2020/5780

This non-leap year has been fraught with many worrisome external events and experiences, plaguing both our community, the broader community, and the entire world. Interestingly enough, this time period of confinement to our homes and suspension of our daily lives, especially in regards to our communal religious observance, allows us to better comprehend this week’s double Parashah. Parashat Metzora opens up with a continued discussion of the Metzora, the person afflicted with Tzara’at a state of physical affliction reflecting their spiritual affliction, and the process supervised by the Kohein in order to become ritually and physically “pure” again. 

One particular step toward the Metzora’s purification is the process of sending the Metzora to the outskirts of the camp, which serves a two-fold purpose. Rav Samson Raphael Hirsch in his commentary on the Chumash (see opening to Parashat Metzora), notes that this time spent in isolation from the rest of the Bnei Yisrael allowed the Metzora to self-contemplate and reflect on their personal deficiencies. The Metzora soul-searching, may then allow them to gather their thoughts, fully repent, and again become worthy of being a part of Am Yisrael. As soon as that individual experiences a two-fold change of heart and mind, that is when Hashem will remove the Tzara’at and he may begin the process of gradual return to Am Yisrael. 

Additionally, there is an interesting lesson that we learn from the third pasuk of the Parashah: “VeYatzah HaKohein El Michutz LaMachaneh VeRa’ah HaKohein,” “The Kohein shall go out to the outside of the camp, and the Kohein shall look'' (Vayikra 14:3). As first noted by Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik (Chumash Mesorat HaRav, ibid.), there is a peculiar phenomenon that appears in the text of the Parashah: The Kohein’s assumption of both the diagnostician and nurse. This is strange given the Kohein’s typical role of trying to avoid Tumah, impurity, at all costs. Yet, only a Kohein can attend to the Metzora. Contrasting a historical analysis of the situation of the Metzora to the treatment of the incurable condition of leprosy in biblical times, the Rav points to an interesting phenomenon noted in these settings, namely, phobia of disease discovery and of malignancy.

 Irregularity, particularly of the skin and physical appearance, often stripped a person of human dignity and instead incited fear amongst the community, causing them to enter isolation. Out of fear of contagion, people would avoid that person at all costs, and that person was often neglected and treated harshly for the “sin” of having contracted a disease. Unlike this unkindly approach, Halachah seemed to have prescribed a wholly different approach. The Torah demands that one of the first things needing to be done is to summon the Kohein. By doing so, the Metzora was protected against the mob psychoses which shunned them instantly. Additionally, by dealing directly and only with the Kohein, one of the heads of the community, Rav Soloveitchik points to an incredible preservation of human dignity. The effects of isolation are daunting, and can cause a person to develop a sense of regret and deep contemplation with one’s actions, exactly what the period of isolation as a Metzora is meant to accomplish. But as a given in human psychology, one would realize the potentially emotional devastation of human isolation on the outcast, sometimes plunging them into a worse state than before their leaving the camp. 

The message of the Kohein’s assistance is a clear one. The Kohein, on top of his roles in treating the physical ailments of the Metzora, also acts as  the Metzora’s companion, helping to validate and humanize him by assuring him that he is needed, and aiding his return to society. This lesson of the Kohein acts as a major example to humanity, that even the most exalted of figures, such as those part of the Kehunah, must not abandon their fellow Jew. Instead, the Torah demands that he have compassion for the individual at their spiritual nadir, so that he may also help nurse them back to “health” from their Tzara’at. The Rav concludes that compassion is the essential attribute of the spiritual leaders of Klal Yisrael. Fast forward thousands of years and we arrive at the current state of affairs.

Too many members of our community have sadly been affected by Covid-19, and sadly, we know of numerous people who have succumbed to the disease. As schools and daily lives are completely changed and forced to conform to a standard of indoor and online activity, restricted from interactions with our friends, and many of our family, we too take on a simulated role of the Metzora. The weeks of isolation and abstention from our daily routines, has the opportunity to negatively influence our behavior and whole psychology, and yet, there is also the opportunity, as seen with the purpose of isolating the Metzora, an opportunity for self-examination and to correct our previous deficiencies and shortfalls.

It is also interesting to point out that this Parashah falls out during the period of Sefirat HaOmer, a time period grounded in introspection, reflection, and self-reflection. This is accomplished by many means, one in particular being the learning of Pirkei Avot on a weekly basis. With each day and week that passes, we are presented an opportunity to grow ourselves as Bnei and Bnot Torah. We also have another opportunity, however, to see the best possible psychological outcome in this. Although we cannot participate in communal Judaism, luckily, we know of many wonderful opportunities for learning and to connect with those we hold dear, whether it be over a video chat or by distant contact, by letters or by a simple phone call. There are still many opportunities which allow us to find meaning and personal growth within our current situations, and we must rise to the occasion to try and use them to attain our greatest spiritual potential.