Published: December 19, 2013
Originally recorded: April 4, 2011

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Lesson Highlights

• Leprosy (Metzora) of the skin and leprosy of a house
• Encoded within the Hebrew word is Motzi Ra (negativity that is revealed)
• Before Jacob, no one got sick and would just die
• Jacob the Patriarch was the first to get sick and then die, and King Hezekiah was the first to get sick and become well again
• Our biggest gift is the ability to expose our flaws and recognize our negativity
• We experience chaos because we neglect the Law of Cause and Effect
• Small problems are the Light’s way of waking us up: if we do not pay attention the chaos gets louder
• Only negativity that is exposed can be cleansed
• Seeking out our imperfections in order to move closer to the Light
• Perceiving things as “bad” often causes us to run away from what we should be working on
• Indentifying our true self: our pure soul or our negativity
• By embracing and loving ourselves we strengthen our ability to bring out our true souls
• Embracing the process of cleansing
• Seeing our shortcomings as a tool to bring more Light rather than fearing them
• The danger of holding guilt
• The danger of speaking negativity and how it stops our prayers
• Evil (Ra) tongue refers to speaking badly about others when they are not present
• Evil tongue and the intention of expressing superiority over others
• Speech becomes Surrounding Light: the words we say define the energy around us that people feel
• Three types of leprosy:
• Baheret: from the word for "clarity" but is a subjective clarity that stems from ego
• Sapachat: corresponds to surrounding ourselves with the wrong people
• Tzara’at: refers to "elevated" but in arrogance and superiority
• Evil tongue is wasted words of lying, flattery, gossip and mindless chatter
• Shifting our belief that negativity is something to run away from rather than confront
• Respecting the power of our words: using them for evil speech will close the gate to blessings
• The power of our words and mouth and the significance of Pesach (Passover)

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Lesson Description

The portion of Metzora reminds us to be conscious of our words.  Words truly become "things" and can be used for either good or ill.  The sparks of Light within this lesson can refresh our spirit with renewed confidence to face our own dark sides with compassion.  Eitan guides us to greater freedom and allows us to bring our darkness and shortcomings into the Light where by embracing them, rather than running from them, we can experience true transformation and peace.

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About This Course

Written 2,000 years ago by Rav Shimon Bar Yochai, the Zohar explains all of the secrets of the Bible, the Universe and every aspect of life. The Zohar class is a weekly journey to understand the energy and challenges that will confront us during the week and how we can elevate our consciousness to prevent chaos from occurring in our lives.

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