Vayikra

Tazriah - Family Discussion

In this weeks Torah portion, we are learning about what happened to the Jewish people when they got sick. They developed spots on their clothing and bodies.  These spots were called tzara’at.

The Kohain Gadolim were not only like the teachers, but they were like the doctors too.  They were responsible to make sure the people with tazara’at (spots) were cared for, and to check them to make sure they were clean after 7 days.

There is a Rabbinic story that says that people got tzara’at from speaking unkind words called “Lashon hara”. We described to the children that the person who spoke unkind words had to sit “time out” for a while (isolation) until they said “I’m sorry” (did teshuvah) and were clean from any spots (tzara’at).

We read the book Yettele’s Feathers.  It is a story about the town gossip (or yenta) who asks the Rabbi for advice after everyone in the town will no longer talk to her.  He advises her to take a pillow and cut off the top.  After all the feathers go flying everywhere, the Rabbi tells Yettele to gather all the feathers that flew away.  The feathers were like her words, impossible to recapture and take back.

Family Discussion Questions:

1. What happened to the Jewish people if they got tzara’at spots? (They had to sit time out
   for 7 days.)
2. What was the job of the Kohain gadol?  (They were like our teachers and doctors)
3. What is Lashon Hara?  (saying unkind words)