Rabbi Levin's Blog

Tonight and tomorrow (Friday) is Lag Ba’omer.  What exactly is Lag Ba’Omer? The word “lag” is not actually a Hebrew word.  It is a composite of two letters, lamed and gimel, and is used for the numerical value.  Lamed is 30, gimel is 3, so “lag” is 33. Ba’omer means “of the Omer.”  So Lag Ba’Omer is the 33rd day of the Omer counting.  One of the questions I wan tto address is why we mark the day as the 33rd of the Omer and not by the date on the calendar, 18 Iyar. During the period between Pesach and Shavuot, we “count the Omer”, counting each of the 49 days leading from the Exodus until the Receiving of the Torah at Mount Sinai.  It is called “Counting the Omer" because it begins on the second day of Pesach when the Omer offering - a measure of barley flour, was offered on the Altar.   Chassidus explains in depth the connection between the sacrifice, the counting, and the two holidays.  In a nutshell, when the Jewish people left Egypt they w...

I am Hashem.”  This is a statement that is found many times in Parshat Kedoshim relating to various laws.  Respect your parents, keep Shabbat, I am Hashem.  Don’t make graven images. I am Hashem.  Leave the corner of your field for the poor, I am Hashem your G-d.  Don’t swear falsely by My name, I am Hashem.  Don’t curse a person, don’t place a stumbling block before the blind, fear your G-d, I am Hashem.  Don’t pay revenge. Love your fellow as yourself, I am Hashem. Respect the elderly, revere Torah scholars, fear your G-d, I am Hashem. Don’t gossip or slander, I am Hashem.  Do not tattoo your flesh, I am Hashem, do not cheat the convert, I am Hashem, do not use false weights and measures, I am Hashem.  And more. What is striking here is the range of mitzvot where Hashem exhorts us to recognize that they are from Him. From spiritual laws like Shabbat observance, to interpersonal behaviors, to honest business practices, they are all from Hash...

A person gets a white blotch on their skin. They are ritually Tamei (loosely translated as impure).  They need to go out of town and be alone until it clears up. It is called Tzaraat, and is mistranslated as “leprosy.”  Leprosy is a contagious physical disease that affects the skin, and “lepers” were for many generations shunned from society. Perhaps because of the association with Tzaraat. Is Tzaraat really an infectious human skin disease? Well, there is also Tzaraat of clothing. If a garment has a certain deep green or red discoloration, it could be Tzaraat. Then there is Tzaraat of the house, when in some cases the affected stones are removed and in some cases the house may even be destroyed.  In all three types, human, clothing and building, the decision of whether or not it is actual Tzaraat and therefore Tamei is made by a Kohen - a priest. In fact it is his pronouncement of “Tamei” that places the person, garment or home in the status of having Tzaraat.  The ...