• Birth, Death, and the Mikvah

    Tazria begins by telling us of the postpartum mother who is considered tameh, ritually impure, and therefore can not enter the Mishkan, the Tabernacle. Most sources of impurity in Judaism are associated with death, such as a dead body, the greatest source of impurity, or even a potential life that did not come to fruition,…

  • Remembering Senator Lieberman: A Life of Service, Faith, and Humility

    Last week we lost a noble and wise Kesherite, Senator Joseph Leiberman, z”l. On Wednesday, when the news came to light and the texts of his passing began flowing in from all directions, I was just sitting down with a weekly Rambam-learning group of Kesher congregants who knew the Senator well. They began to tell…

  • Humility and the Cure for Lashon Hara

    In this week’s Torah portion, Tazriah-Metzorah, we read about the biblical ailment of tzaraat, a skin disease which, the commentaries say, comes from speaking lashon hara, slander about others. But why is this sin singled out to produce a physical manifestation for all to see? Why is lashon hara so bad that the Talmud tells us one…

  • Hidden Treasure: Spiritual Growth in a Time of Isolation

    This Shabbat we read the double portion of Tazria and Metzora which discuss the different kinds of impurity resulting from Tzaraat, a Biblical skin disease seen by our sages as a physical manifestation of spiritual malady.  The Torah commands that  if Tzaraat affects a house, the house must first be shut up for seven days…