish obnoxious ‘manner, and she was forced to flee with all her might through narrow side streets and filthy back alleys. Finally she reached the haven of her home exhausted and upset. She crossed the threshold, collapsed on the floor, and fainted. As you can imagine, this caused a great commo- tion in the Rebbe’s home. It was only after immense effort that the house- hold was able to bring her back to herself. When Rabbi Nachum found out that his daughter's suffering was a result of the rich man’s evil plan, he was enraged. Shortly thereafter, the rich man died. ‘When his case came to the Heavenly Court, the judges were about to issue a harsh judgment against him be- cause of his aggression towards a great tzadik and the suffering caused him. But then a defending angel arose and pointed out the rich ‘man’s large number of good deeds, his accomplishments in Torah-study, and how he had even generously supported the Rebbe and his house- hold for many years. Other heavenly beings joined in, pro and con. Finally it was decreed that that he be given the chance to appease Rabbi Nachum. If he succeeded, he would be granted the rewards for the many good deeds he had accomplished in his lifetime. He was assigned to two angels who would escort him to R. Nachum, and subsequently bring him back to the Heavenly Court. The rich man’s soul came to the Chernobyler and begged forgiveness for all the pain and aggravation he had caused him while still alive in this world. The Rebbe told him to enumerate one by one each of the offenses he had committed. At each one the tzadik responded, “I forgive him with all my heart.” Continued on page 2 Shabbat Time: Candle Lighting Motel Shabbat Jerusalem 634 17 Tel Aviv 649 79 Haifa eat 70 Beersheva 6:50 748 NewYork 7:18 20 Chabad of Issel Rabbi Joseph L Aronow Published by MLS. Kfar Chabad (03) 3731777 alitor: Aharon Schmidt livingjewishweekiyegmail.com Plane guard the sanctity of this publication ’/aaaaaadaaaéaaéa i; Shabbos Table ‘The Final Touches Both of this week's two Torah portions, Tazria and Metzora, detail the special laws which governed the plague of leprosy, an affliction whose root cause was spiritual and bears no resemblance to the modern disease of the same name. ‘This leprosy altered the skin of the suffer- ing individual, causing a radical change in the appearance of the affected area, Itis therefore, surprising that the Talmud refers to Moshiach as suffering from this affliction. "What is Moshiach’s name?" the ‘Talmud asks. "Chivra (Aramaic for "Leper’) is his name,” the Talmud con- cludes. Moshiach a Leper? How can King Moshiach, a person of flesh and blood, who stands head and shoulders above all other Jews by virtue of his spir- itual perfection, be referred to as a leper? ‘Moshiach will be distinguished not only by his vast wisdom, but also by his prophetic powers, ‘We must therefore, conclude that the term "oper" contains a deeper significance, one which will shed light on its inner meaning, Leprosy is an external disease, one which affects only the outer skin of the sufferer. ‘The internal organs of the leper remain hicalthy and unaffected, as does the flesh itself. Only the outermost part of the indi- vvidual is afflicted, causing the color of the skin to undergo transformation, Healing the World ‘Throughout the thousands of years of ex- ile, the Jewish people have been involved in learning Torah and doing mitzvot, in an cffort to illuminate the darkness of the exile by strengthening the forves of good over evil Exile is characterized by G-d's seeming ‘withdrawal from the affairs of man; the coming of Moshiach and the Final Re-

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