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This week’s double-Parsha closes out the Book of Leviticus. Parshas Behar begins at Mount Sinai, where the Almighty instructed Moshe to convey a series of laws to the Jewish people. The first is the mitzvah of Shemittah, the prohibition of engaging in any agricultural work every seven years. In two chapters in the Torah (Leviticus 26, Deuteronomy 28) we read about the positive consequences of obeying the Torah and heeding its laws; and the terrible, painful consequences of disobeying the Law. Though reading Parshas Bechukosai is scary and a tad depressing, the truth is that this framework is the secret to our nation enduring such long and painful exiles.

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Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 55:34 — 25.4MB)

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The Priests are the noblest amongst us, direct descendants of Aaron, the legendary first priest. They have a very important role to play amongst their people. They have a special blessing that they can bestow upon the people, and they can process sacrifices on our behalf in the Temple. They are spiritual leaders of men. With this role of distinction come certain restrictions: who they can marry, who they can come into contact with. They are forbidden to come into contact with the dead. They are forbidden to be in the same enclosure as a dead body, but it is certainly a worthwhile exchange. In this very sharp Parsha podcast, we contrast the beginning of the parsha with its end. Although most of us are not priests, the lessons that we learn are very pertinent to all and very powerful.

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This Parsha Podcast is dedicated by Melissa Johnson in loving memory of her great-great-grandmother Rebecca Stremovsky-Weinman. May her soul be elevated in heaven.

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Humans have a very important role to play in God’s world. The Almighty created a world in which He is obfuscated. It is possible to live a whole life without acknowledging the one, singular reality of existence: God. The world was designed with the capacity for that reality being ignored. But we are here to change that. Our national mission is to sanctify the name of God – to publicize His existence and Dominion. That is the mission that Abraham embarked upon and that is what we have been dedicated towards ever since. This requirement – to sanctify the Name of God and not to, Heaven forbid, desecrate it – is featured in our Parsha and is a central element of our religion. But how exactly do we sanctify God’s name? What can we do practically to publicize the name of God, to change the trajectory of the world? In this parsha, and in this this very fascinating (if lengthy) Parsha podcast, we discover some very interesting and powerful answers.

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Parshas Emor contains a staggering 56 mitzvos, nearly all of them relating to either to the Kohanim, the priests, or to the Festivals, and the parsha ends with a very unusual episode that happened at Sinai.

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Yom Kippur is a different day than every other day of the year. It is the holiest day, the day of atonement, a day of fasting and prayer and repentance. When the Temple was extant, the Nations’ attention was oriented around the high priest’s services in God’s holy Temple. This was the one time a year that the high priest walked into the Holy of Holies. Of the many different  services performed by the high priest on this day was a most peculiar one: Two identical goats were given very different fates, determined by a lottery: One was offered as a sacrifice to God on the altar in the Temple, and one was to serve as a scapegoat, bearing the sins of the nation. The scapegoat was sent away to the desert, to the wilderness, to Azazel, where it was chucked off a cliff side, thereby expiating the nation’s sins. What is the message behind the process of the identical goats? What is the message behind the scapegoat? in this fantastic Parsha podcast, we learned the secret of the goats with a brand new twist.

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This Parsha podcast is dedicated in the merit of a speedy recovery of Yosef Shraga Halevi Ben Esther. May he have a Refuah Sheleima.

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The first verse of our Parsha revisits a tragic event from the past. The Torah tells us that after the death of Aaron’s sons Nadav and Avihu, Moshe was instructed to command Aaron about the prohibition against entering the Holy of Holies unauthorized. What is the significance of the tragic demise of Aaron’s two sons to the the instruction governing when and how Aaron may enter the Holy of Holies? This question is addressed by the commentators, and in this very special edition of the Parsha Podcast, we go deep and deeper in pondering the subject and it’s vast and powerful consequences.

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This week’s double-parsha contains a smorgasbord of mitzvos. The three chapters of Parshas Acharei cover three general categories. First we read about the Yom Kippur sacrifices and procedures; then we learn about the prohibitions against the consumption of blood among other ritualistic and sacrificial laws, and the final chapter is oriented around the many prohibited sexual relationships. Parshas Kedoshim has the highest mitzvah density of any parsha: In its 64 verses, we learn 51 separate mitzvos covering many different areas of Jewish practice, including arguably the most famous mitzvah in the whole Torah.

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Podcast (parsha): Download (Duration: 55:30 — 25.4MB)

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The subject of purity and impurity is not the most exciting one. The hallmark of these subjects is their intricacies and complexities, but our parsha has nothing but the laws of purity and impurity. It talks about impurity spawned by childbirth; the impurity of tzaraas of the body, of the garments, and of the home; along with several other types of impurities. Why does humanity have a tendency to become impure, whereas animals don’t have that same variability? What is the essence of impurity? How does impurity get remediated? In this very interesting Parsha podcast, we share a fascinating perspective on the makeup of man and how man’s unique creation leads to man’s near-infinite variability. We also learn a valuable perspective on how we can achieve fantastic things and curb our most frightening and damaging impulses.

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This Parsha Podcast is dedicated in loving memory of Yehuda Goldmann, Martin Yehuda ben Yosef. May his soul be elevated in Heaven.

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Like much of Leviticus hitherto, tzaraas – the skin malady that is a physical manifestation of a spiritual flaw – is a concept distant from our consciousness. The Torah tells us that when a person commits one of several sins, they can be stricken with a wide range of skin afflictions that qualify as tzaraas. Our Parsha is largely dedicated to its laws. What can we learn from tzaraas? How can we glean valuable and transformative lessons from this concept that does not seem to exist today? In this special edition of the Parsha Podcast we go deep and deeper into the subject of tzaraas, and discover all sorts of interesting and exciting ideas.

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DONATE: Please consider supporting the podcasts by making a donation to help fund our Jewish outreach and educational efforts at https://www.torchweb.org/support.php. Thank you!

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A very large percentage of Torah is dedicated to the laws of purity and impurity. This week’s double Parshas of Tazria and Metzora largely deal with these laws. One variant of impurity that is discussed in both parshas is that of a metzora, A metzora is someone who is stricken with the tangible illness of tzaraas caused by a variety of sins, most notably the sin of lashon hara, evil talk and slander. In Parshas Tazria we read about when it strikes a person’s garment or body; and the bulk of Parshas Metzora orients around tzaraas remediation and a third type of tzaraas that afflicts the sinner’s house.

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Aaron brought offerings; his sons brought offerings too. Both offerings evoked fire from heaven. Aaron’s offering prompted a heavenly fire to consume the sacrifices upon the altar. Aaron’s son’s offering spawned a fire too. The fire rained down from heaven and killed Aaron’s two sons. When we contrast Aaron’s offerings with his sons, we find other differences. Aaron was hesitant to undertake his role. The sons of Aaron opt for boldness and audaciousness. In this fascinating and hastily recorded Parsha podcast, we learn a profound lesson that teaches us when boldness is called for, and when boldness is unacceptable and warrants an immediate divine zap.

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Kosher food is good for you. Non-kosher food is bad. That much we learned in our parsha. But why? Why is kosher food good? In this exquisite podcast, we Go deep and deeper in trying to understand. We discover how non kosher food serves as a form of spiritual cholesterol that creates blockages imperiling our spiritual life.