This week's parsha

Unless otherwise noted, "This week's Parsha" comprises articles taken from contributors to the Chabad.org website. We show the original author's name here, so that proper attribution is given. For the sake of brevity, footnotes cited in the original author's writings are omitted from this website. If you need to see the citations, please refer to the original articles on the Chabad.org website.

No, I Don't Want to Hear Ahmadinejad’s Opinions

Published: 22 April 2013 | Written by Levi Avtzon

In our "open" society where everything our parents believed in and died for is open for debate; where the "other perspective" is always entertained; where the more immoral, racist, or sadistic the speaker at the podium is, the greater the round of applause he receives from our "educated elite," I fear for the future.

When a Holocaust denier is debated on campus, when Hitler is portrayed as a person with his own "point of view," when Ahmadinejad is invited to share his rants on Ivy League colleges, an alarm must ring.

"Pass the salt, please..."

Published: 16 April 2013 | Written by Naftali Silberberg

Feeling spiritual on Yom Kippur is easy. No eating, no business, no spousal relations, and long hours praying in the synagogue are conducive to intense angelic sensations. It's no wonder that so many religions place a premium on asceticism, demanding that their most devoted adherents divorce themselves completely from the temptations offered by the world. Celibacy, long hours of meditation, fasting, and life in a secluded monastery, are the surest path to a life of spirituality.

The Torah, however, has a very different perspective. This week's portion starts with a mention of Nadab and Abihu's deaths -- partially a punishment for their spiritually-motivated decision to remain celibate. G-d wants us to walk a thin tightrope. He wants us to be married, go to work, and partake of lavish Shabbat and holiday meals -- and at that very moment to be at the pinnacle of spirituality and holiness. A daunting task, to say the least. How does one simultaneously dwell in two contradictory worlds -- the world of the spirit and the world of the flesh?

Mirror, Mirror, On the Wall

Published: 10 April 2013 | Written by Mordechai Wollenberg

This week's Torah portion speaks about various physical blemishes and conditions which can afflict a person.

The Talmud, in the tractate Negaim which deals with these types of blemishes and conditions, notes that "a person sees all kinds of blemishes except for their own."

The story is told of a prominent doctor who was known for his generosity but was also prone to blowing his own trumpet.

One day he was traveling when he saw the local rabbi walking. He stopped to offer the rabbi a ride. As they traveled together, the doctor, as was his wont, began to speak about his achievements. "You know, Rabbi, I get a lot of patients who can't afford to pay but I never turn them away. I treat them exactly the same as my wealthier patients."

"I also do that," replied the rabbi.