D'var Torah

This week and next week we will read from two of the most "unattractive" Torah portions. Tazria and Metzorah (often linked together on the same week) present the rituals of purification for women after childbirth and the methods for diagnosing and treating skin diseases. Attention is also given to the rituals for curing a person from various illnesses and returning that person to a state of ritual purity. These parshiot are filled with descriptions of oozing wounds and various bodily emissions. These are not my favorite portions. They remind me of the first time I saw one of my father's books. My father is a professor of veterinary dermatology and he had written many textbooks on this subject. When I was about 7, I found them all on a shelf in our home. I was mortified at the pictures of the many skin diseases. This week's Torah portion always reminds me of that time.

Despite the unpleasant details of this portion, there is no less than one helpful and insightful concept tucked in between the graphic descriptions of illnesses we never want to have. That is the concept that once a person has been cured of their illness, they have the chance to go through a ritual process to help them re-enter the community. This is one area where our modern society, with all of its psychological and medical insights, has fallen down. When a person has a disease that separates them from family and friends, there is no system for welcoming them back into the group. There is no way to erase the stigma that might have come with that sickness.

Judaism is quite forward thinking in this way. Our tradition recognized early on that we need to support those people who have the great challenge of re-entering their daily lives after being put on the fringes of society for some reason. Rituals, which have nothing to do with medical reality, can be valuable vehicles that enable us to address difficult situations. In the midst of my least favorite Torah portion, I applauded the Torah’s wisdom for helping those who have been ill to return fully to society and be embraced once again by their community.

Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Amy Schwartzman