Life is Not a Zero Sum Game

Tazria-Metzorah
Leviticus 12:1-15:33
Précis: Tazria begins with laws concerning the need for ritual purification of women following the birth of children, and the laws of what is usually referred to as leprosy of the skin and on garments (although this translation is most certainly erroneous; it appears to refer to an affliction which renders the person, garment, or home ritually impure).


In Metzorah, the parasha further discusses laws for the purification of “lepers” with sacrifice and water. It also discusses growths on walls of a house which cause ritual impurity. The parasha concludes with a discussion about secretions from the body which are another source of ritual impurity.
Leviticus 14:6 “As for the living bird, he shall take it and the cedar wood, scarlet, and hyssop, and shall dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water.”


As Rabbi Kerry M. Olitzky has written (Renewal Each Day), this verse describes the purification ceremony for “lepers” when they are cleansed. One bird is killed, and one is set free, but only after it has been dipped in the blood of the sacrificed bird. The essential message of this ritual seems to be, “Something dies so that something else may live. There, but for the will of God, go I.”


This ancient ritual seems to represent a zero-sum game, where one life must be extinguished so that another may continue. I would maintain, however, that life is not necessarily a zero-sum game where one can win only if another person loses. All of us face challenges. Some people have the good fortune to overcome them while others do not. Some may prefer to take credit for this “good fortune.” Others, perhaps those with a bit more humility, may choose to thank God for giving them the strength to meet and overcome the challenges which life inevitably presents.


The ritual described in this parasha is of course foreign to our 21st century conceptions, but offers a powerful metaphor for how we might choose to live with a deep sense of gratitude and thanks.