CANDLES FOR A BROKEN WORLD
Dear Family,
I hope everyone is well and had a wonderful Pesach.
BH we had lots of Family come over to London and this was very special!
Lots of birthdays this coming week BH:
Mazal Tov to Brian Davidoff. Wishing you a healthy and happy year Brian, with continued achievements!
Mazal Tov to Aaron Davidoff. Hope you are doing well Aaron and wishes for a year with lots of success.
Mazal Tov Miriam Brocha Davidoff. Wishing you much happiness and growth Miriam.
Mazal Tov to Nechama Levy. Wishing you a happy year Nechama.
And on the same day we wish Zeevy Levy a happy birthday. Keep growing up to become a fine boy Zeevy.
And welcome to our group, grandchildren who are growing up BH - Dovi, Shlomo and Mendel Levy, and Talya and Ariel Bassin. So happy you are with us, and feel free to comment and participate.
We learnt a Sicha from Vol 17 of the Rebbe's Sichos on Parsha Tazria/ Metzora this week, which I would like to share in a very summarized form, and which is linked to the upcoming completion of all the Cycles that are learning Rambam's masterpiece, covering the whole of Torah in halachah format, The Mishneh Torah.
The METZORAH (spiritual 'LEPER') discussed in our Sedra, is basically a spiritual punishment, mainly for idle talk and gossip (lashon hara). His condition shows as skin lesions and he also imparts impurity to everything around him. This is different to a medical leper we may see today.
So the Mishneh (Negaim 13:11) says 'that if he entered a house, all the vessels therein immediately become unclean. But Rabbi Yehudah said that this is not immediate, but only starts after a delay of how long it takes to light a lamp.'
Commentaries explain that this lighting refers to the LIGHTING OF SHABBOS CANDLES AT TWILIGHT.
The Rebbe explains by showing the nature of the light of Shabbos, and the darkness engendered by the metzorah.
Through the negative talk of the metzorah, discord and division was sown between people. And RAMBAM states at the end of the Halachos of the Metzorah, that this also leads to the denial of Hashem.
Whereas the light of Shabbos candles promote peace and unity to the home, and beyond to the rest of the world, and heals the rift between the world and Hashem (as do all Mitzvos, but not felt as fully as Shabbos light).
Therefore the light of the Shabbos candles promotes peace and unity, which is a powerful antidote to the divisiveness of the metzorah.
And that was the basis of Rabbi Yehudah's statement ie that there is a delay in time before metzorah impurity starts to spread, equal to the 'time taken while lighting Shabbos candles at twilight.'
The Rebbe encouraged young girls from the age of 3, to join their mothers in lighting their own Shabbos candles at home, to increase the light!
If anyone is interested to start learning one of the new Cycles of Rambam, starting this Sunday, I would be happy to help supply timetables, translations, summaries etc
Mazal tov to all those who completed a cycle, and hatzlachah to those who are starting again anew!
Gut Shabbos to all and Gut Chodesh