Through an analysis of tzara’at throughout Tanakh, Rav Medan proposes three reasons one might be struck with it: challenging kohanim and other authorities, evil speech, or betrayal of the Jewish People. He then analyzes a poem by Rachel and a story by Agnon that relate to “tidings from a metzora,” and connects them to our contemporary reality in Israel.
The starting point of the haftara for Parashat ha-Chodesh, like that of many other haftarot, is subject to a difference in custom between Ashkenazim and Sefardim.
We often fail to notice that the opening passage of Parashat Tazria discusses some of the most remarkable kindnesses that God does for humanity. The miracles of conception and birth, as well as the mitzva of circumcision, are points that are worth considering.
