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Tazria Metzora 5772 – Navigating the Tension Between Body and Soul
Summary
- Achor Vekedem Tzartani1: Birth is compared to the original formation of mankind2
- As distinct genders
- As pinnacle of creation
- With tumaas leida (unique to humanity)
- Creation initially included ra and chisaron only as potentials (within the Tree of Knowledge)
- Adam was created fundamentally disconnected from ra and chisaron
- At the moment of his creation, evil existed in potential, but Adam was not bound to it
- Adam is a microcosm of the universe
- Achor: Hashem combined the essence of all created aspects in the formation of Adam’s body3.
- Kedem: Man’s spirit is comprised of the same spiritual hashpaah that Hashem used to fuel the creation
- Thus, in body and soul, Man’s every action is fueled and enabled by the same processes which underlie creation
- The cheit brought ra and chisaron into the world
- Adam’s eating bound ra to his core,
- Since Adam is a microcosm, ra was thus bound intimately into to the fibre of the cosmos4
- Post-cheit, part and parcel with the birth process is the connection to tumah
- The child causes tumah to the parents, representing and reminding them of the need for tikkun,
- Forbidden foods strengthen the innate ra in a person
- The parshah is on the heels of the parshah of forbidden foods,
- the idea that we musn’t eat certain creatures is related
- Adam contains within him the essence of all creation, thus there is a point in him related to every species.
- each creature is composed of varying proportions of basic elements
- the evil which he ingested from the tree is thus more attracted to certain points of his character
- Tumah Hayotzei min Haguf
- The parshah continues to discuss other tumos which emanate from the body: Zav, Negaim, etc
- Tumah represents a blockage. The body is unable to access its creator through the soul.
- Ten chataim cause tumah. Most of these are things which cause separation bein adam lechaveiro
- The process of purification also involves separation between people
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