Guard Against the Modern Plagues

Metzorah
Leviticus 14:1-15:33

Précis: The parasha discusses laws for the purification of “lepers” with sacrifices and water. It also discusses growths on walls of a house which cause ritual impurity. The parasha concludes with dealing with another source of such impurity, bodily secretions.


Leviticus 15:31: "You shall put the Israelites on guard against their impurity, lest they die through their impurity by defiling My Tabernacle which is among them."


Near the conclusion of this week’s parasha, we find this very interesting verse about “impurity” and the Tabernacle. As we reviewed last week, “impurity” should be understood to be “ritual impurity,” meaning something which prevents the individual from participation in communal worship. In this verse, a careful reading suggests it is not impurity itself that incurs Divine wrath; retribution comes only when we fail to take the necessary steps to restore ourselves to ritual purity, so that we can rejoin the community.


This parasha had previously indicated (verses 14:34-35) that it was the Priests’ job to investigate a mysterious growth on the walls of a house that is “something like a plague.” We can therefore read this verse to mean that we have an obligation to “guard against” actions that result in “something like a plague.”


To me, this teaches that it is our responsibility as individuals and as communities, to “guard against” the modern “plagues” we face (war, poverty, political or religious intolerance and hatred, to name a few). Failing that, it is incumbent upon us to do whatever we can to restore our society to “purity” by ameliorating the impacts of these modern plagues by engaging in acts of chesed and loving kindness.

Shabbat Shalom.