Parshat Tazria-Mezorah; Leviticus 13:1-15:33 By Rabbi Denise L. Eger

Often this week’s portion is described as the “ickiest” portion in the Torah. When we read the double portion Tazria-Mezorah we are presented with a series of situations that play havoc with our spiritual status. Many of the situations are as natural as can be: Childbirth, menstruation, and emissions of semen. Some have to do with skin rashes and inflammations often so often poorly translated as leprosy. But tzarat doesn’t just happen to people. This double portion also describes the tzarat of both fabric and clothing and houses, leading us to imagine that it is in this case some kind of fungus or mold or mildew.

All of these situations demand purification. Indeed there is a physical dimension to this purification. A healing for the body and of course a cleansing of the fungus in a home or cloth. There is washing and even isolation of the individual. This isolation is appropriate if it is indeed contagious. These are all good common practices in health care. So in some way the Torah is way ahead of the science/medical arts of its time!

But there is also something deeper at work here. There is a spiritual cleansing/healing that is a large part of that which is at work. The priests make the determination of cleanliness or uncleanness and there are prescribed steps that the priest must follow. The priest must examine the individual and it is only the priest who can make the declaration of clean or unclean based upon the parameters described in these two portions.
Tazria describes the various kinds of Tzarat. But Mezorah describes the way back to inclusion, cleanliness and healing.

Once an individual has recovered, the first steps are an offering outside the camp—still in isolation. Sprinkled with blood of the bird offering, the now recovered individual must bathe, wash clothes and shave of all hair. Again, this part is the physical cleansing. But then a week later the individual can now enter into the community, specifically the sacred sanctuary and bring specific types of offerings there. Presumably this offering addresses the spiritual part of the tzarat as well as allows the individual to return to the community in full—purified and renewed and recovered.

Indeed there is stigma in any illness. A diagnosis whether mildly of the flu or of a more serious nature such as HIV/AIDS or Cancer, changes our world view. It changes how we look at ourselves and how others perceive us. Any disease or illness especially, life threatening ones give us pause for thought. They cause us to confront how we live our daily life, sometimes our habits good and bad, the way we eat and sleep, and who we can count on in a pinch.

This section of Torah acknowledges that changed worldview and the rituals described while we no longer practice them, do explain a basic human need to be seen as whole and healed again and to be readmitted to the community. These ceremonies helped erase the stigma of the tzarat. Today when someone recovers or goes into remission from a serious illness, the stigma still seems to follow. Perhaps we would do well to create modern welcome home ceremonies to erase that difficult time of transition! But certainly we all can be more aware of those who in our circle of concern need our attention and care and kindness as they do recover.

Posted by Lee at April 24, 2006 11:08 AM