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It’s the catchphrase of the parshah

After months of studying the blueprints of the Mishkan and gathering its materials, Parshas P’kudei describes the long-awaited construction of the house for Hashem. With each step of the building process, the Torah states that B’nei Yisrael did it ka’asher tzivah Hashem es Moshe, just as Hashem had commanded Moshe.

When is chesed not so kind after all?

Parshas Sh’mini identifies the kosher status of various animals and birds. One of the non-kosher birds listed is the chasidah, the stork. Chazal say that this creature was aptly named for its tendency to perform chesed, sharing food with its friends (Rashi, VaYikra 11:19). Even if it doesn’t really deliver babies, this stork sounds like a real baalas chesed!

If we cannot have it all, would we rather none at all?

Chazal have a tradition that the main characters of the Purim story can be found in veiled allusions throughout the Torah, written prophetically many years before the events of Megillas Esther (Chulin 139b). Where is there a Biblical reference to Haman? The Gemara identifies the verse at the beginning of Chumash in which Hashem chastises Adam and Chavah for eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil: “Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” (B’reishis 3:11). The Hebrew words in this verse, “ha’min ha’eitz (from the tree)” can also be vowelized Haman ha’eitz, referring to the wicked Haman who would later be hanged on the wooden gallows (eitz) he had prepared for Mordechai.

Why isn’t lashon ha’ra considered treif?

Rav Yisrael Salanter zt”l noted a symbolic meaning in the placement of this week’s parshah. Tazria, which deals with the laws of a person who speaks lashon ha’ra and his resulting tzaraas, immediately follows Sh’mini, which ends with the laws of kashrus. Rav Salanter explained the juxtaposition as follows: We are all quite careful about what we put into our mouths; the Torah then proceeds to remind us to be just as careful about what comes out of them.

Let’s blast it on the loudspeakers!

Parshas Tzav introduces a unique korban: the Todah, an offering of gratitude. A person who survives a dangerous experience brings this korban of thanks (B’rachos 54b), as can anyone who celebrates a joyous occasion, such as marrying off a child (Rabbeinu Bachya, VaYikra 6:2).

Think before you tweet.

A most unusual ritual is performed as part of the purification process of a m’tzora (a person stricken with leprosy for speaking lashon ha’ra). Two identical birds are taken; one is slaughtered, while the other is set free (VaYikra 14:4-7). Rashi (v. 4) explains that birds were fittingly chosen for the atonement of a baal lashon ha’ra, because they, too, chatter and twitter incessantly. The person with tzaraas is supposed to view these animals as a representation of what brought about his punishment in the first place: his unbridled gossip and chirping. By taking this lesson to heart, he can move one step closer to purification.