Rabbi Yaier Lehrer
ylehrer@gmail.com
412-820-7000
Thought for Shabbat – 4/17/26
In assigning bar and bat mitzvah dates to students, I have often tried to steer parents away from the combined Torah portions of Tazria-Metzora. What can a 12/13 year old really glean from a discussion of ritual purity and leprosy. And what is the relevance of this topic of skin diseases to any of us?
The Torah tells us how the spiritually unclean person had to be isolated from the community until the priest performed a healing ritual. Moses’ sister Miriam was stricken with the skin disease which we have called leprosy over the years after having spoken out against her brother. As a result, our tradition has always associated leprosy with Lashon Hara, evil or bad speech.
Between the time of contracting the disease and being isolated, one can imagine that the person stricken would examine their lives and try to determine what they had done or said to be unclean and isolated. And then instead of a doctor coming to treat the stricken person, it is a priest, a clear indication that the disease is not a physical one but rather a deeply spiritual one.
During the time of isolation, though, the “leper” was outside the camp, not totally alone but isolated with others similarly stricken. This is the same type of isolation that we impose on ourselves when we refuse to listen to the opinions of others, when we are so entrenched in our own opinions, that those believing otherwise are the enemy.
So we are not just isolated because of the words we say like Miriam, but the words we refuse to hear. When we refuse to hear, we cannot create consensus, we cannot validate a loved one’s feelings, we cannot bring healing and we cannot be agents of peace. When we process the words we say and the words we hear, we become part of a greater conversation. We are not isolated. And we are active members of a fuller community. Our minds might not be changed, but our spirit will be.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Yaier Lehrer
Too much self-centered attitude, you see, brings, you see, isolation. Result: loneliness, fear, anger. The extreme self-centered attitude is the source of suffering. Dalai Lama
Thought for Shabbat – 4/10/26
The Torah tells us a story this week about two sons of Aaron, Nadav and Avihu, priests in their own right, who bring a sacrifice to God. Unfortunately the sacrifice was not one of the authorized sacrifices. And as a result, Nadav and Avihu are struck down by God.
This has bothered scholars and rabbis forever. Death seems like a pretty stiff penalty for an unauthorized sacrifice. Some commentators, reading some verses together, have written that it was not just the fact that the sacrifice was unauthorized or improper, but that the brothers were drunk when they brought it
But perhaps there is another justification for this punishment. This event takes place in the Torah immediately after Aaron and his sons were officially installed as priests. So it would be fair to assume that this event took place shortly after their installation, at a time when they would have been most fully aware of their duties.. This is much like the situation where right after God issues the Ten Commandments, one unnamed person goes out to gather wood on Shabbat and is stoned to death for his violations of the law God had just announced.
Perhaps it is not the violation itself, but rather its proximity to the time of the law or status that caused the punishment. Perhaps the woodgatherer and Aaron’s sons demonstrated something much deeper. A lack of desire and inclination to take the laws or duties seriously sets a bad example for the others who have been similarly instructed. Perhaps God is setting a tone, i.e. Take me seriously.
Being a Jew means not only taking God’s instructions and principals seriously, but taking our identities seriously. It means taking the challenges around us seriously. It means treating our relationships with God, our loved ones and others seriously and mindfully. It means we must communicate with actions and the words we use how seriously we value each and every relationship. And when we communicate that, we will be taken seriously as well.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Yaier Lehrer
It is our responsibilities, not ourselves, that we should take seriously. Peter Ustinov
Thought for Shabbat – 4/3/26
With our seder(s) behind us, with this Shabbat we are about halfway through our our Pesach celebration. But now that we have had our seder with all of its tradition and modern adjustments, we have entered that period of time when it’s about the matzah and the absence of chametz.
It’s one thing to eat your matzah at home. But when you eat it at work or in the school cafeteria, it is something else altogether. And when you tell your friends you won’t meet them for a drink after work, or tell your schoolmates, there will be no fast food together for a few days. But it is in those moments that you say who and what you are. It is in those moments that you show what you value, not just to those who do not observe Judaism, but to other Jews as well, empowering them to feel comfortable in observance, showing them they are not alone.
Every time we take a day off for a holiday or Shabbat, every time we post or describe our observances online, we are standing up for our identity. Every time we do something publicly or privately that confirms our identity, whether specifically Jewish or not, we strengthen the identity of an entire people and what it stands for.
The rituals we do, the blessings we say, the causes we stand up for, the synagogue we attend, are all part of our cumulative present and reflect on our the strength of the values of our past as a people. And it is a stronger future that we ensure. Sometimes it doesn’t feel comfortable to stand out alone, especially when so much of the world stands against us. Sometimes it is easier to be very private in our feelings. And sometimes it takes a certain amount of courage, to stand up for what you believe. But never for one moment believe that you are alone. We are in this together.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Yaier Lehrer
Keep your thoughts positive because your thoughts become your words. Keep your words positive because your words become your behavior. Keep your behavior positive because your behavior becomes your habits. Keep your habits positive because your habits become your values. Keep your values positive because your values become your destiny. Mahatma Gandhi
Yizkor service for the last day of Passover will be on Wednesday, April 8. Services will begin at 9:45.