Parshat Tazria-M'tzora

Many elements from last year's. A change and a few additions. First, I couldn't resist using Taz, upper-right corner. For those who don't know the character, he's Looney Tunes' Tazmanian Devil, or Taz for short. The bird to Taz's left looks like an ostrich but is, in fact, a rhea, a South American relative of the big O. Together they make TAZRIA.

The chisel in Hebrew is IZMEL. The word is also used for scalpel, and also for the knife of BRIT MILA, as in the beginning of the sedra. Use of a chisel is not recommended for MILA, but the word is the same. The baby carriage below it is for the first part of Tazria which deals with births.

The lamb towards the lower right can be the korban of a Yoledet, as well as that of a Metzora. As well as relating to the Maftir, as in the Musaf of Shabbat and of Rosh Chodesh.

Three different types of NEGA are depicted: of a person, of a house, and of a garment.

The hyssop and cedar which represent opposite personality traits are depicted, as is a dove, all from the offerings of the "cured" Metzora.

The traffic light in lower-right has red, yellow, and green - all three colors are mentioned in the parsha in relation to identifying different forms of "afflictions".

Next to the RAMZOR is a shaver, representing that which the cured M'tzora must do as part of his purification process.

The washing machine relates to the cleaning of garments as part of their purification process.

Which leaves Pooh's friend to remind us about the month we begin this Shabbat - IYAR.

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