Parashat Metzora by Rabbi Eliezer Berland Shlit”a

WHY MUST ONE BRING SPECIFICALLY “LIVING BIRDS” FOR THE PURIFICATION OF THE METZORA?  AND WHAT IS THE CONNECTION BETWEEN THE SIGNS THAT RACHEL GAVE TO LEAH AND THE PURIFICATION OF THE METZORA? CHIDUSHIM ON PARASHAT METZORA BY THE GAON AND TZADDIK, MOREINU HARAV ELIEZER BERLAND SHLIT”A: NOW IS PARASHAT METZORA, ABOUT WHICH THE ZOHAR SAYS THAT ONE MUST BRING FOR HIM “LIVING BIRDS.” The Zohar asks: What does it mean “living birds”?  What does “living” mean?  Is it written “a living bull,” “a living sheep for a guilt-offering,” “a living sheep for a sin-offering,” “a living sheep for a peace-offering,” “a living bull for a peace-offering”?  Why do you suddenly need “vitality” here?  If he slaughters, he slaughters a living bird.  You don’t slaughter a dead bird.  Now you slaughter a living bird – vitality! The Zohar says that all of this is about Lesson 3 in Likutey Moharan, because when it speaks about vitality, it’s basically speaking about the Sefirot (Divine emanations)!  Birds that come from the supernal worlds!  Birds that come from the Nesher in the Merkava (Divine chariot)!  Birds that draw down the sound of melody onto this metzora! THIS METZORA IS MISERABLE!!  HOW DOES A PERSON REACH [SUCH A POINT] OF TALKING AGAINST ANOTHER JEW??  HOW IS IT POSSIBLE TO REACH SUCH A THING??  HOW IS IT POSSIBLE TO REACH SUCH A BOTTOM PIT OF GEHINNOM??  HOW IS IT POSSIBLE TO REACH SUCH A LOW, SUB-HUMAN LEVEL?  HOW IS IT POSSIBLE TO REACH SUCH A PLACE?  HOW CAN A JEW REACH THERE? A JEW!? THIS IS A GENTILE! How can a Jew reach such a thing?  A gentile – it’s understandable.  His entire goal is to speak against others, to say about another that he is this and that, he’s not like me, he’s better than the other person.  This is the job of a gentile!  But a Jew has no such job.  A Jew needs to hear, “Pleasantness is in Your right hand forever,” “To the blessed God, they give pleasantness.”  To hear the pleasantness of prayer, the songs of prayer, the musical tones of Torah, to be in the world of melody all day, 24 hours. How could a Jew suddenly fall to such low levels, to such terrible levels.  Therefore, we sprinkle on the metzora who spoke lashon hara (evil gossip) on his thumbs.  We sprinkle on his right ear lobe, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot.  How could people talk against others?  How is such a thing possible?  Why do they sprinkle on the thumbs?  Why thumbs?  What are these alluding to? It’s brought in the Ben Ish Chai that this was the sign between Yaakov and Rachel!  But what did Rachel do?  Rachel gave away everything that she had -- her entire future, her portion in this world, and her entire portion in the World to Come -- when she gave the signs to her sister Leah! WHAT WOULD HER SISTER DO BY ESAV?!  SHE KNEW THAT THE MOMENT THAT LEAH WOULD MARRY YAAKOV, THAT SHE HERSELF WOULD BE IN ESAV’S PORTION.  SHE KNEW WHAT KIND OF GEHINNOM SHE WAS ENTERING, AND WHO KNOWS IF SHE WOULD HAVE A WORLD TO COME.  WHO KNOWS WHAT WOULD HAPPEN TO HER?!  ALL OF THIS RACHEL SACRIFICED!! A JEW SACRIFICES HIMSELF FOR HIS BROTHER, FOR HIS FELLOW.  NOT ONLY DID RACHEL NOT SPEAK LASHON HARA ABOUT LEAH, SHE EVEN SACRIFICED EVERYTHING FOR HER.  SO WE TELL THE METZORA: “YOU COME FROM RACHEL AND LEAH.  YOU COME FROM SUCH HOLY PARENTS.  YOU COME FROM SUCH HOLY FOREFATHERS WHO WOULD GIVE EVERYTHING TO ONE ANOTHER – HOW DID YOU REACH A POINT OF SPEAKING AGAINST SOMEONE ELSE?” Like we said on Shabbat, if a person has already reached such a bottom pit of Gehinnom, that already he doesn’t have any vitality from prayer, has no vitality from the Torah, he already lost all his vitality, then what does he do?  He begins to speak! We are looking for people who will pray letter-by-letter, word-for-word, as is written, with purity and clarity.  If a person prays with purity and clarity, only then will his prayer be accepted – a prayer with voice and melody, with purity and clarity. The shiur underwent editing and if an error is found, it should be attributed to the writer, and not, chas v’shalom, to Moreinu HaRav shlit”a. ARTWORK COURTESY OF R’ YEHOSHUA WISEMAN WWW.YEHOSHUAWISEMAN.COM [http://www.yehoshuawiseman.com] THE RAVBERLAND.COM WEBSITE TEAM WISHES ITS READERS A SHABBAT SHALOM U’MVORACH!!!