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Tzaraat a blessing or a betrayal
The skin disease called Tzaraat is a double edged sword. On the one hand you have a built-in early warning system that you are suffering from a terrible spiritual malady. (Although it may have resembled leprosy, Tzaraat is not leprosy). It signals that you are engaging in slander and gossip and affords you a chance to mend your ways. On the other hand, your own skin has, in a sense, betrayed you. The telltale signs of Tzoraat can appear on your home, your clothes, and on your body. You can’t keep it a secret.
Op-Ed: The Significance of Olive Oil During Hanukkah
ByMarcia G.
Why is the miracle of Chanukah about olive oil? Probably everyone who is reading this knows the answer. Chazal (our Sages) explain it in the Gemara (the Talmud) (Shabbat 21b):
When the Greeks entered the Sanctuary, they defiled all the oils there. And when the [future] rulers from the family of the Chashmonaim (the Macabees) prevailed and defeated them, they searched and found only one vessel of oil set away with the seal of the High Priest. It had in it only enough to light for one day. A miracle was done to it and they lit from it for eight days. The next year, they established [those days] as holy days for giving praise and thanks.