New impurities

 Tazria

Lev. 12:1-13:59

 

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).

 

Lev.13:1 “Adonai spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ‘When a person has on the skin of his body a swelling, a rash, or a discoloration, and it develops into a scaly infection on the skin of his body, it shall be reported to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons, the priests.’”

            These rashes or decolorizations resulted in the ritual impurity of the individual. What is “ritual impurity"? Some commentators suggest that it comes from sin (particularly lashon ha-rah, or evil speech), and therefore must be “healed” before the individual can return to the state of ritual purity necessary for participation in communal worship.

            It’s also clear that it was not the Priest’s job to take care of a medical condition. Rather, it was a step to restore the individual to participation in the community.

            Over the past years, we have seen new and dangerous forms of swelling, rashes and discolorations, be it AIDS, Coronavirus, or new diseases which seem to be emerging due to climate change. If we read this metaphorically, there is yet another disease increasing in frequency and danger: anti-Semitism and Jew-hatred, with a particular castigation of Israel.

            The purpose of these ancient rituals was to restore the individual to the community. We need to find ways to restore others and ourselves to a ritual purity meriting our full participation in our communities and in the world.