Parashah M'tzora

Modern parents are not supposed to play favorites with their children. Parashah M’tzora is one of those that makes me wonder whether it is acceptable for us to play favorites with Torah portions. Perhaps learning the proper ritual for purifying what is often translated as a leper (but is not considered to be one with the disease we currently know as leprosy) is your cup of tea, but I tend to think it is not for everyone, even when there are concessions for someone of insufficient means. We also learn about dealing with the plague that has spread to the house and the proper rituals for various discharges and menstruating women. While rereading verses about a priest taking blood from an offering and putting it on the ear of the afflicted person, I had a passing thought that I could have picked a parashah that included the ten commandments or even rainbows instead. 

Random thoughts about possibly less obscure (or more favored) selections aside, I was struck by how, in this parashah, very specific rituals are provided for dealing with plagues that vex both individuals and the community. I couldn’t help but wonder about the connection between the ritual provided to address these problems and our current situation being two years into a pandemic. As modern Jews, sometimes perhaps it is better not to over-analyze ritual. With that in mind, just as our ancestors were given rituals for addressing different forms of plague and thereby taking care of themselves and their community, in 2022, we have ways to address our modern-day plagues. We have science to help us get through the pandemic. We even have antibiotics for the disease now known as leprosy. Whether it is ritual or science, it is a form of cleaning away the plague in the midst of the community. Working together, following the methods we have available to us for the betterment of ourselves and our community, we will get through it.

We read this parashah during the same time when many of us are cleaning or otherwise preparing for Passover. And some of us will follow the same cleaning rituals as our parents and grandparents did. As we approach this third Passover season of the pandemic, may whatever rituals are meaningful for you and your family help you move forward through these times, and may we all be able to come together in caring for ourselves and our community.