Parashat Tazria – Metzora/Rosh Chodesh Iyar

It is easy to “miss the forest for the trees” at times. The arc of our traditional Torah readings, projected onto the calendar created by our modern national holidays, is one of those places. Last week, we read about two of Aharon’s sons dying while serving in their priestly roles. Next week’s double-portion Torah reading is called Acharei Mot / Kedoshim — “After the Death of Holy Ones” — and it begins with the laws of Yom Kippur, the holiest day in our religious calendar. We are now coming off of Yom HaShoah — Holocaust Remembrance Day — and moving toward Yom HaZikaron and Yom HaAtzmaut, Israel’s Memorial Day and Independence Day. For many people, these are the holiest days in our national calendar. Their placement in this specific sequence is very deliberate. We cannot celebrate the existence of the modern State of Israel without first paying homage to those on whose shoulders this achievement stands.