Tazria-Metzora

Tazria-Metzora - Marc Soloway 

Marc has served as the rabbi of Congregation Bonai Shalom in Boulder, Colorado, nestling in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains since 2004. He was co-chair of Limmud Conference in 1997 and 1998 and, prior to being a rabbi, was an actor and massage therapist.

There is a mysterious disease that can affect skin, clothing and even buildings.  Pussy growths and seeping fluids, different colors and textures are the symptoms. This illness is often translated as leprosy, but it would be more accurate to call it a "breaking out" disease; it is called tzara'at. This is not an easy section of Torah for modern Jews. The text reveals a radically different view of medicine, health and wholeness than our own. The Kohen, or priest, the primary facilitator of Jewish ritual in antiquity, examines the patient and if he or she is declared 'tamei' or unclean, an elaborate ritual is performed, which includes quarantine and sacrifices. To understand the content and how the rabbis later interpreted it, we need to understand the relationship between the symptoms, the cause and the cure. Indeed, the medieval commentator Rashbam says that we must cannot understand these passages without the explanations of the sages.

"The passages that deal with tzara'at of the body, garments and houses, their aspects, periods of isolation, white and yellow hair, elude our comprehension and are beyond bekiut derech eretz (human expertise). Therefore, we must rely on guidelines and rules established by our Sages who received them from the earlier generations."

In the rabbinic mind there is a vital link between cause and effect and these afflictions are seen as a direct result of sin. The traditional understanding is that tzara'at is the consequence of lashon harah (evil speech or gossip) and the fate of Miriam is used as a proof text. She and Aaron seemingly gossip about their brother Moses and then she is struck with tzara'at (Numbers 12).

The Talmud (Arakhin 16a) however, lists seven sins, which are punished by tzara'at: slander, bloodshed, oaths taken in vain, incest and adultery, arrogance, robbery and greed.  

The rabbis of the Talmud and beyond focused more on lashon harah as the primary cause, partly because of a pun in the Hebrew. Parshat Metzorah opens with the verse "zot tihyeh torat haM'tzorah..." (this will be the law concerning the one who has tza'arat) is connected phonetically to motzi shem ra (one who brings forth evil speech).

It seems almost arbitrary that slander was emphasized more than the other transgressions. Most sources, however, agree that the disease is a divine punishment.  Generations of teachings on the laws of evil speech (shemirat lashon) have developed from these sections of Torah, yet what about excessive pride or a wicked heart? If the ancient remedy is related to the sin, there is as much evidence for arrogance or pride as the primary cause of this skin affliction.  The cleansing ritual involves two birds, cedar wood, hyssop and crimson. The cedar (a tall, proud tree) is often seen as a symbol of arrogance and hyssop (a lowly shrub) as one of humility. The birds, on account of their constant chattering, are associated to loose talk. The scarlet (tola'at) is a dye extracted from a worm and also a symbol of humility. Rabbis have understood the healing ritual in this symbolic way, an holistic treatment for a range of offenses.

The mystery of tza'arat, this supernatural disease, is more than a punishment for wagging tongues.  It is also linked to human pride.  Either way, tradition has been clear that the cause, disease and remedy are all connected.  It is hard in our world, so full of illness and disease, to accept the notion that bodily suffering is a punishment for sin. Most of us are very uncomfortable and take offense when people try to interpret our illnesses and suffering. In the Jewish tradition, however, there is an intriguing relationship between cause and effect. Sometimes we become so obsessed with the symptoms that we forget to look for possible causes, even in medical treatment. Challenging as these rituals and their interpretations might be, there is something deeply holistic about their application and understanding, which invites us to question our relationship with mind, body and soul. I am not suggesting that we start sprinkling our blemishes with bird's blood, nor that we always try to find reasons for suffering, but there's no harm in being reminded of our own capacity for pride or gossip. There are times when our afflictions and suffering are actually our greatest teachers.