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PAR'SHAT ACHAREI MOT: Atonement, Covering, and Forgiveness.

4/30/2019

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כי־ביום הזה יכפר עליכם לטהר אתכם מכל חטאתיכם לפני יהוה תטהרו




For on this day, atonement will be made for you to purify you; you will be clean before Adonai from all your sins.
 (Lev 16:30 CJB)

In Hebrew, the verb “to atone” is synonymous with the verb “to cover.” As such, the “atonement” of a transgression refers to the “covering” of a transgression. This presents a very important point in our theological understanding of divine atonement. If transgressions are “covered”, it does not mean that they are deleted; they are merely covered. Messiah is often called “מגן ישענו/ Maguen Yisheinu”/the Shield of our Salvation”. We see this in the following statements from the mouth of King David.

You give me your shield, which is salvation; your answers make me great.
 (2Sa 22:36 CJB) 
"You give me your shield, which is salvation, your right hand holds me up, your humility makes me great. 
(Psa 18:35 (18:36 CJB))

The idea is that, whereas we are disobedient sinners, the obedient righteous Messiah covers us like a shield from HaShem's wrath. As a result, all HaShem sees in us is the Messiah who covers us. The Light of Messiah in fact blinds HaShem to our transgressions. And in His mercy and compassion, all that HaShem chooses to see in us is the favor He has given Messiah.
Our sins are not deleted, they can never be (Psalm 51:3). What is done is done and can never be undone. Our words also are like the proverbial toothpaste that cannot be put back in the tube: they can never be unsaid. As such, in the days of the Tabernacle and the Temple, the levitical service served as a “covering” of our transgressions.

It is easy for one to take the forgiveness that we are allotted for granted, but I’d like to share a story I heard one time from a man who was sharing something about his early childhood. Here is what he said,

During early childhood I had a fiery temper which often caused me to say or do unkind things.
   One day, after an argument had sent one of my playmates home in tears, my father told me that for each thoughtless, mean thing I did he would drive a nail into our gatepost. Each time I did a kindness or a good deed, one nail would be withdrawn.
   Months passed. Each time I entered our gate, I was reminded of the reasons for those ever-increasing nails, until finally, getting them out became a challenge.
   At last the wished-for day arrived--only one more nail! As my father withdrew it I danced around proudly exclaiming, "See, Daddy, the nails are all gone."
   Father gazed intently at the post as he thoughtfully replied, "Yes, the nails are gone--but the scars remain."

Thus it is, with the offenses that we do against others, as well as those that we do against HaShem.

There are offenses that we only do against HaShem, but all offenses against man made in the image of HaShem are also offenses against HaShem. About this the sages say (Yoma 85b) that whereas Yom Kippur provides atonement/covering between HaShem and man, atonement/covering between man and man can only happen when man forgives us. That is reminiscent of what Yeshua teaches us when He says,

For if you forgive others their offenses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive others their offenses, your heavenly Father will not forgive yours. 
(Mat 6:14-15 CJB)

This causes a serious problem. We all know of people who are hyper-sensitive and who very easily get offended (maybe we are one of those?). There are also some who may say they forgive you, but keep resentment deep inside. As such, have they really forgiven us? If they don’t we are in a serious fix with HaShem!
The best way in order to avoid this situation is to make sure that we do not offend people. We must take it upon ourselves to be sensitive enough to others so that we don’t need their forgiveness, especially from those who have a hard time . I know it’s a tall order, but we are called to a higher calling, a calling which requires a higher righteousness. Our dear Master and Rabbi Yeshua teaches us that. He says to us,

Unless your righteousness is far greater than that of the Torah-teachers and P'rushim, you will certainly not enter the Kingdom of Heaven!

He then gave some examples,

"You have heard that our fathers were told, 'Do not murder,' and that anyone who commits murder will be subject to judgment. But I tell you that anyone who nurses anger against his brother will be subject to judgment; that whoever calls his brother, 'You good-for-nothing!' will be brought before the Sanhedrin; that whoever says, 'Fool!' incurs the penalty of burning in the fire of Gei-Hinnom!

A tall order indeed. Yeshua sets the bar even higher by saying,

So if you are offering your gift at the Temple altar and you remember there that your brother has something against you, leave your gift where it is by the altar, and go, make peace with your brother. Then come back and offer your gift.

Sometimes we cannot help someone from being upset with us. We may have never meant the offense, and maybe we feel that they are hyper-sensitive. Nevertheless Yeshua says that if someone is mad at us for something, our service to Him is invalid. We must seek true forgiveness from that person. As such Yeshua gives us some pointers on how to accomplish that. He says,

If someone sues you, come to terms with him quickly, while you and he are on the way to court; or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer of the court, and you may be thrown in jail! Yes indeed! I tell you, you will certainly not get out until you have paid the last penny. 
(Mat 5:20-26 CJB)

We are in fact the ones who pay the penalty for someone being mad at us. That is exactly what the sages refer to when they say in Yoma 85b that, whereas Yom Kippur provides atonement/covering between HaShem and man, atonement/covering between man and man can only happen when man forgives us.

It is therefore a good conclusion that the best way to avoid this situation is to live in a way that we try our “bestest” to not offend people. If we are to get HaShem’s forgiveness, it is imperative that we take it upon ourselves to be sensitive to others, so that we don’t need the forgiveness from those who have a hard time.

AS WE ENTER OUR POST-PASSOVER NEW ‘CULTURE”, MAY WE REMEMBER THAT OUR PESACH LAMB HAS BEEN SACRIFICED.
MAY WE THEREFORE LIVE A LIFE AWAY FROM THE LEAVEN OF WICKEDNESS AND EVIL, BUT WITH A LIFE OF PURITY AND TRUTH. (Paraphrase on 1 Cor 5:7-8)

Through immersion into his death we were buried with him; so that just as, through the glory of the Father, the Messiah was raised from the dead, likewise we too might live a new life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will also be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was put to death on the execution-stake with him, so that the entire body of our sinful propensities might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin.
(Rom 6:4-6 CJB)

כי־ביום הזה יכפר עליכם לטהר אתכם מכל חטאתיכם לפני יהוה תטהרו




For on this day, atonement will be made for you to purify you; you will be clean before Adonai from all your sins.
 (Lev 16:30 CJB)

In Hebrew, the verb “to atone” is synonymous with the verb “to cover.” As such, the “atonement” of a transgression refers to the “covering” of a transgression. This presents a very important point in our theological understanding of divine atonement. If transgressions are “covered”, it does not mean that they are deleted; they are merely covered. Messiah is often called “מגן ישענו/ Maguen Yisheinu”/the Shield of our Salvation”. We see this in the following statements from the mouth of King David.

You give me your shield, which is salvation; your answers make me great.
 (2Sa 22:36 CJB) 
"You give me your shield, which is salvation, your right hand holds me up, your humility makes me great. 
(Psa 18:35 (18:36 CJB))

The idea is that, whereas we are disobedient sinners, the obedient righteous Messiah covers us like a shield from HaShem's wrath. As a result, all HaShem sees in us is the Messiah who covers us. The Light of Messiah in fact blinds HaShem to our transgressions. And in His mercy and compassion, all that HaShem chooses to see in us is the favor He has given Messiah.
Our sins are not deleted, they can never be (Psalm 51:3). What is done is done and can never be undone. Our words also are like the proverbial toothpaste that cannot be put back in the tube: they can never be unsaid. As such, in the days of the Tabernacle and the Temple, the levitical service served as a “covering” of our transgressions.

It is easy for one to take the forgiveness that we are allotted for granted, but I’d like to share a story I heard one time from a man who was sharing something about his early childhood. Here is what he said,

During early childhood I had a fiery temper which often caused me to say or do unkind things.
   One day, after an argument had sent one of my playmates home in tears, my father told me that for each thoughtless, mean thing I did he would drive a nail into our gatepost. Each time I did a kindness or a good deed, one nail would be withdrawn.
   Months passed. Each time I entered our gate, I was reminded of the reasons for those ever-increasing nails, until finally, getting them out became a challenge.
   At last the wished-for day arrived--only one more nail! As my father withdrew it I danced around proudly exclaiming, "See, Daddy, the nails are all gone."
   Father gazed intently at the post as he thoughtfully replied, "Yes, the nails are gone--but the scars remain."

Thus it is, with the offenses that we do against others, as well as those that we do against HaShem.

There are offenses that we only do against HaShem, but all offenses against man made in the image of HaShem are also offenses against HaShem. About this the sages say (Yoma 85b) that whereas Yom Kippur provides atonement/covering between HaShem and man, atonement/covering between man and man can only happen when man forgives us. That is reminiscent of what Yeshua teaches us when He says,

For if you forgive others their offenses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive others their offenses, your heavenly Father will not forgive yours. 
(Mat 6:14-15 CJB)

This causes a serious problem. We all know of people who are hyper-sensitive and who very easily get offended (maybe we are one of those?). There are also some who may say they forgive you, but keep resentment deep inside. As such, have they really forgiven us? If they don’t we are in a serious fix with HaShem!
The best way in order to avoid this situation is to make sure that we do not offend people. We must take it upon ourselves to be sensitive enough to others so that we don’t need their forgiveness, especially from those who have a hard time . I know it’s a tall order, but we are called to a higher calling, a calling which requires a higher righteousness. Our dear Master and Rabbi Yeshua teaches us that. He says to us,

Unless your righteousness is far greater than that of the Torah-teachers and P'rushim, you will certainly not enter the Kingdom of Heaven!

He then gave some examples,

"You have heard that our fathers were told, 'Do not murder,' and that anyone who commits murder will be subject to judgment. But I tell you that anyone who nurses anger against his brother will be subject to judgment; that whoever calls his brother, 'You good-for-nothing!' will be brought before the Sanhedrin; that whoever says, 'Fool!' incurs the penalty of burning in the fire of Gei-Hinnom!

A tall order indeed. Yeshua sets the bar even higher by saying,

So if you are offering your gift at the Temple altar and you remember there that your brother has something against you, leave your gift where it is by the altar, and go, make peace with your brother. Then come back and offer your gift.

Sometimes we cannot help someone from being upset with us. We may have never meant the offense, and maybe we feel that they are hyper-sensitive. Nevertheless Yeshua says that if someone is mad at us for something, our service to Him is invalid. We must seek true forgiveness from that person. As such Yeshua gives us some pointers on how to accomplish that. He says,

If someone sues you, come to terms with him quickly, while you and he are on the way to court; or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer of the court, and you may be thrown in jail! Yes indeed! I tell you, you will certainly not get out until you have paid the last penny. 
(Mat 5:20-26 CJB)

We are in fact the ones who pay the penalty for someone being mad at us. That is exactly what the sages refer to when they say in Yoma 85b that, whereas Yom Kippur provides atonement/covering between HaShem and man, atonement/covering between man and man can only happen when man forgives us.

It is therefore a good conclusion that the best way to avoid this situation is to live in a way that we try our “bestest” to not offend people. If we are to get HaShem’s forgiveness, it is imperative that we take it upon ourselves to be sensitive to others, so that we don’t need the forgiveness from those who have a hard time.

AS WE ENTER OUR POST-PASSOVER NEW ‘CULTURE”, MAY WE REMEMBER THAT OUR PESACH LAMB HAS BEEN SACRIFICED.
MAY WE THEREFORE LIVE A LIFE AWAY FROM THE LEAVEN OF WICKEDNESS AND EVIL, BUT WITH A LIFE OF PURITY AND TRUTH. (Paraphrase on 1 Cor 5:7-8)

Through immersion into his death we were buried with him; so that just as, through the glory of the Father, the Messiah was raised from the dead, likewise we too might live a new life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will also be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was put to death on the execution-stake with him, so that the entire body of our sinful propensities might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin.
(Rom 6:4-6 CJB)

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PAR'SHAT METZORA: Murder, Atheism, etc ..

4/9/2019

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PictureThis picture comes form the Breslev website. The Breslevites are a group of Chassidic Jews. A good illustration of James 3 about the tongue being on fire from hell!
Par'shat Metzorah tells us of the priestly ritual of purification from biblical leprosy. We continue our association with the deadly sin of slander and gossip .

וידבר יהוה אל־משׁה לאמר׃
... זאת תהיה תורת המצרע ביום טהרתו והובא אל־הכהן׃

Adonai said to Moshe, "This is to be the law concerning the person afflicted with tzara`at on the day of his purification. He is to be brought to the cohen, ...
(Lev 14:1-2 CJB)


In the Bible, the “tongue” is compared to a knife, a fire, and a poison. Here are James’ words on the “tongue,”

So too the tongue is a tiny part of the body, yet it boasts great things. See how a little fire sets a whole forest ablaze! Yes, the tongue is a fire, a world of wickedness. The tongue is so placed in our body that it defiles every part of it, setting ablaze the whole of our life; and it is set on fire by Gei-Hinnom itself. For people have tamed and continue to tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures; but the tongue no one can tame -- it is an unstable and evil thing, full of death-dealing poison! With it we bless Adonai, the Father; and with it we curse people, who were made in the image of God. Out of the same mouth come blessing and cursing! Brothers, it isn't right for things to be this way. (Jas 3:5-10 CJB)

Control over the “tongue’ is equal to perfection,

For we all stumble in many ways; if someone does not stumble in what he says, he is a mature man who can bridle his whole body.
(Jas 3:2 CJB)



LIKE SEEING THE DOCTOR.
Zissel Ziv of Kelm Rabbi Simcha wrote that studying the portion of metzora is analogous to visiting a doctor prior to an operation. If the patient sees that the doctor requires a large amount of surgical instruments for the operation, It will frighten him. ... The Torah continues for an entire section with a description of the instruments and operations that are necessary to cure the metzora spiritually. From here we can learn the gravity of slander and gossip (Chochmah Umussar).

TANTAMOUNT TO ATHEISM.
Sforno explains why the metzora was required to bring a guilt offering. When someone gossips and slanders, they usually do it secretly. The Yeraim also expresses this concept in his explanation of the Talmudic statement that slander and gossip is tantamount to atheism (Ershin 15b). Although the slanderer/gossiper usually makes sure that the subject is not listening, he forgets that God hears every word.
          This implies a type of atheism because it comes down to a lack of awareness of God's omnipresence. Just as a person must bring a guilt offering for the sin of misusing sacred property (me'elah), so to the metzora must bring a guilt offering for his trespass against God.
    

ARROGANCE AND PRIDE.
The commentator Chofetz Chayim has much to say about the sins of the tongue. He proclaims that the root of lashon hara is arrogance and pride; that those who speak negatively about others view themselves as above and better than others. This rabbi would dat say that this is totally opposite to the way we are supposed to be as believers. Paul also would agree with Chofetz Chayim. He himself says,

Do nothing out of rivalry or vanity; but, in humility, regard each other as better than yourselves --(Php 2:3 CJB)

IN THE NEWS...
Slander and gossip often revolves around two main subjects: politics and religion.  At this time of early primaries, we must remember that we are first and primarily citizens of the Kingdom of God, and that we need to conduct ourselves as such; live by the laws of our kingdom which forbid hatred and slander against a brother. HaShem gives us strong commands about that in,

" 'Do not go around spreading slander among your people, but also don't stand idly by when your neighbor's life is at stake; I am Adonai. " 'Do not hate your brother in your heart, but rebuke your neighbor frankly, so that you won't carry sin because of him. Don't take vengeance on or bear a grudge against any of your people; rather, love your neighbor as yourself; I am Adonai. (Lev 19:16-18 CJB)

We must remember that it is that type of zealotus political activity which has caused the destruction of the second Temple, and of Jerusalem. May it not destroy our Jerusalem! We must also remember that all humans are made in the image of God and that if "He makes his sun shine on good and bad people alike, and he sends rain to the righteous and the unrighteous alike. " (Mat 5:45 CJB) who are we to do otherwise?

“YOU-TWEET-FACE!”
Social media today has become the platform for vindictive and often ignorant accusative talk. We are all aware of how foreign powers have used our taste for polemical talk in order to poison the political conversation in our social media platforms. It is true that our own elections should be no-one else’s business but ours but aren’t we are the ones to blame for this situation? These people have only used our own weaknesses against us. They gave us the material, and our own appetite for slander, polemic, and conspiracy theories have created the poison that negatively influenced our social media conversation.

Here is the article:
https://youtu.be/sZmrIkRDMsU

It is much like James said,

Rather, each person is being tempted whenever he is being dragged off and enticed by the bait of his own desire. (Jas 1:14 CJB)

A PROVERB
There is a Jewish teaching that says that the sound waves of our words may diminish, but that they actually never die. I do not know if that is true, but one thing I do know is that:

"The way you judge others is how you will be judged -- The measure with which you measure out will be used to measure to you."  Mat 7:2

and

"By your own words you will be acquitted, By your own words you will be condemned."
(Mat 12:37)


Here is a little article I wrote on my Fire Chaplain blog on the subject:
A LESSON FROM TOOTHPASTE



R' Gavriel Lumbroso

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PAR'SHAT TAZRIA: Aaron, the Peacemaker!

4/4/2019

1 Comment

 
Picture
R' Gavirel LumbrosoPAR’SHAT TAZRIA.

אדם כי־יהיה בעור־בשׂרו שׂאת או־ספחת או בהרת והיה בעור־בשׂרו לנגע צרעת והובא אל־אהרן הכהן או אל־אחד מבניו הכהנים׃
וראה הכהן את־הנגע בעור־הבשׂר ושׂער בנגע הפך לבן ומראה הנגע עמק מעור בשׂרו נגע צרעת הוא וראהו הכהן וטמא אתו׃

"When a person has on the skin of his body a swelling or an eruption or a spot, and it turns into a case of leprous disease on the skin of his body, then he shall be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons the priests, and the priest shall examine the diseased area on the skin of his body. And if the hair in the diseased area has turned white and the disease appears to be deeper than the skin of his body, it is a case of leprous disease. When the priest has examined him, he shall pronounce him unclean.
(Lev 13:2-3)

The condition referred to in our Bibles as leprosy is much different than the skin disease we usually refer to by that name. Due to Miriam verbally disrespecting Moses resulting in the  tazria condition, that condition has evolved into an association with לשון הרע / lashon harah, literally meaning, “The Wicked Tongue” Tazria has therefore become known to be a condition of ritual uncleanliness caused by the sin of unhealthy speech, the sin of the tongue. We will go into the details of the story of Miriam as we go into the Book of Bamidbar, Numbers, But for now, may we remember that the plague of Taziah comes as a result of the wrong use of our gift of speech.

A BLASPHEMOUS TONGUE.
For this parasha, I would like to talk about a certain type of lashon hara, one very common in religious circles. We all know that lashon hara is bad. We all agree with the idea that verbally dissing people and gossiping is wrong. The Torah warns us about the evils of an uncontrolled tongue more than about anything else (Lev 19:16; James 3: 1-12). Why is it then such a problem?
    We see congregations, families, associations, and well-meaning groups broken by the evil of unruly gossiping tongues. Even the political conversation today is paralysed by the politics of slander and mud-throwing. The proverbial “fly in the ointment!” Why do we do it then?
    

We allow ourselves this evil practice, as well as practically every sin in the Book when we rationalise it. How do we then rationalise destructive, evil gossipy speech? There are many ways but here are a couple of them.

“I AM KNOWN FOR TELLING THE TRUTH!” One of the most deceitful forms of lashon hara is when we deceive ourselves in thinking we are “Truth-bearers.” This amounts to nothing else but covering our evil inclination with a cloak of so-called “righteousness”.

“I HAVE THE GIFT OF DISCERNMENT!” Next is when we claim that it is the Spirit of God that is moving us into saying what we are saying. As we do that, we may even push the hypocrisy in playing the victim, “Oh, I wish I didn’t have to but the Spirit makes me say it. I have to obey and say it, right?” Very often, this “gift of discernment” so-called, is actually a “critical spirit.” As such, the person is letting their own spirit vent while saying that the Spirit of God is moving them. That might be the utmost in blasphemy. Another one is,
“I MUST STAND UP FOR THE TRUTH!”  which is often nothing more than giving way to our desire to elevate ourselves against others, to show that because we stand higher than others we can see the truth and the whole picture, while hiding under a cloak of self-righteousness.

IN THE DAYS OF NOAH
We are used to tell the post-flood story of Noah getting drunk and discovered by his son Ham referring to probable sexual improprieties. It is not told that way in Jewish teachings.
    The Talmud teaches this story as a form of lashon hara. The text tells us that when Ham discovered his father in a compromising situation, he Went out and told his two brothers. (Gen 9:22)
Shem and Japhet acted very differently. They, 

Took a cloak, put it over both their shoulders, and, walking backward, went in and covered their naked father. Their faces were turned away, so that they did not see their father lying there shamefully exposed. (Gen 9:23)

    Instead of publicising their father’s fault, they hid it from themselves and others. As a result, they were blessed and Ham’s descendants through Canaan were cursed. They fulfilled the very important Torah principle proposed by King Solomon, "He who conceals an offense promotes love, but he who harps on it can separate even close friends." (Pro 17:9)

    Even when we feel that we are right about another’s transgression, to reveal it is divisive, and therefore an abomination to HaShem (Prov 6:19). The Talmud is full of stories of rabbis who brought peace to their congregants by deciding to “cover” a transgression. It is actually exactly what Yeshua does for us. He “covers” our transgressions from HaShem. Not that they were never there, but He hides them under His favor, so that all the Father sees is the light and glory of His Son in us. Moshe did the same thing for the Children of Israel concerning the issue of the Golden Calf. The Hebrew word for atonement is “כפר / capar” which means, “to cover!” That is also why Yeshua strongly advised for people to resolve their issues with each other in private, not through “YouTwitFace” (YouTube/Twitter/FaceBook) which have today become obscene international platforms for lashon hara.

PRIESTS: THE PEACEMAKERS!
These ideas appear in Leviticus because the role of priests was that of “peacemakers.” How? They were to be the buffer zone between us and HaShem. Their service provided the “כפר/covering/atonement” that we may be able to approach HaShem. Aaron himself was known as a man who, when he found two people who didn’t like each other, he would go to one and say,

“Hey Avi, do you know Ari?”
“Yes, but I think he is a …….”
“Come on!”
Aaron would say. You must admit that Ari is an excellent carpenter.”
“Well, I may have my problems with Ari, but he is the best carpenter I ever met in my life.

Aaron would then take that precious information to Ari saying,
“Hey Ari, do you know what Avi said about you?”
“Well ..., I can imagine!”
“He said that you were the best carpenter he ever met in his life!”
“Really! I would have never thought that! I thought all tent-makers were  but he is certainly the best tent-maker I ever met. He doesn’t know it, but my tent comes from his shop, and it’s the best I’ve ever had.”

Then Aaron would go take that precious information to Avi. The next time Avi and Ari met, they knew that each other had said good things about each other, which helped repair their relationship.
       Aaron was known in this manner, to try to do anything he could in order to try to make peace between people. Aaron was even known to sometimes put his thumb on the scale and exaggerate the truth a bit in order to help. This is the true role of a priest: the Peacemaker. That is why psalm 133 was written about Aaron.

 Oh, how good, how pleasant it is for brothers to live together in harmony. It is like fragrant oil on the head that runs down over the beard, over the beard of Aharon, and flows down on the collar of his robes. It is like the dew of Hermon that settles on the mountains of Tziyon. For it was there that Adonai ordained the blessing of everlasting life. (Psalm 133:1-3)

A REVERSED PHILOSOPHY
Sad to say, in our world today, while some may be so concerned to publicize others issues and might even put their thumb on the scale of negative judgement, they often totally omit acknowledging the good, or even lift their thumb off the scale when it comes to positive judgment.
The whole thing is very sad. It is all done when we give in to a sense of personal inadequacy. This negativity about ourselves pushes us to want to dim the light of others by either publicizing their sins, or somewhat negating their virtues, all because we think that our light shines brighter when we put down others.
    
“WHEN YOU POINT THE FINGER AT SOMEONE ELSE …”   Leviticus 13:45: says,
"Everyone who has tzara`at sores is to wear torn clothes and unbound hair, cover his upper lip and cry, 'Unclean! Unclean!' (Lev 13:45)
      The Shaloh (Shnai Luchot HaBrit) says that it can be read as, “Unclean,” what an unclean person says about others. That is, a person who finds fault with others is really projecting his own faults and imperfections on others. The sages in Kidushin 70a have said, “Those who try to invalidate others do so with their own blemishes.”

Rabbi and psychologist Zelig Pliskin adds to this, “One means of finding out your own faults and blemishes is to see what faults and blemishes you notice in others. If you focus on certain negative aspects of others, it is possible that you have these same tendencies yourself.” (Growth Through Torah, Zelig Pliskin on Tazria.)
    So as the old adage goes, “When you point the finger at others, remember that you have 3 pointing at you, and one pointing at HaShem, the Creator of every human being!”

A NATION OF PRIESTS:
HaShem blessed the Jewish people by telling them,
And you will be a kingdom of cohanim for me, a nation set apart. These are the words you are to speak to the people of Isra'el." (Exo 19:6 CJB)

At Passover, Yeshua gave the disciples a form of priestly initiation, 
So he rose from the table, removed his outer garments and wrapped a towel around his waist. Then he poured some water into a basin and began to wash the feet of the talmidim and wipe them off with the towel wrapped around him. He came to Shim`on Kefa, who said to him, "Lord! You are washing my feet?" Yeshua answered him, "You don't understand yet what I am doing, but in time you will understand." "No!" said Kefa, "You will never wash my feet!" Yeshua answered him, "If I don't wash you, you have no share with me." "Lord," Shim`on Kefa replied, "not only my feet, but my hands and head too!" Yeshua said to him, "A man who has had a bath doesn't need to wash, except his feet -- his body is already clean. And you people are clean, but not all of you." (Joh 13:4-10 CJB)

Peter exhorted the Roman congregation of Jewish and Gentile disciples saying,
But you are a chosen people, the King's cohanim, a holy nation, a people for God to possess! Why? In order for you to declare the praises of the One who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. (1Pe 2:9 CJB)

MAY WE REMEMBER THE WORDS OF KING DAVID AS HE LOOKED AT HIS OWN SELF WITH THE EYES OF THE TORAH.

The fear of Adonai is clean, enduring forever.
The rulings of Adonai are true, they are righteous altogether, more desirable than gold, than much fine gold, also sweeter than honey or drippings from the honeycomb. Through them your servant is warned; in obeying them, there is great reward.
Who can discern unintentional sins?
Cleanse me from hidden faults.
Also keep your servant from presumptuous sins, so that they won't control me.
Then I will be blameless and free of great offense.
May the words of my mouth and the thoughts of my heart be acceptable in your presence, Adonai, my Rock and Redeemer..  (Psa 19:9-14)


R' Gavriel Lumbroso

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