Tazria-Metzora - Burning Off Impurity

You're listening to the weekly para podcast with Ari Goldwag recorded with Hashem's never ending assistance in Rum Shamish Israel 5785 2025. This week's para we have two parishes Taza and Mitsurra and generally speaking they discuss the concept of the mitsura of the person who has leprosy. It's a spiritual leprosy caused by hubris caused by being involved with one's ego with a gya. But I'd like to focus today on a medish which speaks about a different concept which is a concept of ZV. I'm not going to get deep into the concept of ZV but we will get deep into the the conceptually what is the teaching behind it and it applies to all of us. If we can understand what it means, we can understand the depth of the idea. we can learn something very deep and take take into our lives something that we can apply immediately. The bus says it speaks about the fact that sometimes a person has a flow that comes from his flesh and this flow can cause a person to become impure. Before I get into the medish which is going to bring sukim from Mishaya which are very interesting and deep just want to talk conceptually for a moment. What does it mean? What is the idea behind it? A person has a zea. He has a flow. It's talking about a a woman or a man. Either way, it's an it's a flow that comes. For a woman, it's blood. For a man, it's some kind of secretion also from the reproductive area. And it's a flow that's caused by some kind of sickness. And it creates impurity. And I don't know if we're going to get to the medish that which is the next piece in the medish. This one's rather long, but in the next piece of the medish, it says that when the Jewish people stood at Hari, when they stood at Mount Si and they received the they said, "Nasma." So all of these kinds of sicknesses abaded. There was no sickness. There was no death. Am Israel was in a different place physically as a result of their saying giving themselves over completely. saying, "I'm going to do your will no matter what. I don't even need to hear what you have what you expect of me. I'm I'm accepting a sight on scene." The result was that they were completely pure. There was no zea. The maj says there was no flow, not from the women, not from the men. There was no impurity. There was only purity. Conceptually, what does this mean? As I understand it, what it means is that the blood of a woman or the the the unhealthy flow from a man in the reproductive area. So this represents the fact that a person does not use his reproductive abilities, right? A person has a capacity to create to create human beings to create children. The woman has a whole system that's created in a normal way. So it's the menstrual cycle and the man has his own reproductive capacity. Now when there's something wrong when there's something that's that's running incorrectly inside of the human being inside of their systems so it creates a flow which is abnormal which is tame which is impure and that represents the ineffectual or the incorrect use of my creative capacity. And so we can say it in a very kind of fancy way, but at the same time in a clear way, that's what it comes down to. And we're going to talk about seeds. That's what we're going to bring up and is we're going to talk about the misuse of plantings of things that are planted. There's a correct way to use them. There's a way that created us, which is Hashem created amusel, which were called the mat, the branches, theatim, the branches. And there's a correct way of us being in the world. We are extensions of the root of the brancheshu is that the nas of anishma. When we have the nas of an inishma as we're going to see in this explore when we have that relationship with so the branches produce fruit correctly. But when we are not in that state, when we are not planting those plant leaves correctly, when we are involved in our own will, instead of the not submission, I'm going to do Hashem's will. I'm involved in doing whatever I feel like doing. So the result is tuma. The result is impurity, disconnect, death. All of these things are the result of that. Okay? So that's in concept what we're going to speak about. And let's see what it means for us. Let's see what it means how the med talks about it. And we'll see also the inside in chapter 17. He brings this is what the means when it says in a day of your planting. So we're going to see different explanations as to what the word taggi means. The most simple explanation is when you were originally planted there was incredible potential for growth. The s means to be prosperous to have a lot of growth. And in the morning the the seeds they sprouted or they they were spread out. They're pak which means to blossom. Okay. So plants uses takes amel. He brings us to arits isel. Takes us out of Egypt. He plants us as a nation. He gives us incredible potential. If we are neon to the source, to the root, if we are faithful to Hashem, to his Tyra, to his commandments, to his will. And so then the result has the potential to be incredible prosperity, incredible fruits that are produced, incredible flowering. But the medish also understands that in the very planting itself, the puss is referring to the fact that there's something negative, something missing within the planting at the very root of who we are as human beings. There's something that's wrong. There's something that's missing. There's something there's draws says when I planted you as my nation which means Hashem gave us the as the AC explains when Hashem gave us the is giving the ten commandments human in stone along with the entire Torah. The first set of lucas, the first set of the tablets had not just the ten commandments, but all of the entire Torah, both the written, the oral Torah, the Gmorra, the measure, the med, everything was miraculously written there. Shem is giving that miraculous document to Mosha set in stone. So that would receive it. It's heuned into the stone say we'll see that in the med there was a freedom a freedom from the is from the angel of death. a freedom from ourselves, from our egos. It was being given on that day. But instead of receiving the the luos, the tablets on that 40th day after the incredible experience at Hari, Mount Si, instead what did we do? We did. We did something draw. We we were involved in the draws. We made the eagle haz. We made the golden calf on that. you the word dross in Hebrew is sigim which means that when there's silver so you want to get out the dross the impurities so the word which I explained to mean to be prosperous when you were planted there was a prosperity there there was a a tremendous potential there for for growth but the word seg also has within it the word sig which means dross there was Ross there there was our humanity there there was our ego there there was the egelazov the golden calf which was really about hey where's Moshe we don't have a leader where where's our access to we spoke about this a few weeks ago a few months ago already where's our access to Hashem and Israel's sins in trying to grab that access in the wrong way through an idol so there was mistake there. So, we're going to talk about dross because we're talking about ZV and the ZV is the the flow which is unhealthy which is a result of an unhealthy attitude about our potential about the seeds that we're going to plant. Whether it's to create our children or whether it's to be effective in the world to produce in this world, there's a dross that's there and that comes back to our mistakes and our egos that have the potential to ruin our relationship with Hashem. But before we continue, I'd like to read to you from the what's the context? It's really quite interesting. So this is we're in Peric Zuk uh Yalef the 17th chapter of Isaiah 11th Puk 11th verse and inukim here the context is that it's talking about how is instead of seeing that that Hashem that God himself is the one who's going to save us one is going to take care of us the one who we are to look to and we're supposed to try to align our will with his will. Instead, Amrael did the opposite. We did what we felt like doing and am as a result was going to be sent out. Our seeds were going to be spread out amongst the the nations of the world. Our kids would end up in the hands of our enemies and they would be forced to grow as we in the fields of others. So the P speaks about the fact that there would just be a few seeds left in Israel. It's referring to it's referring to the people of Yehuda as the 10 tribes were exiled. there'll still be something left of Yehuda and set the a few back from our so as a result of the exiles as a result of what happens when we make that mistake when we disconnect from Hashem the result is exile that's important to understand if we are still in an exile mentality what it really means at its root people who are not necessarily focused on and wishing to come back to Israel. Conceptually, it means that I'm disconnected from the roots. I'm disconnected from will. Hashem wants us to be in. Hashem wants us to serve him here in the land of Israel. Conceptually, gulos exile is outside of Israel. It's in the place of the nations of the world where we are disconnected from Hashem. But what happens is we take to heart when we're in exile, we have to stand up for our kai. We have to stand against those who wish to destroy us and convert us to some other religion or some other way of thinking about the world, some other outlook on the world. And so it causes us to be involved in introspection to turn back to Hashem on that day when experiences exile. So we turn back and we realize who is the the Yeshua, who is the one who brings salvation. It's Hashem. It's only God, the one who created us. the eyes of the one who watches exile, who watches a destruction that's caused, whether it's in recent history over the last year and a half or whether it's in a little bit further history, it's the Holocaust, but there's a recognition there or we're supposed to take to heart. It's because of our disconnect maybe from each other or maybe from Hashem. of and there's a recognition that occurs as a result of the exile and it parallels the zea the flow which is an unhealthy flow which which which really means to say and that's what the mitsura is who has leprosy I got involved in self I got involved in a misuse of my creative potential whether it's rep uh reproductive or whether it's my in my interactions with other people, I misuse that. And as a result, there's a zea there's a a negative flow, a sick flow that comes out which is not natural and not normal that is to awaken us and say, "Hey, why are we out in exile? Why is there impurity coming into our lives? Why? Why did the person get sent out of the the encampment because of his leprosy? It's because there was some ego involved. I was busy serving idols. That's what the puss here says in serving idols. Uh bringing animals on the altar to other gods, other ideals. There's idols and ideals. And as a result of these sins, so the cities of Israel are abandoned. They're destroyed. The mighty cities with their mighty walls somehow they can just easily burn down, make fires that endanger us or shoot rockets at us. But it's a reflection not of whether we're strong enough to protect ourselves. It's a reflection of the fact that we're not connected to the source of light. These places will be left by the children of Israel. There's going to be desolation. Why said the right before our which we're getting to? cuz you forgot the God of your salvation, the rock of your strength, the one who really protects you. If I'm connected in, I don't have to be worried about fires. I don't have to be worried about putting out the fires, both physical and figurative. I don't have to be worried about the missiles that they're going to shoot at me. It's only because I forgot. I forgot who's the source of everything. So the result is going to be when I forget Hashem. So the the plantlings end up getting removed from their place. Am Israel gets sent out into gullis gets replanted in a place of impurity. We end up having strange plantlings in the land of Israel. You have people who don't belong here, who don't serve Hashem properly, who are filled with anger and hatred and destruction of which is our py and I'm going to give the what I think is the pup again as I started off on the day of your planting when you plant yourself back in Hashem when you plant yourself as you were planted that originally on the day of your planting when I do that when I go back to the roots literally and figuratively then there's prosperity then there's a growth that can happen back here is back in the back in the will of Hashem back in the way that Hashem wants us to be when I have the right intention when I have the right action when I'm back in the world of's will back in the world of Tyra in the world of NASA and Ishma. So it brings about that my kids also the the new the new seeds that are going to come into the world they also will blossom and bloom as opposed to the fact that when I'm not doing that when I'm confused when I'm when I'm out when I'm disconnected from when I'm disconnected from Hashem and his will and the and his land. So then the result is that I end up in a nade. I'm moving around. I'm disconnected. Katsi are disconnected. I'm I'm lost. I'm lost. Now let's see this inside the medish. So he said that within the very planting itself there was something missing. There was a sig. There was a dross. There was a disconnect. There was my ego. There was a try and do things my way instead. I lost the another explanation to say there was a a mixup in the path. There was instead of me just following exactly what said don't second second uh dra the second commandment don't have any other gods in front of me come to me directly don't look for an idol not a not a physical idol a a a golden calf and not a human idol don't think it's Mosher Rabenu it's me and you Hashem says but you can get the the path mixed up. There's a falseeness. There's a there's a dishonesty that confuses us. We cover up a a vessel which is made out of which is made out of earnware. We cover it up with silver and then we say we have a a silver um vessel but it's not silver. How easily does it break? You just drop it and it's earthenware. Earnware vessels break easily. might be it might be uh encased in silver but the silver doesn't help you. There's a falseness. There's a dishonesty. I I try to show a good front but inside I'm not really committed to I'm not really trying to do his will. I'm doing on the outside. I'm showing up maybe to to ding d whatever it might be. All the external trappings are there but they're just trappings. It's not real inside. That's the mistake that I make. to another explanation. You thought you could you could fool me. Says they seduced him with their lips, with their mouths. They lied to him. We we seduce ourselves really, but down at the heart we know we know what we're really doing. We're seducing Hashem as it were. We're trying to trick him and think that we really are okay when we're not really okay inside. We're not really committed to our relationship with Hashem. And what's the result of this this fake this fakeness? This I'm trying to pretend that I that I'm serving Hashem, but really I'm serving myself. I'm trying to to put up a front a silver front, but really inside I'mware. I'm breakable. What's the result of that? The result is that says it's analogous to somebody who plants and he has this beautiful garden planted and he comes out in the morning and it's gone. Some animals had come in or some people had come in and emptied out the entire garden. Why I'm saying it doesn't say this in the but he didn't put a fence around it. He didn't care so much to make sure that he keeps what he has. He produced the fruits. He's got that out that that external thing going on, but it's really easy to break. It's really easy to break into. I'm not sure exactly what this means, but it's the same exact idea. It's the idea that I think I've got it all. I think that I think that my the externalities that I have have changed me somehow on the inside, but they haven't. On the inside, I'm still that selfish person that I always was. It hasn't really changed because I haven't really started to really be looking for Hashem's will. Really, honestly, inside of my heart of hearts, myahara has a hold of me. I might do the outer trappings, but it's not changing me on the inside. The result of this is that because I I disconnected from Hashem. So now I've become someone who's been shaken about, moved about by the by the nations of the world, by the difficulties in my life. These are all results of my inner fakeness. the the external way of my being is not in line with my internal way of being. I just have an external superficial way. And the result is there's a cutting off of all these things that have have disconnected me further. I would say or I'm just experiencing difficulties and and the nations of the world are coming at me and there's the the angel of death is coming at me. What does the opposite of this look like? As we said before, when we stood on Mount Everything that Hashem said, I'm going to do and I'm going to listen sight unseen. I'm giving up my ego. I'm giving up my gya. I'm giving up the way I think things should be. Why do I say lashara? Because that guy did something wrong to me. I don't like how it is. I'm going to try to control him with my words instead of the message. Hashem says, "Don't speak about other people because I'm behind it all. I'm going to try to control everything in my life. I want my I want tyas. I want my desires and I want them now. I'm not going to do them within the confines of what Hashem says is correct." And what's and and that's that's results in destruction and exile and and negativity and and darkness in my life and to my impurity. But what's the opposite of that? When I say Hashem, whatever your will is, I give up I give up my what I think is the way it's supposed to be. And I say what I'm going to do. Whatever you say, I'm going to find out afterwards. I I'm starting with zero. I'm starting with I I don't know anything. Whatever you say is what I want it to be. That's where what happened there. But Hashem says at that moment when we say Hashem, whatever you want, whatever you want, that's it. I'm in. I don't know what it's going to be. I don't know what the requirements are, but I'm in. In that moment, Hashem says, "There's no more death for this nation. There's no here. You're with me. I'm with you. Even though the Malav has power over the entire all of the creations of the world, not over you. Why? Because they are my children is when we say when we give up our own ego, we throw it in the garbage and we say Hashem, whatever you want, I'm going to do that's all. I just want your will. That's Shane Bonai. We become his children that way. What is a child? Child is an extension of the parent, right? A child is the the legs of the parent. That's the continuation of the parent. When we say we are Hashem's kids, whatever you want, I'm willing to do. I'm willing to be the one through whom you are manifest in this world. What's the result? The says, "We heard Hashem's voice from the from midst the darkness. We cut through the darkness and we hear Hashem's voice. Is there darkness up in in heaven?" The says in there's only light there. We have to cut through the darkness. Get through the angel of death. get through our egos which create death which create impurity which create all these negative forces in our lives. Cut straight through that into the place where the light is. We want Hashem's light to be shining in our lives says as we said at the very beginning when we keep the when we say it's it says the the words were huned into the stone the word which means is also the same letters as the word which means freedom I'm free from the malakov I'm free from the angel of death I'm free from the darkness I'm free from the impurity There's no ZV. There's no impurities and and unhealthy flows. There's no sickness. When Amra received the Tyra at Mount at Harina at Mount Si, there was no sickness because the sickness is a result. It's a physical manifestation of a spiritual sickness which is ego ga doing it my way believing that it's supposed to be the way I think it's supposed to be I'm going to tell who who's been who created the entire universe I'm going to tell him how he should run it says when we said when we said I am doing your willm We got freedom from the angel of death. We got freedom says from the nations of the world. We got freedom says the from all of the all those things that came in because of our egos. All the things that came in when we follow after our guide our our ourselves the way we think it's supposed to be. We got freedom from that when we say I just want your will. I want to do it your way. It was the day that we received the we looked for Hashem's will. The result of not serving Hashem properly, of not turning back to him, of not of of allowing that which is the draws to control our lives instead of replacing that with I only want your will. What's the result? We are weakened. We bring upon ourselves a a tremendous wound that weakens us. It's so powerful. How does it manifest? How do we see it in the world? It's these impure flows which represent the misuse of our creative ability which represent the misuse of our interactions with others. It's the saras. It's the leprosy speaking negatively of others. believing that the way that I think it should be is the way it is. Trying to control it, it brings about impurity. He has to go out of the encampment. You got to leave. You got to distance yourself. You have distanced yourself. You got to understand you've gone into exile. You've wasted. You've allowed the dross which is there in the planting to become more powerful. You didn't cut away the weeds. You got to cut away the weeds. And the way that you cut away the weeds is teaching us is through the nas of anishma. So we're going back to the place before we made that mistake before we did the mael the at the same exact moment we were about to get the the document which would have freed us from from death from danger from from Yeshurin from pain from the nations of the world being in charge of us. We were almost there. We could have had it, but instead we gave in to our gya, to our egos, to the negativity, to our belief that we know better than Hashem, heaven forbid, as it were. So to me, what I take out of this, what I believe the Mesh is saying and teaching us and the Puzzai is teaching us, is that our problems when we see something's gone wrong in our lives, we got to know where it comes from. the things that are coming into our life, the exiles, the the difficulties, the danger. We got to recognize that it's because we've disconnected from our nasma. We've disconnected from the freedom of the lice, the the etched that which is etched into those stones, which is the will of Hashem. We've disconnected from what Hashem wants us to do. We we've taken it we've t we've taken our we've allowed ourselves to think that the way I think it should be is the way it is instead of admitting our mistakes and it's when we don't admit it we get pushed further until we we get it till we get it and then we start to come back we we start to take steps to get out of exile out of our disconnect we come back to the nasa we come back to the lice We come back to Hashem's will. We come back to Israel and we start to recognize. We start to realize that, hey, I got to get out of this gya. It's going to kill me. I got to get out of my ego. It's destroying me. I want to bless you and I ask you to bless me. Hashem should help us. That we should recognize and see and admit the places where we've entered into exile. We've been thrown out of his palace where we've been distanced from him as a result of our mistakes. If I face my mistakes and I have a chance to come back, Hashem should help us to come back to reconnect ourselves to the nas of an ishma. Making Hashem's will our will. should help us to get back in there so that we can experience a freedom aus which comes with theus the that which is etched into the stone that freedom from the mus from the nations of the world that freedom from the is from the pains and the difficulties and that freedom from death may msiah come let's see the b mikdash built soon speedily and in our days thank you so much for listening have a wonderful shamas This podcast was made possible through the gracious donations of listeners like you. For more podcasts like this, please visit www.rigoldwag.com or search on iTunes Arig Goldwag. [Music]