A Taste of Shabbos- Parashat Tazria-Metzora

This week we are reading a double portion, but we still haven’t left the number ‘eight’. The parasha opens with a few verses talking about a brit Milah – a circumcision on the eighth day, but then immediately goes into the lengthy description of the illness and cure of the disease called ‘Tzaraat.’ 

One concept of why brit Milah is related to the number eight, is that a soul comes into this world from a place beyond nature which is represented by the number seven. Therefore the law of eight days teaches that a life must pass through seven days plus one Shabbat, before the circumcision. Another interesting custom is for children to recite the Shema the night before the bris. Why? One reason is that Shema also expresses the transcendence of G-d beyond the dimensions of both nature and the supernatural. In fact, Shabbos itself has this feature. We celebrate the pleasures of this world at the same time that we tap into a realm beyond creation, and beyond even life in the Garden of Eden before the sin.

In a similar vein, Tzaraat is or was, a disease with a spiritual root but with a physical manifestation on the skin, one’s clothes, and even the walls of people’s houses. Though this is the Torah order, the sages say that the appearance was in the reverse order- from the house, the most external property, to the clothing, and if the person continued the bad behavior or attitude, down to the skin. The underlying Torah’s premise of this external appearance is that everything around us is affected by our actions, words, and even thoughts – as some great rabbis and genuine psychics can assure us.

In particular, the Talmud tells us that the primary culprit underlying Tzaraat was the sin of Lashon Hara- denigrating speech about another, even if true, unless there is a constructive purpose. There are many books written about this particular transgression. Sadly however, society still persists in using gossip as a means of social discourse, especially amplified now a days by electronic communications. One might even say, gossip is a primary disease of modern times.

The high priest of the Torah who comes to diagnose and heal the patient might be considered a ‘soul doctor.’ And the healing and rehabilitation of the ‘Leper’ after seven days of seclusion, or, ‘time out,’ is also a kind of rebirth relating to the number eight, as in Brit Milah. Actually, the number eight ‘happens’ to be the number of the blessing in the Amidah which is the blessing for healing of all sorts. The blessings in the Amidah each end with a sentence saying that G-d actually answers those prayers, not just as a request. If there was no guarantee of their efficacy, we would not be able to say them because that would be a blessing in vain. (Even though the prayer is not answered in a way we understand, it is always considered). There are even stories of kids who grab a bit of sweet food against the wishes of their parents, but before the latter can protest, the child has actually said the blessing, so the parent is ‘forced’ to let them eat the food to prevent them from saying a blessing in vain. (I’m sure parents have a counter argument, but I have yet to hear oneJ)  At any rate, clearly eight is a number associated with healing.

From the Torah, when the time comes for the healing, the ‘doctor’ and the ‘patient’ meet each other. How was the ill one able to leave his place from the outskirts of all the three Israelite camps where he was temporarily evicted, and then meet the priest fact to face, in order to effect the cure? There are several responses to this. Here are a few: When the cohen goes out to check on the Metzora, this can mean that the cohen has to go out of the more quiet context of his life, to be able to understand and empathize with the Metzora’s world. Then he may be able to prescribe an inner cure that will heal the external condition.

My favorite explanation as to how these two people on opposite ends of the camp, both literally and figuratively, can come together: When the Metzora takes time out for self-reflection and desire for improvement, he is ‘brought to the Cohen’. In other words, he awakens a desire in the Cohen to come out and ‘meet him half way, ‘in a spiritual sense. After all, we are one family and when even very different people find themselves on the same playing field of life, it can mean that they are meant to influence each other in positive ways.

In Temple times, part of the rehab process was to bring two birds to the altar. One was slaughtered and the other was released. Some commentators suggest that this process relates to fixing the power of speech. The slaughtered one sends a message to stop negative speech, and the released one who continues chirping, tells us to increase words of Torah, prayer, and kindness. During the week, unless we are professional counselors, we rarely have time for conversations that can be helpful in a deeply personal way.  But when Shabbos comes, especially after drinking a bit of wine, the more unhurried conversations we have, rather than filled with gossip or even catch up from the week’s events, can be life-changing, in safe and loving spaces. The hosts or guests may design guided questions to help air out mutual concerns or clarify issues. Or, depending who is at the Shabbos table, whether family, friends, or strangers, important topics may emerge spontaneously. Especially this week, this year, and this century, a quiet current of honest sharing, in an atmosphere showered in the sanctity of Shabbat, can send ripples of peace and reconciliation and genuine healing, throughout the entire world.