Parashat Metzora

A metzora is a person with tzara'at, scaly skin disease. Torah mandates that a metzora must be quarantined outside the camp for the duration of the illness. Once the metzora is healed, however, he or she is welcomed back into the community with an elaborate ritual. Birds, blood, wormlike thread, and olive oil are some of the technologies of the ritual.

By Talmudic times, rabbinic sages were baffled by the treatment of the metzora. They did not recognize the symptoms of the disease and could not identify it. They were so committed to the ethical practice of bikkur cholim (visiting the sick) that they did not understand why sick people should be cast out of the camp.

So they looked for a story about tzara'at to give them some context. In the Book of Bamidbar/Numbers, Miriam complains to her brother Moshe about his marriage and his leadership, and God strikes her with tzara'at. Moshe prays for her healing (saying "ana el na, refa na la"), but she still has to spend seven days outside the camp.

Thus the sages concluded that tzara'at isn't a physical disease at all. Instead, it is a metaphor for thoughtless speech. A metzorah is one who "motzi-shem-ra" - puts out a bad name or, in modern English, defames others. Such a person steps outside of the camp, because he or she fails to think about the social consequences of speech.

Much of the wisdom bequeathed to us by our sages was created as they voiced and explored their own questions. So please, ask questions - at the Passover Seder and beyond! Every question is the first step of a journey into the diverse world of Jewish thought.

(by Rabbi Laura Duhan Kaplan)

Return to Reb Laura's "Taste of Torah" list.

Return to "Teachings from Our Rabbis and Friends" list.

---

[ Home ]	[ Asiyah ]	[ Yetzirah ]	[ Briyah ]	[ Atzilut ]	[ Calendar ]
	( Doing )	( Feeling )	( Knowing )	( Being )