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בס"ד The Oneg is looking for Rabbonim and Avreichim to write in OnegNorthShabbos West London's Weekly Torah and Opinion Sheets A Torah publication that enables local Rabbonim and Avreichim to share their insights the Oneg Zemiros and and Divrei Torah on a variety of different levels, to provide something for everyone. Oneg Pesach Edition If you would like to contribute, please email [email protected]. Deadline for submission this .Sunday 10th April at 6pm פרשת תזריע א’ ניסן תשע"ו 9th April 2016 For Questions on Divrei Torah or articles, to receive this via email or for sponsorship opportunities please email [email protected] Now in Yerushalayim, Antwerp, Baltimore, Bet Shemesh, Borehamwood, Chile, Cyprus, Edgware, Elstree, Gibraltar, Hale, Holland, Hong Kong, Ilford, Johannesburg, Lakewood, Las Vegas, London, Los Angeles, Manchester, Melbourne, Miami, New York, Petach Tikva, Philadelphia, Radlett, Toronto, Vienna, Zurich הדלקת נרות מוצש’’ק ראש חודש / פרשת החודש LONDON: 8:41 PM LONDON: 7:31 PM KINDLY לעילוי נשמת הש"ץ שלמה בן אברהם משה ז"ל לעילוי נשמת חנה בת אלעזר ע"ה SPONSORED RETURN TO DO TESHUVA Rabbi Gamliel Rabinowitz Shlita PARASHA Talmid Chacham to have a bechina, aspect of Shabbos, therefore we consider the embarrassing of a Talmid ושב הכהן The Kohen Shall Return Chacham as if he had desecrated Shabbos. Since the Baal Shem Tov did not intercede, it is considered as This weeks Let us quote from the sefer if he had a taint of desecrating Shabbos. Even though Oneg Shabbos ‘Me’or Einayim’: The Baal he was not guilty of this just because he did not stop Publication Shem Tov nishmaso beginzei him, due to the elevated status of the Baal Shem Tov is sponsored this was considered a flaw. When he remembered this, meromim said that a Tzaddik he made this sighting contingent on that flaw and he gamur (one who is completely understood that the event was meant to arouse him to With gratitude to righteous) who has no bad do Teshuva for this. within him, will not see any This topic is also hinted at in our parsha which Barnet Councillors bad in any person; however, discusses all the laws of Tzara’as. Amongst them are Brian Gordon someone who does find bad the laws of these symptoms appearing on houses. The in another person can be appearance of a sign on the house requires the house Dean Cohen to be sealed off twice. After the first sealing, when the Dan Thomas compared to someone who Kohen has to come and examine the house, the Torah looks in a mirror: when he has states ‘the Kohen shall return’; but after the second and to a dirty face, he sees a dirty sealing, the Torah states ‘the Kohen shall come’. In Andrew fact, the entire parsha uses the expression of ‘coming’ Dismore AM face and if his face is clean whether describing the owners coming to the Kohen then he does not see anything or during the waiting period while the house is closed for their support for amiss. As he is, so he sees. off; so we have to understand why the Torah changes the expression after the first closure and states ‘return’ the Federation’s new And so, it is told in regard to the Baal Shem Tov instead of ‘come’? cemetery in Edgware himself, that one time he saw with his own eyes an Perhaps the Torah wanted to hint to the Kohen that act of chillul Shabbos (desecration of Shabbos) and he became very despondent which was against his nature; after the initial examination, he too might have been for if one observes something lacking in his friend, it is affected by the sin that caused the sign, for if not, Menachem & Avi a sign that he too is lacking a little of the same thing. He he would not have been shown the flaw in the first very much suspected that he too had committed some place. Therefore, at the time of the first closure while Gertner desecration of Shabbos without being aware. Until the house is not yet confirmed, he has to be aroused he remembered that he once saw someone slap the to do Teshuva; possibly after this, the symptom will cheek of a Talmid Chacham and for some reason he did disappear as it no longer applies to him, therefore, it not interfere. Since the Chassidic Sefarim consider a states ‘return’ which is an expression of Teshuva. For any questions on In this week’s Parshah there is a five letter word that has an unusual sequence of Divrei Torah please vowels. There is only one other example of this in the entire Chumash. contact the Editor in Chief, a)What is the word? b) What is unusual about it? c) In which Sedra do we find Rabbi Yonasan the other word that is pointed the same way? Roodyn Any comments can be directed to [email protected]. Answer on back page. rabbiroodyn@ BY BORUCH KAHAN jewishfuturestrust.com Riddle of the Week of the Riddle 2 IT’S ALL A QUESTION OF PERSPECTIVE Rabbi Chananya Silverman PARSHAH Beis Yaakov Primary School Many of you may not know that my It refers to mean-spiritedness, a tendency to see the negative and overlook the positive in everything. Rashi explains that it father and brother have something is a lack of generosity in all things, a constricted view of the in common – they are both world and everything in it. opticians. You may ask why, then, If being tzar ayin – mean spirited, caused the leprous mark did I not become an optician, and on the garment, then the therapy is to transform this negative the answer to that is that I didn’t trait of tzar ayin to tov ayin, literally “a person with a good want to make a spectacle of myself! eye”. Instead of being sour-faced and mean-spirited, he must become a smiling, generous, optimistic, warm, friendly person. What has this got to do with this week’s sedra? Then the mark will fade away. If he does not change, the mark Rabbi Frand explains a beautiful and powerful idea: remains on the garment, and it must be incinerated. The Torah talks about a strange form of tzaraas that can This is what the Torah means, explains the Chiddushei appear on one’s garment which comes as a punishment for a Harim, by the words, “lo hafach hanega es eino, the mark particular misdemeanour. has not changed its eye.” The owner of the garment has not changed his narrowness of the eye into goodness of the eye; he If the mark remains on a garment after all the instructions has not transformed himself from a mean-spirited person into of the Kohen have been followed, the Kohen examines it a kind and generous man. Therefore the garment is burned. one last time. The Torah says that if it “has not changed its The Chiddushei Harim famously explains that the Hebrew appearance,” the garment is burned. word for mark or affliction is nega. The opposite of affliction/ The exact Hebrew language for this is “lo hafach hanega es pain is pleasure, which is oneg. Both words are constructed eino,” which translates literally as “the mark has not changed with the same three letters. Nega is spelled nun, gimmel, ayin. its eye.” Although we understand what it means, that it hasn’t Oneg is spelled ayin, nun, gimmel. The only difference is in the changed its appearance, why did the Torah choose such an placement of the ayin, which is also the Hebrew for eye. Move unusual form of expression, “has not changed its eye”? it from the back to the front, and affliction is transformed into The Gemara in Arachin 16a lists seven different causes pleasure. for tzaraas. Lashon Hara is the most famous cause, but one Therefore, says the Chiddushei Harim, the Torah is telling can also get tzaraas for murder, vain oaths, illicit relations, us that “the mark/affliction has not changed its eye (ayin).” arrogance, theft, and interestingly enough for stinginess, The ayin is still in the same place meaning that he is the same referred to in the Gemara as “tzarus ayan” which literally narrow-eyed person he was before – he has not transformed means “narrowness of the eye.” his life from nega, affliction into oneg, pleasure. This page has been kindly sponsored by the RACHEL CHARITABLE TRUST 1. What is the connection between Parshas Tazria and Parshas Metzora? QUIZ TIME ?? livingwithmitzvos.com 3 THE ARBA PARSHIOS AND THEIR UNIFYING THEME Rabbi Doniel Grunewald Federation FEDERATION development – such as the ability to be fully in control of one’s actions – as listed by Chazal in ,which the gemoro. But he adds another dimension as well. For every one of the ideals he discusses ,פרׁשת החודׁש This week, we will lein is the last of four special parshios that we he devotes a chapter to what he terms “mafsidei midda zos”, the spiritual hazards which detract from, or prevent us from achieving, these goals. It may well be that the parshios of Zochor and lein this time of year. First, we read Parshas Poroh were intended in the same vein, and that they somehow represent the quintessential Shekolim, which reminds us of the mitzvah ‘mafsidim’ of the commitment to Avodas Hashem to which we aspire. to give a half-shekel annual donation for But in what way could this be the case? Another gemoro (Brochos 17a) may serve as the next piece in the puzzle. There, the gemoro describes private prayers that various Sages used to in the times of the Beis say after their Shmoneh Esrei, and the gemoro tells us that a Sage by the name of R’ Alexandri קרבנות ציבור the 1 HaMikdosh .