Tazria

Likkutei Sichos, Vol. XII, p. 70ff. I. On the verse,Vayikra 12:2. “When a woman gives seed and gives birth to a male,” our Sages comment:Niddah 31a. “When a woman gives seed first, she will give birth to a male. When a man gives seed first, she will give ...

The previous Sidra, Shemini, contained the laws of ritual cleanliness and purity as applied to animals. This week’s Sidra applies the same concepts to men and women. In the Midrash, Rav Simlai draws an analogy between the fact that animals were created be...

Our Torah reading begins with the commandment of circumcision. Now, the Torah had already taught us about this mitzvah when relating the story of Abraham’s circumcision. Why then does it mention it here a second time? Our Rabbis explain that this communic...

Adapted fromLikkutei Sichos, Vol. I, p. 236ff; Vol. VII, p. 78-79;Vol. XII, p. 70ff; Vol. XXII, p. 70ff;Sefer HaSichos 5749, p. 379ff;Sefer HaSichos 5751, p. 490ff The Deepest Intimacy One of the analogies used to describe the relationship between G-d and...

How Important is Time? The time for the mitzvah of circumcision is the eighth day after birth, as it is written:Vayikra 12:3. "On the eighth day, you shall circumcise the flesh of his foreskin." If a child is not circumcised on the eighth day, the act may...

Introduction Once, a prominent Rosh Yeshivah from the Lithuanian Torah community and the Rebbe Rashab worked together on a number of projects for the communal welfare of the Jewish people. In the course of their work together, the esteem with which they h...

Introduction There is a paradoxical dimension to the laws of tzaraas. The identification of tzaraas blemishes on a person, a garment, or a building must be made by a scholar trained in this field of knowledge, who was “instructed by his master and is thor...

The preceding section of the Book of Leviticus discussed the laws of ritual defilement imparted by dead animals. In this section, the Torah proceeds to the laws of defilement associated with human beings. It first discusses the defilement that automatical...

The Torah portion of Tazria deals with the laws of spiritual purity and impurity as they relate to man. Rashi,Vayikra 12:2. quoting the Midrash,Beginning of Tazria. states: “R. Simla’i said, ‘Just as man’s creation came after the creation of all animals, ...

The titles given to Torah portions do more than distinguish one from another; they reflect the theme and overall content of each.See previous essay. See also sources cited in Likkutei Sichos XXI , p. 250 fns. 1-2. What possible connection is there then be...