The Power of A Good Word

TAZRIA -METZORAThe Power of A Good WordA small but powerful step each of us can take is to stop the spread of this negativity. To challenge mistaken ideas-yes-but not to despair of the people who hold them, and not to define them with absolute, hopeless labels. Instead, we must find the way to highlight the potential within every Jew to return and to repair their actions.A fundamental question in the parshiyos of the week: Why does the metzora capture a bird from the wild in order to purify himself, only to then send it back into the wild? Either he should slaughter it, like its counterpart-or not capture it in the first place.The first parsha we read this Shabbos, Tazria, deals with the diagnosis of the affliction. A person who sees a leasion on his home, his garment, or his skin goes to the Kohen, who examines the affliction and places him in quarantine. The second parsha, Metzora, deals with the purification process. After the metzora repents and the affliction is removed, he must undergo a process of purification, followed by a seven-day waiting period, and then bring offerings as atonement for his sin.