Parashat Metzora/ Pesach
April 16, 2024
Geri Bloch, Former High School English Teacher
As I awakened the other morning, I was brought up sharply by the news that Iran had rained down over 200 drones on Israel; yet, the Iron Dome and the Arrow 3 defense systems repelled most of the projectiles. How or with what will the Israeli government retaliate against the Iranians? I am a suburban Jewish woman without power to effect change in this world. I can write letters to various heads of government. I can send money to the IDF to support them. I can send money to Magen David Adom. I can pray; I do pray. Is God listening?
In The Heart of Torah (Volume I), Rabbi Shai Held writes: “Jewish theology often wrestles with the tragic sense that although God brought the world into being, it has run so totally amok that God’s presence seems to be in exile. In a world so filled with callousness and inhumanity, so enamored of idols both insipid and insidious, where is there room for God?” Held quotes Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel z”l (1907-1972) on the topic of prayer: “God is in exile; the world is corrupt. The universe itself is not at home. To pray means to bring God back into the world, to establish [God’s] kingship for a second at least. To pray means to expand [God’s] presence. . . To worship, therefore means to make God immanent, to make [God] present. [God] being immanent in the world depends upon us.” Perhaps prayer will work.
And here we are at Parashat Metzora and the Shabbat before Pesach. We must put aside the news and begin the rituals related to Pesach. After all, the central idea that we must teach our children and grandchildren is a reminder of what God told each Israelite: “I the Lord am your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods besides Me” (Exodus 20:2).
We have dusted and cleaned. We have removed most chametz from our homes; after all, it is not Pesach, yet. By Sunday night, we will have polished the silver, set the table, created feasts for family and friends, and readied ourselves to “stand at Sinai.” We have used the “busyness” of Pesach to present the appearance of religious perfection, but are we truly prepared for Pesach?
Parashat Metzora begins with the ritual for purifying a leper and progresses through what must be done if one’s clothing and house are impure. Since bodily secretions are taken seriously, one must follow the rules laid out in the Torah to make certain that one does not become impure through involvement with those secretions. However, if one does become impure, the rules for purification are there, too. Tzaraat, a skin disease, is, according to the Etz Hayim: Torah and Commentary, “an affliction to be cured, not as a punishment to be explained. . . . Salanter taught that the laws of leprosy and gossip follow immediately after the dietary laws to teach us to be as scrupulous about what comes out of our mouths as we are about what goes into them. He saw the essential sin of gossip as focusing on the faults of others rather than looking to improve ourselves.” The Etz Hayim teaches that the “Sages considered leprosy to be a punishment for the sins of slander and malicious gossip (Lev. R. 16:11). . . .They designate seven types of antisocial behavior that God punishes with tzaraat: ‘haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood in secret, a mind that hatches evil, feet quick to do wrong, a witness who testifies falsely, and one who incites brothers to quarrel (citing Prov. 6:16-19).’”
We must remember that God needs the Israelites to be a holy people; God is taking the Israelites through the wilderness to create a holy nation. Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks z”l states, “Malicious gossip sows suspicion and dissension. It wrecks communities. It can destroy reputations and careers. It damages relationships, undermining the respect and trust on which families and communities depend. It is secretive and devastating.” Sacks goes on, “Nothing could do more to damage the kind of nation God was inviting the Israelites to become through their collective experience in Egypt and in the wilderness: a community built on shared memories, hopes, and expectations, and a sense, given by covenant, of collective responsibility.”
Rabbi Shai Held tells us that “Tzara-at and its consequences are manifestations of a profound moral and religious truth. When we hurt others with words, we poison and pollute our very being. . . In a world where words are so often wielded as weapons, it is an act of resistance to remember that words can also be a source of healing (Prov. 15:4). In a time when words are routinely devalued, it requires countercultural defiance to commit to the beauty of language and the preciousness of speech.”
Are we ready to stand at Sinai? As we prepare for Pesach and the Omer that follows, are we removing the chametz that has built up in our hearts? Are we altering our words, our speech, to reflect that which creates beauty instead of ugliness? All of us have been altered by the horrors of October 7th. We must continue to pray for the release of the hostages still held in Gaza; we must pray for peace. Rabbi Held reminds us, “Even in a world in which God seems so far, it is possible to create moments when God’s presence is brought intimately near.” May our prayers be answered.
And here we are at Parashat Metzora and the Shabbat before Pesach. We must put aside the news and begin the rituals related to Pesach. After all, the central idea that we must teach our children and grandchildren is a reminder of what God told each Israelite: “I the Lord am your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods besides Me” (Exodus 20:2).
We have dusted and cleaned. We have removed most chametz from our homes; after all, it is not Pesach, yet. By Sunday night, we will have polished the silver, set the table, created feasts for family and friends, and readied ourselves to “stand at Sinai.” We have used the “busyness” of Pesach to present the appearance of religious perfection, but are we truly prepared for Pesach?
Parashat Metzora begins with the ritual for purifying a leper and progresses through what must be done if one’s clothing and house are impure. Since bodily secretions are taken seriously, one must follow the rules laid out in the Torah to make certain that one does not become impure through involvement with those secretions. However, if one does become impure, the rules for purification are there, too. Tzaraat, a skin disease, is, according to the Etz Hayim: Torah and Commentary, “an affliction to be cured, not as a punishment to be explained. . . . Salanter taught that the laws of leprosy and gossip follow immediately after the dietary laws to teach us to be as scrupulous about what comes out of our mouths as we are about what goes into them. He saw the essential sin of gossip as focusing on the faults of others rather than looking to improve ourselves.” The Etz Hayim teaches that the “Sages considered leprosy to be a punishment for the sins of slander and malicious gossip (Lev. R. 16:11). . . .They designate seven types of antisocial behavior that God punishes with tzaraat: ‘haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood in secret, a mind that hatches evil, feet quick to do wrong, a witness who testifies falsely, and one who incites brothers to quarrel (citing Prov. 6:16-19).’”
We must remember that God needs the Israelites to be a holy people; God is taking the Israelites through the wilderness to create a holy nation. Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks z”l states, “Malicious gossip sows suspicion and dissension. It wrecks communities. It can destroy reputations and careers. It damages relationships, undermining the respect and trust on which families and communities depend. It is secretive and devastating.” Sacks goes on, “Nothing could do more to damage the kind of nation God was inviting the Israelites to become through their collective experience in Egypt and in the wilderness: a community built on shared memories, hopes, and expectations, and a sense, given by covenant, of collective responsibility.”
Rabbi Shai Held tells us that “Tzara-at and its consequences are manifestations of a profound moral and religious truth. When we hurt others with words, we poison and pollute our very being. . . In a world where words are so often wielded as weapons, it is an act of resistance to remember that words can also be a source of healing (Prov. 15:4). In a time when words are routinely devalued, it requires countercultural defiance to commit to the beauty of language and the preciousness of speech.”
Are we ready to stand at Sinai? As we prepare for Pesach and the Omer that follows, are we removing the chametz that has built up in our hearts? Are we altering our words, our speech, to reflect that which creates beauty instead of ugliness? All of us have been altered by the horrors of October 7th. We must continue to pray for the release of the hostages still held in Gaza; we must pray for peace. Rabbi Held reminds us, “Even in a world in which God seems so far, it is possible to create moments when God’s presence is brought intimately near.” May our prayers be answered.
Shabbat Shalom