ACHAREI MOT_LEVITICUS XVI:1-XVIII:30 – KEDOSHIM LEVITICUS XIX:1-XX:27

One of the main functions of Yom Kippur is to serve as a means for attaining Tahara, spiritual purity. The forgiveness of sins that Yom Kippur allows the person to acquire purity from a religious prism. Toward the end of these chapters, the Tora exhorts Kema’ase Erets Mitsrayim asher yeshavtem ba, lo ta’asu, “do not repeat the actions that are proper to Egypt,” thereby warning that the Hebrews should not behave in accordance with Egyptian conduct, especially about sexual relations. 

The text continues with a series of prohibitions on incest, which is defined as consanguineous sexual relations between a man and his mother, sister, granddaughter, or aunt. Also included as incestuous is the relationship between the man and his father’s wife, his son’s wife, sister-in-law. In addition, sexual relations with a woman and her daughter, a woman and her granddaughter, a woman and her sister are prohibited. All these relationships are called Gilui arayot, “to show or uncover nudity.” Apparently, these practices were common in Egypt and even more so in Canaan, while a central idea in the Tora is the denial of the moral validity of the habits of these peoples. 

This behavior has antecedents since the time of Noa, when his son Cham observes the nakedness of his father and, according to some exegetes, has homosexual relations with the drunken father. According to the biblical text, both Mistrayim and Canaan were descendants of Cham. 

Centuries later, the Tora testifies that Sarai, wife of Avraham is kidnapped in the court of Phara’o. The episode of the seduction of Yosef by Potiphar’s wife stands out, a narrative that underline the prominence of sexual acts in the lives of the monarchs and potentates of these civilizations. 

Similar behavior is observed in the cities of Sedom and Amora, where Lot had resided. This fact comes to light after the cities were destroyed and the daughters of Lot had sexual relations with their father, although some exegetes reason that the daughters believed that the whole world had been destroyed and only through a sexual union with the father could humanity be given continuity.

In the early days of the exodus from Egypt, the Hebrews turn to the place called Ba’al Pe’or after the deity of that city and whose cult revolved around sexual acts and “sacred” prostitutes. According to some interpreters of the biblical text, when the Hebrews “remember” the fish they ate in Mitsrayim, the reference has to do with the prolific procreation of fish and sexual debauchery in Egypt, as opposed to the Ten Commandments, which place limits on sexual appetite.

Therefore, the patriarchs insisted that their sons seek wives among their relatives, who, although not monotheistic, were not immersed in the sexual aspect of idolatry.

Instruction about the practice of Brit Mila is intimately linked with a message about sexual activity. Even the Korban on Passover is related to this Mitsva, because the uncircumcised could not participate in the offering and celebration of the Passover Seder. 

The freedom gained through the exodus was conditioned, or rather intended to enable behavior governed by the Tora, as opposed to sexual habits related to idolatry. Therefore, on the evening of the holiest day of the Hebrew calendar, the evening of Yom Kippur, the Tora reading is about forbidden incestuous relationships.

While idolatry made an equation between the sexual act and the fertility of the land (at least that was the practice of the cult of Ba’al Pe’or), Judaism proposes that the abundance of rainfall and agricultural production are a consequence of the moral behavior of the individual. 

Indeed, that is the message we read in the Shema when God warns Vehaya im tishme’u el Mitsvotai, “and it will be, if you observe my instructions,” then the rains will fall in due time, and you will have a bountiful harvest. Although the prohibition on forbidden sexual relations is the responsibility of everyone, according to Ramban the Promised Land does not tolerate them. Ramban suggests that Rachel died on route when Jacob returned to the Land of Israel so that the patriarch would not simultaneously have two wives while residing in the holy land, even though the Tora had not been fully revealed then.

MITZVA: ORDINANCE OF THE TORA IN THIS PARSHA

CONTAINS 2 POSITIVE MITZVOT AND 26 PROHIBITIONS

1. Leviticus 16:2 The Kohen must not enter the Temple at any time (only for the Temple Service) and must not enter who is not a Kohen.
2. Leviticus 16:3 The Temple Service on Yom Kippur.
3. Leviticus 17:3,4 Do not ritually slaughter the offering outside the Temple courtyard.
4. Leviticus 17:13 Mitsva of covering the blood (after the rite of Shechita).
5. Leviticus 18:6 Not to have pleasure with people forbidden to the individual.
6. Leviticus 18:7 Not to have relations with one’s father.
7. Leviticus 18:7 Not to have relations with one’s mother.
8. Leviticus 18:8 Not to have relations with the father’s wife, even if she is not his mother.
9. Leviticus 18:9 Do not have relations with a sister, be she sister in any way.
10. Leviticus 18:10 Not to have relations with a son’s daughter.
11. Leviticus 18:10 Not to have relations with a daughter’s daughter.
12. Leviticus 18:10 Not to have sex with a daughter.
13. Leviticus 18:11 Not to have relations with the sister of a son, daughter of the same mother and a different husband.
14. Leviticus 18:12 Not to have relations with one’s father’s sister.
15. Leviticus 18:13 Not to have intercourse with one’s mother’s sister.
16. Leviticus 18:14 Not to have relations with one’s father’s brother.
17. Leviticus 18:14 Not to have relations with the wife of one’s father’s brother.
18. Leviticus 18:15 Not to have relations with a son’s wife.
19. Leviticus 18:16 Not to have relations with a brother’s wife.
20. Leviticus 18:17 Not to have relations with both a woman and her daughter.
21. Leviticus 18:17 Not to have relations with both a woman and his son’s daughter.
22. Leviticus 18:17 Not to have relations with both a woman and her daughter’s daughter.
23. Leviticus 18:18 Not to have relations with 2 sisters, while both are alive.
24. Leviticus 18:19 Not to have sex with a woman during menstruation.
25. Leviticus 18:21 Do not dedicate any son or daughter to the idolatry of Molech.
26. Leviticus 18:22 A man should not have intercourse with another man.
27. Leviticus 18:23 A man should not have sexual relations with animals.
28. Leviticus 18:23 A woman should not have sexual relations with animals.

THE KEDUSHA OF THE HEBREW PEOPLE

God demands that the Hebrew people be Kadosh, consecrated and sanctified, just as He is. Being like God is impossible because He is unique. So, what does Kadosh mean? According to Rashi, it implies keeping apart, since the Hebrew people should not be infected by the evils of the surrounding society. Just as the first patriarch positioned himself on the opposite side of the “shore,” a fact alluded to by the appellation Ivri (because Ever means “a slope of the river”), so the Hebrew people must stand firm in their moral stance, even in defiance of the majority opinion.

The first verses of the biblical text indicate what Kadosh condition consists of: fear for parents, care for Shabbat, turning away from idolatry, keeping the rules of sacrifice, attending to the needs of the poor by setting aside the corners of the fields for them, not stealing, not lying, not calling on the name of God in vain. Pay wages on time, not curse the deaf and place an obstacle before a blind man, be correct in judgment with both the poor and the rich, not to remain indifferent at the bloodshed of one’s neighbor, not to hate a brother, admonish him when he is wrong, do not take revenge, and love one’s neighbor as oneself. 

It is obvious that the person who conducts his life according to the demands listed above will be an exceptional individual. He will be Kadosh, because he will have overcome any inclination for evil, he will be in solidarity with his fellow human beings. From a theological perspective, the question arises whether Kadosh is a condition that God imposed on the Hebrew people. That means that God chose the Hebrew people above the other nations and, therefore, it is a permanent condition, independent of the behavior of this people. However, they can receive punishment for a mistake and a reward for a good deed. Yet, the condition of Kadosh always remains, consecrated by God.

A second option would be that the Kadosh condition is the result of the exemplary conduct of the Hebrew people. The people are Kadosh, or perhaps acquire Kedusha, when they fulfill the imperatives enumerated above and lose that status when they depart from the required norms. So that the Kadosh condition is temporary, a function of human behavior. An adjective and not a noun. 

Seen in another way, the appellation of Kadosh is given by God, or it is a condition that the people obtained by their ethical behavior. If God gives this qualification, it means that the Hebrew people belong to Him and, therefore, He entrusted them to observe the Mitsvot. According to the Meshech Chochma (Rabbi Meir Simcha of Dvinsk), the Hebrew people received the Kedusha on Mount Sinai.

The Midrash, on the other hand, suggests that God’s Kedusha is totally independent of the Kedusha of the Hebrew people. God is always Kadosh, while the Kedusha of the Hebrew people is a function of their attachment to the Mitsvot. Shabbat is a Kadosh day and when the Hebrew observes the laws of this day, he acquires more Kedusha. In other words, Kedusha is not the result of a transcendental encounter between the people and God at Sinai but is a process that constantly evolves according to the practice of the law enunciated at Sinai.

My teacher Joseph B. Soloveitchik leans towards this second position and affirms that the Hebrew people produce, engender the Kedusha through their behavior. Raphael Yarhi quotes Malbim, who differentiated between Am Segula, a chosen people, and Goi Kadosh, the consecrated nation. According to Malbim, God chose the Hebrew people and made them Am Segula, but the people rose to be Goi Kadosh. And through this Kedusha, the people sanctify God, so that the Kedusha of God is a function of the Kedusha of the people. 

That means Kiddush HaShem, the sanctification of God’s Name. An act of Kedusha of the individual produces Kiddush HaShem, the sanctification of God. In this way the relationship between the individual and God is accentuated. God exerts influence over the individual, but the person also leaves an imprint on God, “intensifies” God’s Kedusha through his earthly acts.

MITZVA: ORDINANCE OF THE TORA IN THIS PARSHA

CONTAINS 13 POSITIVE MITSVOT AND 38 PROHIBITIONS

1. Leviticus 19:3 Fear father and mother.
2. Leviticus 19:4 Do not turn to idolatry in thought, nor verbalizing, even witnessing.
3. Leviticus 19:4 Do not make an idol for personal use or for others.
4. Leviticus 19:6,8 Do not eat remaining meat as an offering after the time prescribed for it.
5. Leviticus 19:10 Leave part of the field sown for the poor.
6. Leviticus 19:9 Do not reap to the limit of the field.
7. Leviticus 19:10 Leave ears for the poor
8. Leviticus 19:9 Do not gather fallen ears during harvest.
9. Leviticus 19:10 Leave a part of the vineyard for the poor.
10. Leviticus 19:10 Do not reap the boundaries of the vineyard.
11. Leviticus 19:10 Leave on the ground the grapes fallen in the vineyard for the poor.
12. Leviticus 19:10 Do not gather the grapes fallen from the vineyard.
13. Leviticus 19:11 Do not steal.
14. Leviticus 19:11 Do not deny possession of an object belonging to another person.
15. Leviticus 19:11 Do not swear falsely about an object of value.
16. Leviticus 19:12 Do not swear falsely.
17. Leviticus 19:13 Do not retain other people’s property.
18. Leviticus 19:13 Do not commit theft.
19. Leviticus 19:13 Do not delay the payment of a wageworker.
20. Leviticus 19:14 Do not curse a Jew, neither male nor female.
21. Leviticus 19:14 Do not lead an individual into error by giving him equivocal advice.
22. Leviticus 19:15 Do not pervert justice, in a civil judgment.
23. Leviticus 19:15 Do not give special honors in the judgment of an eminent individual.
24. Leviticus 19:15 The judge must make a correct judgment.
25. Leviticus 19:16 Do not defame (gossip).
26. Leviticus 19:16 Do not remain indifferent to the blood of another.
27. Leviticus 19:17 Do not hate another Jew.
28. Leviticus 19:17 Reproach the Jew for not behaving properly.
29. Leviticus 19:17 Thou shalt not place another Jew in an awkward situation.
30. Leviticus 19:18 Thou shalt not take revenge.
31. Leviticus 19:18 Thou shalt not hold a grudge.
32. Leviticus 19:18 Love another Jew.
33. Leviticus 19:19 Do not mate animals of different species.
34. Leviticus 19:19 Do not sow together seeds of different species in the Land of Israel, likewise with trees of different species.
35. Leviticus 19:23 Do not eat the fruit of the tree the first 3 years.
36. Leviticus 19:23, 24 Laws concerning the fruit of the tree in the fourth year.
37. Leviticus 19:26 Do not eat or drink like a glutton.
38. Leviticus 19:26 Do not practice divination.
39. Leviticus 19:26 Thou shalt not conjure (magic).
40. Leviticus 19:27 Thou shalt not remove the hair from the sideburns of the face.
41. Leviticus 19:27 Thou shalt not destroy the ends of thy beard.
42. Leviticus 19:28 Thou shalt not make a tattoo on your flesh (skin).
43. Leviticus 19:30 Respect the Temple.
44. Leviticus 19:31 Not acting like a spiritualist (kind of magic).
45. Leviticus 19:31 Do not practice Yidon (kind of magic).
46. Leviticus 19:32 Honoring Tora Scholars.
47. Leviticus 19:35 Do not deceive with measures.
48. Leviticus 19:36 Create exact scales, weights, and measures.
49. Leviticus 20:9 Do not curse one’s father or mother.
50. Leviticus 20:14 Cremate the person who has been sentenced to die by fire.
51. Leviticus 20:23 Do not follow the behavior of idolaters.

TAZRÍA_LEVÍTICO XII:1-XIII:59 – METSORÁ_LEVÍTICO XIV:1-XV:33_

En los capítulos de Sheminí, al describir algunos de los animales que no se deben comer, el texto menciona: “De su carne no comeréis y no tocaréis sus cadáveres, son impuros para ustedes”. La prohibición incluye el contacto con el animal muerto porque produce la tum’á, la impureza ritual. El Talmud cuestiona si esta regla es aplicable a todo el pueblo y responde que solamente los Kohanim deben abstenerse de entrar en contacto con el cadáver y, más aún, con un difunto humano. El Kohén no debe tocar el cuerpo de un difunto, ni siquiera estar bajo el mismo techo con el cadáver. Por ello, el Kohén no debe entrar en una casa o una funeraria donde se guarda el cuerpo del difunto antes del entierro.

Aunque no existe una prohibición para que un miembro del pueblo adquiera la contaminación ritual, el estado de Tamé era limitante. La persona que entraba en contacto con un cadáver se convertía en Tamé hasta que no saliera de este estado a través de la Tahará, que exige la inmersión en un Mikvé. 

Durante el estado de Tamé, el Kohén no podía ingresar al Beit HaMikdash ni compartir la carne de los Kodashim, los sacrificios. Tampoco podía comer Maaser shení, ni Terumá. Además, la condición de Tamé tiene relevancia en las relaciones matrimoniales, el período después del alumbramiento y situaciones adicionales. 

Los Jajamim ampliaron la noción de Tum’á y Tahará para incluir la prohibición de comer en la mesa de un Am Haarets, persona no letrada, porque se sospecha que en ese hogar no se cumple con las leyes de Maaser. Se debe destacar que, durante el período de la existencia del Beit HaMikdash, el concepto de Tum’á era equivalente en relevancia diaria al concepto de Kashrut que se practica en la actualidad. Ello no quiere decir que el Kashrut no fuera una parte fundamental de la observancia religiosa de aquellos tiempos, solamente que el énfasis estaba sobre las leyes de Tum’á y Tahará.

Según Rambán, el precepto de Kedoshim tihyú, “Sean consagrados”, o tal vez, como interpreta Rashí, “manténganse aparte”, quiere decir también observar las leyes aludidas de Tum’á y Tahará, que apuntan hacia la limpieza física y la pureza ritual. Cuestiona y responde Rabí Meir, ¿quién es un ignorante? La persona que consume sus comidas diarias en un estado de impureza ritual.

Los esenios destacaron estas leyes y regían sus vidas por estos principios. Según Flavio Josefo, los esenios estaban divididos en 4 castas y los más jóvenes pertenecían al rango menor. De tal manera que, si un joven tocaba a un miembro de una casta superior, éste tenía que hacer una inmersión. 

De acuerdo con el Talmud, “las vestimentas de un ‘ignorante’ no se consideran aptas para un fariseo, las de un fariseo no son aptas para las personas que tienen permiso para comer Terumá, y la de quienes pueden comer Terumá no son idóneas para quienes pueden comer Kódesh, que son las comidas que provienen del Korbán, el sacrificio”. 

Como consecuencia de esta regla se fueron creando las diferencias sociales que, dicho sea de paso, no tenían que ver con la situación económica de la persona. Las diferencias de opinión entre las escuelas de Hilel y Shamai también se referían a las leyes de Tum’á y Tahará. Lo que los unos decían que era Tahor, puro, era declarado Tamé, impuro, por los otros. Sin embargo, nunca dejaron de utilizar los utensilios de comida del otro o de comer en las respectivas casas de sus opositores intelectuales.

Raphael Yankelevitz apunta que Ezrá HaSofer amplió el alcance de las leyes acerca la pureza ritual, pero los Jajamim insistieron en que el estudio de la Torá no requiere del estado de pureza. De manera que, en el caso del estudio, se pueden juntar personas de diferentes grados de pureza. Así se expresó Rabí Yehudá ben Beterá: “Las palabras de tu boca no tienen que ver con impureza, y cuando un estudiante lo cuestionó, le dijo: abre tu boca para que las palabras que salen de ella sean claras, porque las palabras de la Torá no adquieren impureza, tal como dice el profeta, ‘acaso no son Mis Palabras como el fuego, dice el Señor’. Tal como el fuego no es susceptible a la impureza, así también lo son las palabras de la Torá”.

MITSVÁ: ORDENANZA DE LA TORÁ EN ESTA PARASHÁ

CONTIENE 5 MITSVOT POSITIVAS Y 2 PROHIBICIONES

1. Levítico 12:2,5 La impureza ritual de la mujer después de dar a luz
2. Levítico 12:4 La persona ritualmente impura no de ingerir Sacrificios Sagrados
3. Levítico 12:6 La ofrenda que trae la mujer después de dar a luz
4. Levítico 13:2 La impureza ritual de la persona que tiene tsaráat (se manifiesta con una erupción en la piel)
5. Levítico 13:33 No cortar el pelo de una lesión nétek (tipo de tsaráat)
6. Levítico 13:45 La persona que tiene tsaráat o cualquiera que puede transmitir impureza ritual a otros, no debería cortar su pelo y dejar sus prendas de vestir rasgadas
7. Levítico 13:47 Leyes pertinentes a tsaráat de prendas de vestir

METSORÁ

LEVÍTICO XIV:1-XV:33

EL MALESTAR DEL ALMA

El gran expositor bíblico y defensor de la ortodoxia, el rabino Samson Raphael Hirsch de Alemania, insistió en que no se debe confundir Tsaráat, la aflicción que ocupa la atención del texto bíblico, con la lepra. En el caso de la lepra se debe acudir al médico; en cambio, para la cura del Tsaráat, la persona indicada es el Kohén, quien examina la herida y dispone cuál debe ser el remedio para su curación. Porque Tsaráat es una manifestación externa de un mal espiritual interno.

Los Jajamim parten de la premisa de que la Torá no es un conjunto de normas cuyo propósito es cuidar la salud física de la persona, aunque ésta sea una consecuencia de observar sus leyes. La tarea fundamental de la Torá es velar por la salud espiritual del individuo y del colectivo, trazar el sendero por el cual la persona puede acercarse a la Divinidad, en particular, a través de la Mitsvá. Por ello, los intérpretes del texto bíblico, empezando por el Talmud, apuntaron que las erupciones cutáneas de Tsaráat eran manifestaciones de una dolencia espiritual. 

Sugieren que Metsorá es una alusión a Motsí shem ra, la calumnia perniciosa contra el prójimo. El rubro de Tsaráat también abarca otras cosas, porque una casa también puede padecer de este mal, o sea que las paredes pueden estar contagiadas. En este caso, la explicación anterior deja de ser adecuada. Además, de acuerdo con muchos expositores, las normas sobre “paredes infectadas” sólo rigen en Erets Israel, la Tierra Prometida. 

De acuerdo con Rashí, cuando el Kohén ordenaba que las paredes de una casa fueran destruidas por estar irremediablemente contagiadas con Tsaráat, esta acción traía un beneficio a la persona, porque los Amoritas que habían habitado esas tierras durante los 40 años que los hebreos pasaron por el desierto, escondieron oro y joyas en sus paredes, tesoros que fueron recuperados por los hebreos cuando derribaron las paredes de estas casas.

Shimon Golan trae a colación la opinión del Zóhar, que sostiene que la razón del Tsaráat en las paredes se debe a quelas casas fueron construidas bajo el signo de la idolatría; en tanto que la Tierra Prometida exige que todas las construcciones sean realizadas bajo un patrón de Tahará, pureza espiritual. Por ello, la Torá ordenó que las casas fueran inspeccionadas y, ante cualquier sospecha de impureza, el Kohén podía dictaminar su destrucción para ser luego reconstruida bajo un signo de pureza. 

Dado que la Divina Presencia toma residencia en la Tierra Prometida, toda edificación debe ser apta para albergar Su Presencia. Por ello, quien construye una casa debe manifestar verbalmente que lo está haciendo para la Gloria de Dios y como una consecuencia de esta acción Dios se hará presente en ese hogar.

Según Rambam, Tsaráat ocurre en un hogar porque albergó Lashón Hará, o sea porque allí se calumnió a las personas, señal de que la mala lengua puede contagiar incluso a las paredes. 

Tsaráat podría desaparecer a través de la abstención de Lashón Hará. En cambio, si la persona no hace Teshuvá y no desiste del mal uso de la lengua, incluso los artículos de cuero y su ropa podían contagiarse con Tsaráat. Efectivamente, eso es lo que pasó con Miryam, quien se atrevió a calumniar a su hermano Moshé. 

La aflicción Tsaráat es una advertencia Divina que se presenta primero en las casas, pero si la persona no cambia su conducta, Tsaráat va avanzando hacia sus enseres y ropa y, finalmente, ataca su cuerpo. 

El Midrash sostiene que Tsaráat es el resultado de varias transgresiones: “Maldecir a Dios”, relaciones sexuales ilícitas, derrame de sangre humana, arrogancia, la penetración a un recinto ajeno, el robo, el juramento falso, la profanación del Nombre de Dios y la idolatría. Está claro que la Torá señala que existe una relación directa entre la salud física y la salud espiritual. Por ello, frente a una enfermedad, la persona debe cuestionar su comportamiento ético y moral, ya que la dolencia es muchas veces una manifestación de un malestar del alma.

MITSVÁ: ORDENANZA DE LA TORÁ EN ESTA PARASHÁ

CONTIENE 11 MITSVOT POSITIVAS

1. Levítico 14:2 Ritual de purificación por tsaráat
2. Levítico 14:9 Afeitar al afectado por tsaráat en el séptimo día (parte del ritual de purificación)
3. Levítico 14:9 Inmersión del individuo impuro en un mikvé para su purificación ritual
4. Levítico 14:10 La ofrenda del individuo con tsaráat cuando es curado de su aflicción
5. Levítico 14:35 Leyes de impureza ritual de una casa contaminada con tsaráat
6. Levítico 15:2,3 Leyes de impureza ritual de la persona que tiene emisiones, zav, quien es objeto y causa de su impureza ritual 
7. Levítico 15:13,14 Ofrenda del zav cuando es curado de las emisiones
8. Levítico 15:16 Leyes sobre la impureza ritual del semen, que es ritualmente impuro y causa impureza ritual
9. Levítico 15:19 Leyes de impureza ritual de la persona que está menstruando que adquiere impureza ritual y causa impureza ritual
10. Levítico 15:25 Leyes de impureza ritual de la persona que está menstruando de manera anormal que adquiere impureza ritual y causa impureza ritual
11. Levítico 15:28,29 Ofrenda de la mujer zavá, que está menstruando de manera anormal cuando ya ha sido ritualmente purificada

TAZRIA_LEVITICUS XII:1-XIII:59 – METSORA_LEVITICUS XIV:1-XV:33

In the chapters of Shemini, in describing some of the animals that should not be eaten, the text mentions: “Of their flesh, you shall not eat, and you shall not touch their corpses; they are unclean to you.” The prohibition includes contact with the dead animal because it produces tum’á, a ritual impurity. The Talmud questions whether this rule applies to everyone and replies that only Kohanim should avoid coming into contact with the corpse and, even more so, with a deceased human. The Kohen should not touch the body of a deceased or even be under the same roof as the corpse. Therefore, the Kohen should not enter a house or funeral home where the deceased’s body is kept before burial.

Although there is no prohibition for a village member to acquire ritual contamination, the status of Tame had a limiting effect. The person who came into contact with a corpse became Tame until he did not leave this state through Tahara, which requires immersion in a Mikve. 

During the state of Tame, the Kohen could not enter the Beit HaMikdash or share the Kodashim’s meat, the sacrifices. Neither could he partake of Ma’aser Sheni or Teruma. In addition, Tame condition has relevance in marital relations, the period after childbirth, and additional situations. 

The Chachamim expanded the notion of Tum’a and Tahara to include the prohibition of eating at the table of an Am Ha’arets, an unliterate person, because of the suspicion that the laws of Ma’aser are not being complied with in that home. It should be noted that, during the period of the Beit HaMikdash, the concept of Tum’a was considered equivalent in rigor to the concept of Kashrut practiced today. This is not to say that Kashrut was not a fundamental part of the religious observance of those times, only that the emphasis was on the Laws of Tum’á and Tahara.

According to Ramban, the precept of Kedoshim tihyu, “Be consecrated,” or perhaps, as Rashi interprets, “stand apart,” also means observing the alluded Laws of Tum’a and Tahara, which point toward physical cleanliness and ritual purity. Question and answer of Rabbi Meir, Who is ignorant? The person who consumes his daily meals in a state of ritual impurity.

The Essenes emphasized these laws and governed their lives by these principles. According to Flavius Josephus, the Essenes were divided into four castes, and the younger ones belonged to the lower rank. So, if a young man touched a higher caste member, he had to undergo an immersion. 

According to the Talmud, “the garments of an ‘ignoramus’ are not considered fit for a Pharisee, those of a Pharisee is not suitable for people who are allowed to eat Tsara’at, and those who can eat Teruma are not suitable for those who can eat Kodesh, which are the foods that come from Korban, the sacrifice.

Because of this rule created social differences that, by the way, had nothing to do with the person’s economic situation. The differences of opinion between the schools of Hillel and Shamai also concerned the laws of Tum’a and Tahara. What some said was Tahor, pure, was declared Tame, impure, by others. However, they never stopped using each other’s food utensils or eating in the respective homes of their intellectual opponents.

Raphael Yankelevitz points out that Ezra HaSofer expanded the scope of the laws about ritual purity. Still, the Chachamim insisted that the Tora study does not require the state of purity. So, in the case of the study, people of different degrees of purity can be brought together. This is how Rabbi Yehuda ben Betera expressed himself: “The words of your mouth have nothing to do with impurity, and when a student questioned him, he said to him: open your mouth so that the words that come out of it are clear because  the words of the Tora do not acquire impurity, as the prophet says, ‘are not My words like fire, saith the Lord.’ Just as fire is not susceptible to impurity, so are the words of the Tora.”

MITZVA: ORDINANCE OF THE TORA IN THIS PARSHA

CONTAINS 5 POSITIVE MITZVOT AND 2 PROHIBITIONS

1. Leviticus 12:2,5 The ritual impurity of women after giving birth.
2. Leviticus 12:4 The ritually unclean person should not ingest Holy Sacrifices.
3. Leviticus 12:6 The offering that the woman brings after giving birth.
4. Leviticus 13:2 The ritual impurity of the person who has (manifests itself with a rash on the skin) Tsara’at.
5. Leviticus 13:33 Do not cut the hair of a Netek lesion (type of Tsara’at).
6. Leviticus 13:45 The person with Tsara’at or anyone who can transmit ritual impurity to others should not cut his hair and leave his clothes torn.
7. Leviticus 13:47 Laws about Tsara’at of garments.

METSORA

LEVITICUS XIV:1-XV:33

THE MALAISE OF THE SOUL

The great biblical expositor and defender of orthodoxy, Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch of Germany, insisted that Tsara’at, the affliction that occupies the attention of the biblical text, should not be confused with leprosy. In the case of leprosy, you should go to the doctor; on the other hand, for the cure of the Tsara’at, the indicated person is the Kohen, who examines the wound and determines what should be the remedy for its healing. Because Tsara’at is an outward manifestation of inner spiritual evil.

The Chachamim start from the premise that the Tora is not a set of rules whose purpose is to take care of the person’s physical health, even if this is a consequence of observing its laws. The fundamental task of the Tora is to look out for the spiritual health of the individual and the collective, to trace the path by which the individual can approach the Divinity, particularly through the Mitzva. Therefore, the interpreters of the biblical text, beginning with the Talmud, pointed out that the rashes of Tsara’at were manifestations of a spiritual ailment. 

They suggest that Metsora is an allusion to Motsi shem ra, the pernicious slander against one’s neighbor. The category of Tsara’at also covers other things because a house can also suffer from this evil; that is, the walls can be infected. In this case, the above explanation is no longer adequate. In addition, according to many speakers, the rules on “infected walls” only apply in Erets Israel, the Promised Land. 

According to Rashi, when the Kohen ordered that the walls of a house be destroyed because they were irretrievably infected with Tsara’at, this decision brought benefit to the person because the Amorites who had inhabited those lands during the 40 years that the Hebrews passed through the desert, hid gold and jewels in their walls. Treasures that were recovered by the Hebrews when they tore down the walls of these houses.

Shimon Golan records the opinion of the Zohar, which maintains that the reason for Tsara’at on the walls is that the houses were built under the sign of idolatry. In contrast, the Promised Land demands that all constructions be carried out under a pattern of Tahara, spiritual purity. Therefore, the Tora ordered that the houses be inspected and, in case of any suspicion of impurity, the Kohen could order their destruction to be afterward rebuilt under a sign of purity. 

Since the Divine Presence takes up residence in the Promised Land, every building must be fit to house His Presence. Therefore, whoever builds a house must verbally manifest that he is doing it for the Glory of God, and because of this action, God will be present in that home.

According to Rambam, Tsara’at occurs in a home because it housed Lashon Hara, that is, because people were slandered there, a sign that bad tongue can spread even to walls.  

Tsara’at could disappear by the abstention of Lashon Hara. On the other hand, if a person does not do Teshuva and does not desist from the misuse of the tongue, even leather goods and clothing could be infected with Tsara’at. Indeed, that is what happened to Miryam, who dared slander her brother Moshe. 

Tsara’at affliction is a Divine warning that first appears in the houses. Still, if the person does not change his behavior, Tsara’at advances toward his belongings and clothes and attacks his body. 

The Midrash holds that Tsara’at results from various transgressions: “Cursing God,” illicit sexual intercourse, shedding human blood, arrogance, penetration into another’s compound, theft, false oath, desecration of God’s Name, and idolatry. The Tora points out that there is a direct relationship between physical health and spiritual health. Therefore, faced with an illness, the person must question his ethical and moral behavior since the ailment is often a manifestation of a malaise of the soul.

MITZVA: ORDINANCE OF THE TORA IN THIS PARSHA

CONTAINS 11 POSITIVE MITSVOT

1. Leviticus 14:2 Ritual of purification by tsara’at.
2. Leviticus 14:9 Shaving the person affected by tsara’at on the seventh day (part of the purification ritual).
3. Leviticus 14:9 Immersion of the unclean individual in a mikve for ritual purification.
4. Leviticus 14:10 The offering of the individual with tsara’at when he is healed of his affliction.
5. Leviticus 14:35 Laws of ritual impurity of a house contaminated with tsara’at.
6. Leviticus 15:2,3 Laws of ritual impurity of the person who has emissions, Zav, who is the object and reason for his ritual impurity.
7. Leviticus 15:13,14 Offering of the Zav when healed of affliction.
8. Leviticus 15:16 Laws concerning the ritual impurity of semen, which is ritually impure and causes ritual impurity.
9. Leviticus 15:19 Laws of ritual impurity of the menstruating person who acquires ritual impurity and causes ritual impurity.
10. Leviticus 15:25 Laws of ritual impurity of the person who is menstruating abnormally that acquires ritual impurity and causes ritual impurity.
11. Leviticus 15:28,29 Offering of the Zava woman, who is menstruating abnormally when she has already been ritually purified.

SHEMINÍ_LEVÍTICO IX:1-XI:47

El Mishkán debía servir como “la casa de Dios”, el lugar sagrado desde el cual Moshé tendrá comunicación directa con el Creador, aunque, tal como lo advierte la Torá, Dios reside betojam, en el seno del pueblo hebreo. Al mismo tiempo, el Mishkán era el sitio para las ofrendas y estos capítulos relatan la ceremonia que se realizó en el octavo día, después de que Aharón y sus hijos fuesen apartados por un período de siete días de purificación antes de emprender el servicio de los sacrificios. 

En efecto, el primer Korbán fue un becerro, un sacrificio Jatat de expiación, y este becerro tenía como propósito solicitar el perdón por el pecado del “becerro de oro”, ídolo que confeccionaron cuando Moshé tardó en descender el monte Sinaí. No obstante que Aharón participó en la elaboración del “becerro de oro”, la Torá testimonia que su arrepentimiento por ese pecado permitió que dirigiera junto con sus hijos el servicio de las ofrendas en el momento de la inauguración.

El Talmud especula que Aharón nunca habría cometido este error de no haber sido porque Jur, hijo de su hermana Miryam, fue ultimado por las hordas cuando trató de impedir la elaboración del ídolo. Aharón pensó que correría la misma suerte que Jur y temía por la reacción Divina contra el pueblo frente a ese hecho. No temía por su vida, porque estaba dispuesto a ofrendarla, su recelo se centró en las consecuencias que el magnicidio podría acarrearle al pueblo.

Aharón posiblemente pensó que, si Moshé no retornaba, el pueblo sería castigado por la idolatría, pero si en su furia lo hubieran asesinado, el castigo sería mayor. Porque el Creador puede perdonar una falta contra Él, pero es implacable frente al asesinato de un ser humano. No obstante, el comportamiento de Aharón no fue el adecuado, especialmente cuando es contrastado con la acción decisiva de Moshé, quien al descender del monte Sinaí y observar el fervor de la danza idólatra, convocó: Mi LaShem elai, “quien esté con Dios, que venga a mi lado”. 

La tribu de Leví respondió al llamado. Moshé percibió que quedaba un grupo fiel a las enseñanzas de los patriarcas, para quienes la revelación en el Sinaí había sido una experiencia inolvidable, significativa y duradera. En cambio, Aharón se apoyo sólo en su persona y sintió que no podía enfrentar una muchedumbre que clamaba por un nuevo líder debido a la ausencia de Moshé.

En efecto, Moshé tuvo que repetir la orden Divina para que Aharón se acercara al Mizbéaj, el altar sobre el cual se realizaría la ofrenda. Aharón no estaba seguro de haber obtenido el perdón de Dios después del episodio del “becerro de oro”. Sentía un enorme amor y empatía por el pueblo, pero también se sentía inseguro sobre si merecía ser el representante del pueblo en el momento de la ofrenda.

La Torá enseña que el ser humano más humilde era Moshé, pero esto no quiere decir que no pudiera enfrentar una situación de emergencia, que no reaccionaría con energía frente a la injusticia. A diferencia del padre, los hijos de Aharón, Nadav y Avihú, quienes padecían de una dosis excesiva de orgullo y según el Talmud su error fue anticipar la muerte de Moshé y Aharón para heredar el mando. Se sentían demasiado seguros de sí mismos.

Aharón utilizó las vestimentas que fueron adquiridas por el donativo, la participación de todo el pueblo, Nadav y Avihú trajeron sus utensilios personales al Mishkán, tal como si fuera un servicio individual y no representativo del colectivo.

Tal vez la Torá desea destacar que tanto la inseguridad de Aharón por un lado, y la excesiva confianza de sus hijos en sí mismos, por otro lado, no los hacía aptos para el liderazgo. El líder religioso debe representar una síntesis de estos sentimientos: humildad frente al prójimo a quien debe servir y, al mismo tiempo, confianza en la certeza y justicia de su cometido espiritual.

MITSVÁ: ORDENANZA DE LA TORÁ EN ESTA PARASHÁ

CONTIENE 6 MITSVOT POSITIVAS Y 11 PROHIBICIONES

1. Levítico 10:6 Los Kohanim no deben entrar al Templo con pelo largo
2. Levítico 10:6, 21:10 Los Kohanim no deben entrar al Templo con ropa rasgada
3. Levítico 10:7 Los Kohanim no deben salir del Templo durante el Sagrado Servicio
4. Levítico 10:9 Los Kohanim no deben entrar al Templo después de beber vino, ni deben pronunciar juicio cuando embriagados
5. Levítico 11:2,3 Obligación de examinar las señales de los animales domésticos y salvajes (para determinar si son kasher)
6. Levítico 11:4-7 No comer animales domésticos o salvajes que son no-kasher
7. Levítico 11:9 Obligación de examinar las señales de los peces (para determinar si son kasher)
8. Levítico 11:11 No comer peces que son no-kasher
9. Levítico 11:13 No comer aves no-kasher
10. Levítico 11:21 Obligación de examinar las señales de insectos (para determinar si son kasher)
11. Levítico 11:29,30 Leyes que rigen la impureza ritual de los 8 animales que andan sobre tierra
12. Levítico 11:34 Leyes acerca de la impureza ritual de alimentos
13. Levítico 11:39 Leyes acerca de la impureza ritual de cadáveres de animales
14. Levítico 11:41 No comer animales que se arrastran sobre tierra
15. Levítico 11:42 No comer insectos diminutivos que acompañan granos y frutas
16. Levítico 11:43 No comer criaturas pequeñas que habitan las aguas
17. Levítico 11:44 No ingerir los insectos que se forman de la materia en descomposición

SHEMINI_LEVITICUS IX:1-XI:47

The Mishkan was to serve as “the House of God,” the holy place from which Moshe will have direct communication with the Creator, although, as the Tora warns, God resides betocham, in the bosom of the Hebrew people. At the same time, the Mishkan was the site for offerings. These chapters recount the ceremony on the eighth day after Aharon and his sons were set apart for seven days of purification before undertaking the service of sacrifices. 

Indeed, the first Korban was a calf, a Chatat sacrifice of atonement, and this calf was intended to request forgiveness for the sin of the “golden calf,” an idol they made when Moshe was slow to descend Mount Sinai. Although Aharon participated in the making of the “golden calf,”  the Tora testifies that his repentance for this sin allowed him to lead the offering service with his sons at the time of the inauguration.

The Talmud speculates that Aharon would never have made this mistake had it not been because the hordes killed Chur, son of his sister Miryam when he tried to prevent the making of the idol.  Aharon thought he would suffer the same fate as Chur and feared the Divine reaction against the people afterward. He did not fear for his life because he was willing to offer it; his suspicion focused on the consequences that the assassination could bring to the people.

Aharon possibly thought that if Moshe did not return, the people would be punished for idolatry, but if, in their fury, they had killed him, the punishment would be greater. Because the Creator can forgive a fault against Him, He is stricter in the face of the murder of a human being. However, Aharon’s behavior is improper, especially when contrasted with the decisive action of Moshe, who descended from Mount Sinai and observed the fervor of the idolatrous dance, summoned: My LaShem elai, “whoever is with God, let him come to my side.” 

The tribe of Levi answered the call. Moshe perceived that there was a group faithful to the teachings of the patriarchs, for whom the revelation at Sinai had been an unforgettable, meaningful, and lasting experience. Instead, Aharon leaned only on his person and felt he could not face a crowd clamoring for a new leader because of Moshe’s absence.

In effect, Moshe had to repeat the Divine command for Aharon to approach the Mizbeach, the altar on which the offering would be made. Aharon was unsure he had obtained God’s forgiveness after the “golden calf” episode. He felt enormous love and empathy for the people, but he also felt uncertain whether he deserved to be the people’s representative at the time of the offering.

The Tora teaches that the humblest human being was Moshe, but this does not mean he could not face an emergency and would not react energetically in the face of injustice. Unlike the father, the sons of Aharon, Nadav, and Avihu suffered from an excessive dose of pride. According to the Talmud, their mistake was to anticipate the death of Moshe and Aharon to inherit the command. They felt too sure of themselves.

Aharon used the clothes acquired by the donation, and the participation of the entire people, Nadav and Avihu brought their personal utensils to the Mishkan as if it were an individual service and not representative of them the collective. 

Perhaps Tora wishes to emphasize that both Aharon’s insecurity, on the one hand, and his children’s overconfidence in themselves, on the other, did not make them fit for leadership. The religious leader must represent a synthesis of these feelings: humility towards the neighbor whom he must serve and, at the same time, confidence in the certainty and justice of his spiritual mission.

MITSVA: TORA ORDINANCE IN THIS PARSHA

CONTAINS 6 POSITIVE MITZVOT AND 11 PROHIBITIONS

1. Leviticus 10:6 Kohanim should not enter the Temple with long hair.
2. Leviticus 10:6, 21:10 Kohanim should not enter the Temple with torn clothes.
3. Leviticus 10:7 Kohanim should not leave the Temple during Holy Service.
4. Leviticus 10:9 Kohanim should not enter the Temple after drinking wine, nor should they pronounce judgment when drunk.
5. Leviticus 11:2,3 Obligation to examine the signs of domestic and wild animals (to determine whether they are kosher).
6. Leviticus 11:4-7 Do not eat domestic or wild animals that are non-kosher.
7. Leviticus 11:9 Obligation to examine the signs of fish (to determine if they are kosher).
8. Leviticus 11:11 Do not eat fish that are non-kosher.
9. Leviticus 11:13 Do not eat non-kosher birds.
10. Leviticus 11:21 Obligation to examine the signs of insects (to determine if they are kosher).
11. Leviticus 11:29,30 Laws governing the ritual impurity of the eight animals that walk on land.
12. Leviticus 11:34 Laws about the ritual impurity of food.
13. Leviticus 11:39 Laws about the ritual impurity of animal carcasses.
14. Leviticus 11:41 Do not eat animals that crawl on land.
15. Leviticus 11:42 Do not eat diminutive insects that accompany grains and fruits.
16. Leviticus 11:43 Do not eat small creatures that inhabit the waters.
17. Leviticus 11:44 Do not ingest insects that form from decaying matter.