(טז) וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר יי אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֥ה לֵּאמֹֽר׃ (יז) דַּבֵּ֥ר אֶֽל־אַהֲרֹ֖ן לֵאמֹ֑ר אִ֣ישׁ מִֽזַּרְעֲךָ֞ לְדֹרֹתָ֗ם אֲשֶׁ֨ר יִהְיֶ֥ה בוֹ֙ מ֔וּם לֹ֣א יִקְרַ֔ב לְהַקְרִ֖יב לֶ֥חֶם אֱלֹקָֽיו׃ (יח) כִּ֥י כָל־אִ֛ישׁ אֲשֶׁר־בּ֥וֹ מ֖וּם לֹ֣א יִקְרָ֑ב אִ֤ישׁ עִוֵּר֙ א֣וֹ פִסֵּ֔חַ א֥וֹ חָרֻ֖ם א֥וֹ שָׂרֽוּעַ׃ (יט) א֣וֹ אִ֔ישׁ אֲשֶׁר־יִהְיֶ֥ה ב֖וֹ שֶׁ֣בֶר רָ֑גֶל א֖וֹ שֶׁ֥בֶר יָֽד׃ (כ) אֽוֹ־גִבֵּ֣ן אוֹ־דַ֔ק א֖וֹ תְּבַלֻּ֣ל בְּעֵינ֑וֹ א֤וֹ גָרָב֙ א֣וֹ יַלֶּ֔פֶת א֖וֹ מְר֥וֹחַ אָֽשֶׁךְ׃ (כא) כָּל־אִ֞ישׁ אֲשֶׁר־בּ֣וֹ מ֗וּם מִזֶּ֙רַע֙ אַהֲרֹ֣ן הַכֹּהֵ֔ן לֹ֣א יִגַּ֔שׁ לְהַקְרִ֖יב אֶת־אִשֵּׁ֣י יי מ֣וּם בּ֔וֹ אֵ֚ת לֶ֣חֶם אֱלֹקָ֔יו לֹ֥א יִגַּ֖שׁ לְהַקְרִֽיב׃
Brown Driver Brigg Lexicon
• מוּם S 3971 TWOT 1137a GK 4583 n.m. Lv 21:17 ( = foregoing; quiesc. א om.) ( NH id. ; Aramaic מוּמָא , ܡܽܘܡܳܐ ( mumo ) ) ;— abs. מ׳ Lv 21:17 + 16 times; sf. מוּמֹו Pr 9:7 ; מוּמָם Dt 32: 5;— blemish, defect (chiefly H ): 1. physical, a. in man, as excluding from priestly service, Lv 21:17 , 18 , 21 (×2), 23 ; disfiguring man 2 S 14:25 , woman Ct 4:7 ; (in all היה מ׳ בְּ ); as caused by man upon man Lv 24:19 ,
20 . b. in beast (ref. to sacrifice) Lv 22:20 , 21 , 25 Nu 19:2 Dt 15:21 (×2); 17:1 (in all
MISHNA: A priest who has blemishes on his hands may not lift his hands Rabbi Yehuda says: Even one whose hands were colored with satis, a blue dye, may not lift his hands because the congregation will look at him. GEMARA: It is taught in a baraita: The blemishes that the Sages said disqualify are on his face, hands, and feet [but not defects that are invisible].
Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: If his hands are spotted, he may not lift his hands. This is also taught in a baraita: hands are spotted, he may not lift his hands. His hands are curved or bent, he may not lift his hands.
Rav Asi said: A priest from Haifa or Beit She’an may not lift his hands. This is also taught : One may not allow the people of Beit She’an, nor the people of Beit Haifa, nor the people of Tivonin to pass before the ark because they pronounce alef as ayin and ayin as alef.
Rabbi Ḥiyya said to Rabbi Shimon, son of Rabbi, If you were a Levite, you would be disqualified from the platform because your voice is thick.
Rabbi Shimon went and told his father,
Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi said to him: Go and say to him: When you study and reach the verse: “And I will wait upon [veḥikkiti] the Lord” (Isaiah 8:17), will you not be a maligner and a blasphemer? [Rabbi Ḥiyya was from Babylonia, was unable to differentiate between the letters ḥet and heh, and would therefore pronounce veḥikkiti as vehikkiti, which means: And I will strike.]
Rav Huna said: A priest whose eyes run with tears may not lift his hands.
But wasn’t there a certain priest with this condition in the neighborhood of Rav Huna, and he would spread his hands?
That priest was familiar in his town.
This is also taught in a baraita: One whose eyes run should not lift his hands but if he is a familiar in his town, he is permitted to do so.
Rabbi Yoḥanan said: One who is blind in one eye may not lift his hands
Wasn’t there a certain priest who was blind in one eye in the neighborhood of Rabbi Yoḥanan, and he would lift his hands?
That priest was familiar in his town.
This is also taught in a baraita: One who is blind in one eye may not lift his hands but if he is familiar in his town, he is permitted.
Rabbi Yehuda said: One whose hands are colored should not lift his hands
It was taught in a baraita: If most of the townspeople are engaged in this occupation, [dyeing] he is permitted.
(ל) מי שיש לו מום בפניו או בידיו כגון שהם בוהקניות או עקומות או עקושות לא ישא את כפיו מפני שהעם מסתכלין בו וה"ה למי שיש מומין ברגליו במקום שעולים לדוכן בלא בתי שוקיים וכן מי שרירו יורד על זקנו או שעיניו זולפים דמעות וכן סומא באחד מעיניו לא ישא את כפיו ואם הי' דש בעירו דהיינו שהם רגילים בו ומכירין הכל שיש בו אותו מום ישא כפיו ואפי' הוא סומא בשתי עיניו וכל ששהא בעיר שלשי' יום מקרי דש בעירו ודוקא בעירו אבל אם הולך באקראי לעיר אחרת ושהא שם שלשים יום לא ואפילו לא בא לדור שם להיות מבני העיר אלא בא להיות שם מלמד או סופר או משרת שנה או חצי שנה חשוב דש בעירו בל' יום:
(30) One who has an deformity on his face or his hands, for example albinism, deformed [fingers], or paralyzed [fingers] should not perform the priestly blessing because the congregation will stare at him. And this is also the rule for one who has an deformity on his feet, in a place where they ascend to the platform without socks. And so it is if he has spittle drooling down his beard, or if his eyes tear up. And similarly, one who is blind in one of his eye should not perform the priestly blessing. However, if he is "Dash" in his city, meaning that they are familiar with him and everyone recognizes that he has this deformity, he may perform the blessing, even if he is blind in both eyes. Anyone who has stayed in the city thirty days is called "Dash" in his city
Aristotle: “Let there be a law that no crippled child should be reared!”
Plato: “This is the kind of medical provision you should legislate in your state. You should provide treatment for those of your citizens whose physical constitution is good. As for the others, it will be best to leave the unhealthy to die, and to put to death those whose psychological condition is incurably corrupt. This is the best thing to do, both for the individual sufferer and for society.”
ר' יהושע בן לוי אשכח לאליהו דהוי קיימי אפיתחא דמערתא דרבי שמעון בן יוחאי
אמר ליה אימת אתי משיח אמר ליה זיל שייליה לדידיה והיכא יתיב אפיתחא דקרתא ומאי סימניה יתיב ביני עניי סובלי חלאים וכולן שרו ואסירי בחד זימנא איהו שרי חד ואסיר חד אמר דילמא מבעינא דלא איעכב אזל לגביה אמר ליה שלום עליך רבי ומורי אמר ליה שלום עליך בר ליואי א"ל לאימת אתי מר א"ל היום אתא לגבי אליהו א"ל מאי אמר לך א"ל שלום עליך בר ליואי א"ל אבטחך לך ולאבוך לעלמא דאתי א"ל שקורי קא שקר בי דאמר לי היום אתינא ולא אתא א"ל הכי אמר לך (תהלים צה, ז) היום אם בקולו תשמעו
Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi found Elijah the prophet, who was standing at the entrance of the burial cave of Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai.
He asked when will the Messiah come? Elijah said to him: Go ask him.
Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi asked: And where is he sitting?
Elijah said to him: At the entrance of the city of Rome.
Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi asked him: And what is his sign
Elijah answered: He sits among the poor who suffer from illnesses. And all of them untie their bandages and tie them all at once, but the Messiah unties one bandage and ties one at a time. He says: Perhaps I will be needed so I will not be delayed.
Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi went to the Messiah. He said to the Messiah: Greetings to you, my rabbi and my teacher. The Messiah said to him: Greetings to you, bar Leva’i. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said to him: When will the Master come? The Messiah said to him: Today. Sometime later, Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi came to Elijah. Elijah said to him: What did the Messiah say to you?
Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said to Elijah: The Messiah lied to me, as he said to me: I am coming today, and he did not come. Elijah said to him that this is what he said to you: He said that he will come “today, if you will listen to his voice” (Psalms 95:7).
(א) מִדַּת הַיִּרְאָה בְּעַצְמָהּ הִיא יְרֵאָה מֵהַשֵּׁם יִתְבָּרַךְ, וְאִם כֵּן יֵשׁ לָהּ גַּם כֵּן יִרְאָה. וְזֹאת הַיִּרְאָה הִיא גַּם־כֵּן יְרֵאָה מֵהַשֵּׁם יִתְבָּרַךְ, וְאִם כֵּן יֵשׁ לָהּ גַּם־כֵּן יִרְאָה. וְכֵן נִכְלָל יִרְאָה אַחַת בַּחֲבֶרְתָּהּ, לְמַעְלָה לְמַעְלָה עַד אֵין סוֹף. ,וְזֶה שֶׁאָמְרוּ רַבּוֹתֵינוּ זִכְרוֹנָם לִבְרָכָה (תנחומא ד' א שה"ש רבה סדר א' ירושלמי שבת פ"א וע"ש בפני משה): מַה שֶּׁעָשְׂתָה עֲנָוָה עָקֵב לְסִלּוּתָא, עָשְׂתָה חָכְמָה עֲטָרָה עַל רֹאשָׁהּ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: עֵקֶב עֲנָוָה יִרְאַת יי, רֵאשִׁית חָכְמָה יִרְאַת יי. ,נִמְצָא שֶׁעֲקֵב הָעֲנָוָה הִיא יִרְאָה, וְכֵן רֵאשִׁית חָכְמָה הִיא גַּם־כֵּן יִרְאָה, נִמְצָא שֶׁיֵּשׁ יִרְאָה לְמַעְלָה מִיִּרְאָה, כִּי הַיִּרְאָה בְּעַצְמָהּ יֵשׁ לָהּ גַּם כֵּן יִרְאָה, וְכֵן לְמַעְלָה לְמַעְלָה עַד אֵין סוֹף כַּנַּ"ל.
(1) The quality of fear itself fears God. In that case, it too has fear. Moreover, this fear also fears God. In that case, it too has fear. And so one fear is encompassed in another, higher and higher until the Infinite One.,This is as our Sages teach (Yerushalmi, Shabbat 1:3): That which humility made a heel for her sandal, wisdom made a crown for her head. As it is stated, “The heel of humility is the fear of God” (Proverbs 22:4) ; “The head of wisdom is the fear of God” (Psalms 111:10).,Hence, the “heel of humility” is fear, and likewise the “head of wisdom” is also fear. We find therefore that there is fear higher than fear, because fear itself also has fear—and so on, higher and higher until the Infinite One, as above.
Jack Reimer - USCJ Blog
If Yitzchak Avinu, Father Isaac, who became legally blind in his old age, were to come into our synagogue and want to daven with us, would we have a large print prayer book available for him?
If Yaakov Avinu, Father Jacob, who was injured in an encounter with a mysterious stranger and limped for the rest of his life as a result, were to come into our synagogue and want an aliyah, would he be able to get up to the bimah here? And if not, if we don’t have a ramp that makes the bimah accessible to the people with disabilities, what would we say to him?
2If Moshe Rabeynu, Moses our teacher, who had a speech defect, were to come into our shul and want to read from the Torah that he gave us, could we handle it without becoming embarrassed if he were to stutter?
Melinda Jones, “Judaism, Theology and the Human Rights of People with Disabilities”
The fact that we are all created in God’s image both unifies us and is evidence that God loves diversity. . . No person is of greater value than another. None are more worthy or more significant than another. We are morally equivalent—different yet equal; the same yet distinct. The shape of our body and the sharpness of our minds are totally irrelevant. People with disabilities are equally valuable, equally important, equally entitled to share in the benefits of society.
Shelly Christensen, Jewish Community Guide to Inclusion of People with Disabilities
There is a midrash that reminds us that we are all created b’tselem Elohim, in the divine image. “A procession of angels pass before each person, and the heralds go before them saying, ‘Make way for the image of God.’” (Deuteronomy Rabbah 4:4) As we open our hearts and our minds to every individual we meet, let us look upon them and know that they are preceded by angels. May we remember that each of us is created in the image of God.
Jacob Artson, “Mensch Blog”
Inclusion isn’t just about me, it is about everyone. I have seen the incredible stress my family has endured because of me, and being excluded from our Jewish community, or having to constantly fight to be accepted as part of it, has greatly magnified our stress. After ten years, we finally [found a synagogue] where people smile at me even if I am sometimes too loud or excited and no one stares at me like I am a piece of trash. The kids engage with me even when they are not getting community service credit for doing so. I often wonder how many non-disabled families have the same experience of feeling ignored in their synagogue. The truth is that a shul that welcomes me is a synagogue where everyone can find a place and people will want to join and be engaged and involved.
