Reply To: Short & Sweet

Tazriah: עת לקרב ועת לרחק

The Torah tells about the tumah that affects people immediately after telling us which animal are tahor and which are not. Chazal explain that just as the creation of man only took place after the creation of the animals, so too is the תורת האדם only taught after the Torah first teaches us about the תורת הבהמה. But why would this seemingly tangential idea be called the תורת האדם, what does this tell us about the very nature of people?

R’ Aaron Lopiansky explains that the nature of person is that there are times they go through stages of taharah, where they are particularly holy and close to Hashem. But every person also goes through times of tumah, where they are removed from Hashem. This is not just an accident. This is the very nature of man.

The avodah of person in their time of taharah is obvious – to relish being close to Hashem. But there is also an avodah to be accomplished in times of tumah, in times of disconnection. During those times of disconnection a person should recognize that they are distant from Hashem, and should internalize just how empty that disconnection is. By doing so, even the time of tumah will serve to accentuate the importance of קרבת ה׳.

לע״נ דוד חיים בן ישראל דוב הכהן
לע״נ ר׳ חיים דוב בן ר׳ בןציון שלום