Parshat Tazria (Leviticus 12:1 - 13:59) and Parshat Metzora (Leviticus 14:1 - 15:33)
It's time for another double parsha! Since the Torah is divided into 54 portions, we often have weeks with two portions. Double the fun - or maybe not, in the case of this week's portions.
Parshat Tazria - Synopsis
God tells Moses to instruct the Israelites that a woman who bears a son shall be impure for a total of 33 days, and a woman who bears a daughter for a period of 66 days. During the time of her impurity, she may not come into contact with anything or any place that is holy. When the period of impurity is over, the woman is instructed to bring an offering to the Tabernacle where the priest will make atonement on her behalf and declare her ritually pure.
Moses and Aaron are instructed in the diagnosis of tzara'at - an ailment which could affect human skin or clothing, rendering a person or garment ritually impure. Rashes, discolorations, and patches of the skin and clothes are examined by the priest who will determine the existence of this affliction. In cases of doubt, he is empowered to isolate the individual or article in question for a period of seven days in order to observe the progression of the ailment. At the end of such a period, the priest must pronounce the person ritually pure (tahor) or impure (metzora).
A garment which is found to be impure is to be burned.
A person who has been declared a metzora must tear their clothes, let their head covering shield their upper faces (as far as their lip), and call out "impure! impure!" Such a person shall be impure as long as the ailment persists, and that person must live outside the camp.
When it is reported to the priest that the metzora is healed, the priest must go outside the camp to make an examination. To render the personal ritually pure again, the priest shall make an offering and the individual shall shave off all hair, bathe, and wash all garments. After a waiting period of seven days, a second offering is made by the priest at the entrance to the Tabernacle. Then the person is ritually pure.
An alternate sacrifice is prescribed for a pure woman being purified after childbirth or for a poor person being cleansed after tzara'at.
Parshat Metzora - Synopsis
God speaks to Moses and instructs him in the purification ritual for a leper who has been declared clean. Two clean birds are to be brought to the priest. One is ritually sacrifices, and the other bird is set free in the open country. After a week, the person to e purified shaves off all hair and bathes. This individual then brings a guilt offering and a sin offering. A rich person brings a large animal to be sacrificed; a poor person brings a small one. The procedure the priest is to follow is explained in detail.
The portion next deals with houses which appear to be affected by a plague. If, after a period of examination, it is determined that the house has a malignant eruption, the stones are replaced and the walls scraped and replastered. If the eruption does not reappear, the house is declared clean. A purification ceremony is detailed which includes the sacrifices of a bird. If the plague does reappear, the house is torn down.
Metzora concludes with a description of impurity arising from discharges from the sex organs. A man who has a discharge is unclean and this uncleanliness extends to any bedding he lies on, any object he sits on, anyone who touches his bedding or the objects on which he sat. Earthen vessels he touches are to be broken and wooden utensils are to be washed. Once the discharge is over, a period of purification follows ending with the bringing of a sin offering and a guilt offering.
If a man has an emission, he is to bathe and remains unclean until evening. If a man and a woman have sexual intercourse, they are to bathe and they remain unclean until evening.
A menstruating woman is also declared ritually impure; this impurity lasts seven days. Her uncleanliness extends to any bedding she lies on, any object on which she sits, anyone who comes in contact with her, and any objects she has touched. If a woman has a discharge other than her usual menstruation, the same laws as for menstruation apply. But in this case, she brings both a sin offering and a burnt offering.
Synopses are courtesy of Teaching Torah, by Sorel Goldberg Loeb and Barbara Binder Kadden
Questions to consider:
- Much of what is outlined in each of these two parashas seems very foreign to how we live our lives today. We don't often consider other people in categories of purity as they did in biblical times. While we don't put people into categories of purity, who might be an "impure" person today?
- Part of what is behind the rules in these portion is the concern of containing disease. This is certainly something we understand after the last few years. In these biblical times, the priests were concerned with protecting the Israelite community from leprosy, among other diseases and ailments. What "leprosies" plague modern life? How do we try to protect others from these "illnesses"? (hint: they could be illnesses, or it could be something else as well)
- Nowhere in the text is there a suggestion as to possible cures for leprosy, although it does explore reasons as to why someone might be afflicted with it (some thought it was a punishment from God for malicious talk). In your view, what percentage of the cure of any illness is in the hands of the individual? the physician? up to God?
- Do you think "ill talk" is deserving of such a disease? Should someone be punished for using malicious speech?
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