d'var torah, parsha tazria

So I was asked to give a d'var torah at the upcoming synagogue board meeting. I was very honored to be asked for so many reasons. I am fairly new to the board and am the youngest member. Many times I have a hard time saying what I think--partially for intimidation reasons but also because I just don't know how to interrupt respectfully and I feel like I have a lack of experience. This gives me the opportunity to show something of myself to this group and to be vocal which will help facilitate more conversations I hope. Here it is, as I feel it is an interesting parsha and an interesting take and one which is very relevant to my life.

D’var Torah:

Tazria, Leviticus 12:1−13:59

Shabbat HaChodesh, April 5, 2008 / 29 Adar II, 5768

This week’s parsha is so chocked full of gruesome details dealing with issues ranging from childbirth and circumcision to skin disease and mold, it is hard to know where to begin and to see beyond the gore.

Why is a woman unclean after giving birth, and doubly-so if a girl is born? Why is clothing with marks unclean? Why is a person with a blemish unclean? What does it mean to be unclean?

When a woman has a baby, she cannot focus on much else—we have some great examples of that here recently—nor should she. It is commented that the time is double for a daughter because birth is unclean and a daughter can perpetuate that uncleanliness when she becomes a mother, so it is twice as long because there is double uncleanliness. All the mother’s energy is going to the little life that depends on her fully. She barely has time to sleep or eat, let alone devote any time to prayer.

When a piece of cloth is damaged, the wearer and observers focus on it. It becomes a sore spot, a distraction. A recent ad for clorox I think has a stain on a man’s shirt in an interview doing the talking, the prospective employer unable to pay attention to the person. The parsha also refers to material which could be mold. Anyone who’s dealt with mold on window sills or ceiling tiles or bathrooms knows what a hazard it can be. And knows it must be taken care of rather immediately.

When a person has a blemish, all attention is fixated on the spot. From small ones, like a child who can’t stop picking at a scab, to bigger ones, like a person coming out of surgery. From the acute to the chronic, ‘blemishes’ divert concentration away from holy matters.

Perhaps that is what is meant by unclean then. Not that a person or garment is dirty, unwanted, filthy but rather unfit to attend to holy activities because they are dealing with something much more pressing. So much energy is required for holy work that a person who is so tired—physically and emotionally—is exempt from participating.

How to go about becoming exempt? In the priestly days, a priest would have to come and check out the afflicted and make a verdict of clean/unclean. In some cases an answer would be delivered immediately, in other cases, seven days would have to pass, and some still, seven more. Many great philosophers were thinkers, spiritual leaders, and healers, such as Miamonides. These days, modern society has separated these roles and the authority given to the medical professionals to declare clean or unclean. This is true for emotional illness with psychiatrists as well as physical ones with doctors.

A person goes to the doctor because something unusual has appeared, or in some cases because it is time for a routine checkup. Typically there is a week or two to wait while results are being processed. Even a healthy person has at least minor concerns. Shows like ER, House, Grey’s Anatomy have filled our heads with dramatic diseases and horrific visions. This person is quiet about the tests, why spread personal paranoia when it is probably nothing? Maybe they’ll tell their spouse or close friends or rabbi. And then the verdict, unclean.

Flashback to days of old. This recently diagnosed person would have to go throughout town proclaiming themselves unclean for all the townspeople to hear. The details of how are described in the text. This was a requirement. Who derives benefit from this declaration? At first read, it appears to be adding insult to injury, causing additional shame and humiliation to fall on the already fallen. On further review, this person is crying out for help. They are required to call out for help, for all to witness.

Back to present day. The doctor has come back and said unclean. How hard it is to say “I need help”! The embarrassment and humility surrounding a disease is hard enough, makes a person want to just curl up and be left alone. If we are to follow the text though, this is not an option. By saying you must cry out, it alleviates the embarrassment. Through the continual dance between sickness and health, we cry out. This public acknowledgement is beneficial for the community as well. The community is forced not to avert their eyes. It is much easier saying ‘I did nothing because I didn’t know’ when there isn’t someone screaming their problems. It is a call to action.

A call to action for those who are fit to be holy, to do G-d’s work, to help those who are in need. The proclamation can be handed to anyone of us at any time. So while you are still clean, it is time to act. Somehow in someway. As with tzara’at, with healing blood would be placed on the right ear, right thumb, and right big toe. In doing so, priests recognized the totality of the suffering and the need for r’fuah sh’leimah—the healing of body, mind, and soul. And as it says ‘he shall be unclean as long as the disease is on him’. This means, until a person is healed, do not stop, do not neglect them. Do not let those on the outskirts of the community remain there because you did not hear their cries. So I implore you to act—if not now, when?