Moshe Marcovich

Go out of your land and from your birth place and from your father’s home. (12:1)

In Pirkei Avos, Chazal enumerate the ten nisyonos, trials, to which Avraham was subjected. Some commentators count Avraham’s ordeal in which he was thrown into Nimrod’s fiery furnace as the first test. This is followed by Hashem’s command to leave his birthplace and the ensuing abduction of Sarah. This order seems enigmatic. One would think that the logical sequence of trials should be from the easy to the difficult to discern Avraham’s progressive degree in faith. It seems clear that if one were to withstand a difficult challenge to his faith by walking into a fiery furnace, the subsequent trial…

Home -> 5754 -> Noach

Moshe Marcovich In Noach, 5754

And Terach took Avram his son . . . and they went forth with them from Uhr Casdim to go into the land of Canaan and they came into Charan and dwelt there. (11:31)

The Arugas Ha’Bosem makes an interesting observation based upon this pasuk. Often one becomes inspired to change his ways to expiate his sins. Along the way, however, the yetzer hora, evil inclination, confronts him with various obstacles which block his path to success. Those individuals whose resolve is as weak as their moral character fall prey to their impuissance. Terach was such a person. He was inspired to journey to Canaan and change his past. He traveled to Charan, however, and halted. He could not extricate himself from the clutches of his yetzer hora. Avraham, on the other hand, did…

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Moshe Marcovich In Noach, 5754

And the dove came to him in the evening and behold an olive leaf, freshly plucked, was in her mouth. (8:11)

Rashi cites the Talmud Eruvin 18b which notes that the bitter tasting leaf was unnatural for a Yonah, dove, to eat. By bringing it, the dove was essentially saying, “I would rather eat bitter food from the hand of Hashem than something as sweet as honey from the hand of flesh and blood.” It seems puzzling that the dove would “talk” this way to Noach. Chazal laud Noach’s exemplary display of chesed, kindness, in feeding all of the animals. He wasn’t satisfied to give them all the same food simultaneously. Instead, he fed each animal its preferred food at its…

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Moshe Marcovich In Noach, 5754

And he sent out the raven, and it kept going and returning. (8:7)

The Midrash makes an amazing statement concerning Noach’s behavior, which can serve as an important directive for us all. When his whole generation was condemned to extinction, he built an ark for himself, into which he brought the male and female of every species. He took seven pairs of each of the clean animals, while he took only a male and a female from among the unclean animals. Undoubtedly, after the flood, the demand for clean animals would be greater than that for their unclean counterpart. At the end of the deluge, Noach wanted to ascertain the situation outside of…

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Moshe Marcovich In Noach, 5754

“And Hashem saw the earth and behold it was corrupted. (6:12)

The entire world had become corrupt and evil. Immorality had become a normative lifestyle. Yet, we find no indication that this rampant miscreancy was noticed by anyone other than Hashem. He observed the situation and responded accordingly. Why did anyone not challenge the reprehensible manner in which the people were acting? Rav Simcha Zisel M’Kelm responds that, specifically because everyone was obsessively involved in sin, their perspective of evil was distorted. One whose glasses are tinted blue will see blue wherever he looks. Even if someone points out the folly of his ways to the sinner, he will not take…

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Moshe Marcovich In Noach, 5754

Noach was a man righteous and whole hearted in his generations. (6:9)

Rashi cites Chazal, who differ in opinion regarding Noach’s level of righteousness as compared to Avraham. Some Rabbis explain the phrase “in his generations” to Noach’s credit i.e.; his righteousness would be noteworthy all the more so had he lived in a generation of righteous people. Others feel that had Noach lived in Avraham’s era, in contrast he would not have been notable at all. Rashi’s statement, which presents Noach as having had no relative importance, seems to be a bit critical. True, he would not be as great as Avraham, but he was nonetheless still a great tzaddik! Rabbi…

Home -> 5778 -> Metzora

וצוה הכהן ולקח למטהר שתי צפרים חיות טהרות

Moshe Marcovich In Metzora, 5778

The Kohen shall command; and for the person being purified, there shall be taken two live, clean birds. (14:4)

Rashi explains why fowl are used as the korbanos, sacrifices, to effect atonement for the metzora. Negaim, afflictions/plagues, are the punishment meted out against one who speaks lashon hora, slanderous speech, which is the result of pitputei devarim, verbal twittering. Thus, one who “twitters” around, talking about people and their activities, inevitably ends up speaking ill of others. Veritably, the one safe way to guarantee that one not speak lashon hora is to refrain from speaking altogether! People get sucked into saying something negative – even when their original intent had been to speak positively. Shlomo Hamelech says (Koheles 9:12),…

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זאת תהיה תורת המצרע ביום טהרתו

Moshe Marcovich In Metzora, 5778

This shall be the law of the metzora on the day of his purification. (14:2)

We no longer have the affliction/purification process of tzaraas, spiritual leprosy. This is the consequence of a degraded spiritual condition. Degradation applies at a time and circumstance in which our people are on an elevated moral standing, so that the failing is noticeable in contrast to the spiritual status we are expected to maintain. Since we lost our Bais Hamikdash and our spirituality plummeted, we have no longer been on the spiritual plateau deserving of such a manifestation. To put it in simple terms, the term “sick” applies to one who is otherwise healthy. Likewise, in spiritual health, one must…

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זאת תהיה תורת המצורע

Moshe Marcovich In Metzora, 5778

This shall be the law of the metzora. (14:2)

The term metzora is comprised of the construct motzi-ra, brings out bad (about his fellow). This is a baal lashon hora. The Ohr HaChaim Hakadosh teaches that one who speaks negatively about his fellow is still called a baal lashon hora, even if what he says is the truth. When one sins, he is called a baal aveirah, baal lashon hora; the word baal means husband of. Why is this? Furthermore, when a boy reaches the age of thirteen, he is called a bar-mitzvah, bar, meaning son of. With regard to mitzvos, one is called a son, while concerning one’s relationship…

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כל ימי אשר הנגע בו יטמא טמא הוא בדד ישב מחוץ למחנה מושבו

Moshe Marcovich In Tazria, 5778

All the days that the affliction is upon him, he shall remain impure; he is impure. He shall stay in isolation; his dwelling shall be outside the camp. (13:46)

Not only must the metzora be isolated from pure, healthy people, but even those who are also impure are to be isolated from him (Rashi). The commentators debate concerning the identity of these impure ones to whom Rashi refers. Some say this refers to individuals who are in a severe state of impurity, such as those who have been in contact with the dead. They are not banished from all three camps – as are those who are afflicted with tzaraas. Others contend that Rashi refers to other metzoraim, who may not stay together outside all three camps. Rashi explains why…

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Go out of your land and from your birth place and from your father’s home. (12:1)

And Terach took Avram his son . . . and they went forth with them from Uhr Casdim to go into the land of Canaan and they came into Charan and dwelt there. (11:31)

And the dove came to him in the evening and behold an olive leaf, freshly plucked, was in her mouth. (8:11)

And he sent out the raven, and it kept going and returning. (8:7)

“And Hashem saw the earth and behold it was corrupted. (6:12)

Noach was a man righteous and whole hearted in his generations. (6:9)

וצוה הכהן ולקח למטהר שתי צפרים חיות טהרות

The Kohen shall command; and for the person being purified, there shall be taken two live, clean birds. (14:4)

זאת תהיה תורת המצרע ביום טהרתו

This shall be the law of the metzora on the day of his purification. (14:2)

זאת תהיה תורת המצורע

This shall be the law of the metzora. (14:2)

כל ימי אשר הנגע בו יטמא טמא הוא בדד ישב מחוץ למחנה מושבו

All the days that the affliction is upon him, he shall remain impure; he is impure. He shall stay in isolation; his dwelling shall be outside the camp. (13:46)

YEARS

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