Tazria' (Leviticus 12:1-13:59) and Haftarah (2 Kings 4:42-5:19): The JPS B'nai Mitzvah Torah Commentary
24
Tazria' (Leviticus 12:1-13:59) and Haftarah (2 Kings 4:42-5:19): The JPS B'nai Mitzvah Torah Commentary
24Paperback
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Overview
Tazria' (Leviticus 12:1-13:59) and Haftarah (2 Kings 4:42-5:19): The JPS B'nai Mitzvah Torah Commentary shows teens in their own language how Torah addresses the issues in their world. The conversational tone is inviting and dignified, concise and substantial, direct and informative. Each pamphlet includes a general introduction, two model divrei Torah on the weekly Torah portion, and one model davar Torah on the weekly Haftarah portion. Jewish learning--for young people and adults--will never be the same.
The complete set of weekly portions is available in Rabbi Jeffrey K. Salkin's book The JPS B'nai Mitzvah Torah Commentary (JPS, 2017).
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780827614123 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | The Jewish Publication Society |
| Publication date: | 12/01/2018 |
| Series: | JPS Study Bible |
| Pages: | 24 |
| Product dimensions: | 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d) |
About the Author
Rabbi Jeffrey K. Salkin serves as the senior rabbi of Temple Solel in Hollywood, Florida. He is the author of Putting God on the Guest List: How to Reclaim the Spiritual Meaning of Your Child’s Bar or Bat Mitzvah, winner of the Benjamin Franklin Award for the best religion book published in the United States, and The Gods Are Broken: The Hidden Legacy of Abraham (JPS, 2013).
Read an Excerpt
CHAPTER 1
The Torah
Tazria': Leviticus 12:1–13:59
We now shift away from sacrifices to something much more intensely personal — the human body. Tazria' makes it clear: the body is a place where holiness happens. The portion teaches about the various ritual impurities that a mother experiences after childbirth.
It then moves into a lengthy discussion of tzara'at, a kind of skin disease that was prevalent in ancient times, and how that disease made its sufferers ritually impure. Such a condition not only occurred in the human body; it could also show up in cloth and on other surfaces.
Summary
• A woman who gives birth to a male infant is ritually impure for seven days. The boy is circumcised on the eighth day of his life. If she gives birth to a female, she is impure for two weeks. At the end of her period of impurity she makes an offering at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. (12:1–8)
• There are many verses dealing with tzara'at, the infectious skin disease that is mentioned so many times in the book of Leviticus. Leviticus describes the nature of the skin affliction, the role of the priest in its diagnosis, the isolation of the victim, and how the victim ultimately returns to the Israelite camp. (13:1–46)
• The affliction could also appear in cloth or clothing; nowadays, we would call that "mildew." (13:46–59)
The Big Ideas
• Impurity means something other than dirty. Today "dirty" would be our normal and natural way of understanding the notion of something being impure. The biblical term tamei, however, means something deeper. It signifies an altered or different condition. Being tamei is not necessary bad; it could be something so miraculous or awesome that it leaves you in an unnatural state. For that reason, the person who is tamei needs to go through a ritual that makes him or her tahor, "pure." Some things (like childbirth) are so big that they leave an indelible mark on us.
• We need ways to handle our fear of certain illnesses. It is true that certain illnesses like skin diseases aroused fear in ancient peoples. Before we write off those fears as being primitive, we should remember that we still find certain illnesses to be unattractive and frightening. Leviticus is honest in its portrayal of such conditions, their diagnosis, and the role of the priest in being part of the healing process.
• Our clothing is like a second skin. We might find it bizarre that the Torah devotes space to the appearance of mildew in fabric or leather. People wear clothing made from those products, and the clothing we wear lies against our skin, and, in many ways, it reflects our identities. (When we wear dirty or stained clothing, we believe that it reflects on us and could send the message that we're slovenly.)
Divrei Torah
Birth Is a Big Deal
Here's what probably happened when you were born: Your mother began to feel changes in her body. Perhaps her water broke. Perhaps she had labor pains. She went to the hospital or perhaps a birthing center, and she was coached through delivery — with someone helping her breathe and stay calm. Then you were born. It was a big deal. Your mother and father were grateful that everything was okay, and they wanted to celebrate their joy. At some point, there is a ceremony and party (a brit milah or a baby naming) to welcome the new baby into the family and into the Jewish people.
Back in biblical times any celebrating took place later because a mother was ritually unclean after giving birth and had to bring a purification offering to the Tent of Meeting.
Why? Why did the mother have to bring an offering? In the ancient world, bringing an offering at a joyous time was the equivalent of what we do today — offering a prayer of thanksgiving. It might have been a moment of thanksgiving for having survived the whole experience of childbirth. Bear in mind that, until fairly recently, many women died in childbirth. To have come through it okay was a big deal. So there was an offering.
Moreover, Judaism teaches that to look at a newborn child is to experience the divine. God, after all, is involved in the miracle of birth. "There are three partners in procreation: God, the father, and the mother." No doubt about it; when a child is born, it is a moment that is truly awesome. Ask any parent.
But why, of all things, did the mother need to be a sin offering (chattat)? What's the sin in the joyous event of bringing a new person into the world? We really don't know, but the sages have speculated. One line of thought is that the mother may have said something inappropriate during childbirth. She was going through a very difficult and painful labor. She might have screamed: "I swear that I will never go through this again!" That would have meant that any woman who said that was swearing that she would have no more children. Having no more children would not be good for the Jewish future. So there had to be a way to absolve her of what she had thought and sworn — and the sin offering was the way she could do that.
Another answer comes from someone trying to understand the psychology of what a mother goes through at birth. The modern biblical teacher Nehama Leibowitz explains: "Childbirth makes the mother deeply conscious of the greatness of the Creator, and at the same time of her insignificance that she can only feel herself a sinner." (In other words: childbirth was such a big "wow" that anyone experiencing it must have felt small and unworthy. And with the huge task of raising the baby in front of her, perhaps mother and community wanted to make sure she was free of any burden of sin.)
We tend to overuse the word "awesome," but when it comes to birth it's no understatement at all.
The Sick Are People Too
The word "gnarly" could have been invented for just one reason: to describe a disease from biblical times called tzara'at. While the usual translation of tzara'at is "leprosy," this is not really accurate. Leprosy (or Hansen's disease) is a terrible, disfiguring disease in which limbs dry up and fall off. It is also usually quite contagious, which is why lepers were sent to live in leper colonies.
Tzara'at was more akin to psoriasis, that ailment in which skin becomes scaly and irritated. The biblical authors believed that tzara'at was more than skin deep. They believed that it could affect one's clothing (mildew) and one's house (mold). Tzara'at was the biblical disease par excellence, the very symbol and metaphor of yuck. In the words of Rabbi Asher Lopatin: "This is a portion about everything going wrong with the way we look. Our skin breaks out in weird ways, we lose some hairs, or they start showing up in a different color."
Not all diseases are scary to onlookers. Take, for example, illnesses like heart disease or high blood pressure. We are not usually scared by people who have those illnesses, mostly because we can't really see the disease.
But tzara'at was frightening to people in biblical times. Why? Because it affected the skin, and skin ailments contain their own drama and dread. If you've ever been afflicted by really bad acne you know that this is true. And, from there, fear of skin diseases only gets worse — all the way up the fear ladder to skin cancer and Kaposi's sarcoma in people afflicted with AIDS.
The person who suffered from tzara'at must have appeared to be under attack by an invisible and pernicious enemy. Tzara'at left its victims with scaly patches on the skin, which must have made the victims look as if they were already dead and decomposing.
Why is this Torah portion so important? Because it reminds us of the ancient Rabbinic adage about the Torah: "Turn it, turn it, for everything is in it." (Just think of those illnesses that still scare us. We fear cancer. Some people can't even say the word. In recent times, we have lived through the dread of AIDS and Ebola.
People also fear those who struggle with mental illness. The emotional and cognitive challenges can be painful and embarrassing for the one who is afflicted and for their family and community
Like those who struggled with tzara'at in ancient times, these illnesses of body and mind can be isolating. Ultimately, this Torah portion tells us that we need to move beyond fear. Those inflicted do not remain outside the camp; after treatment there is a path for their return. And while people are sick, Judaism teaches that it is a mitzvah to visit them (bikkur cholim).
We must make room for those who are ill — in our families, synagogues, society — and in our hearts.
Connections
• Do you think that childbirth is "awesome?" What are some of the ways we mark that event nowadays?
• What do you think of the various explanations for the mother having to make a sin offering after childbirth? Do those reasons make sense to you? What other reasons might there be?
• Are you frightened by any diseases? Which ones? How have you begun to conquer your fear of them?
• What can your synagogue do that will make people who suffer from various diseases and conditions feel more at home?
CHAPTER 2The Haftarah
Tazria': 2 Kings 4:42–5:19
Poor Naaman, the Syrian commander who features prominently in our haftarah. "Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Aram, was important to his lord and high in his favor, for through him the Lord had granted victory to Aram. But the man, though a great warrior, was a leper" (5:1).
Not: "He has leprosy." Not: "He's afflicted with leprosy." It's not that he has a disease. The disease has him. He is the disease. He's a leper. (That is the connection with this week's Torah portion, even though, tzara'at was not, in fact, leprosy, as the commentary on the parashah in this book explains.) Hardly anyone would refer to President Franklin D. Roosevelt as a cripple; rather, we think of him as a great man and a great president who was a victim of polio. But Naaman is simply referred to as a leper. The disease has hijacked his identity.
Naaman seeks healing from the prophet Elisha. And he not only gets healed; he is so impressed with what the prophet seems to have done for him that he even begins to worship God, rather than his Syrian gods. In the words of Jewish liturgy, Naaman experiences refuat ha-guf (healing of the body) and refuat ha-nefesh (healing of the soul).
You Gotta Heal Yourself
Naaman was a great general — brave, and loyal to his king. That's the good news.
The bad news is this: No matter how many battles Naaman won, the most difficult war that he fought was the war against his nasty skin ailment tzara'at. And he is willing to do almost anything to get rid of it.
Why did he get tzara'at in the first place? We really don't know; it was not his fault. But remember that the sages saw things differently; they looked for a flaw in people's character that might explain their "punishment." A midrash teaches: "Naaman was arrogant on account of his being a great warrior, and this is why he was afflicted with leprosy." But Naaman has more than a problem with tzara'at. He has a bit of an attitude problem. And that might be even harder to cure.
Naaman learns that the best way for him to get relief from his tzara'at is to visit Elisha, "the prophet in Samaria," who will heal him. He is so desperate for a cure that he seeks to cross enemy lines. While the king of Israel initially refuses the request of the Syrian commanding general, thinking it's a ruse, he is eventually persuaded to allow Naaman to cross into his territory (a humanitarian gesture).
Naaman travels to the prophet's house with his horses and chariots. He is fighting a war against his illness (we still speak this way; think of the "war on cancer"). Elisha tells Naaman to go bathe in the Jordan River seven times, and he will be healed. Naaman is not a good patient. Most likely he was thinking, "What do I need this for? We have perfectly good rivers back in my country!" Not only that: he thought that Elisha would simply wipe his illness away: "I thought ... he would ... wave his hand toward the spot, and cure the affected part" (5:11).
What was Naaman's attitude problem? Did he think that the prophet can do all the work for him? There are many people who believe this, even today. They think that you can be healed by prayer. And there might some truth in that. It is possible that when people know that they are the subject of prayers, their emotional and mental outlooks improve and this can help in the healing process. Often, though, there is more involved, like getting medical care. Doctors can play a big role, but no doctor can heal someone on his or her own. People have to be active partners in their own treatment — taking medication if needed, exercising, watching their diet, getting enough rest, and the like.
Naaman, too, had to take an active part in his own healing. Fortunately he listened to the advice of his servants, who told him to calm down, be cooperative, and do what the prophet told him to do. As I have written: "Naaman needs to learn that no prophet can do for him what he needs to do for himself. He had to take responsibility for his own affliction and he had to physically take himself to the Jordan River and immerse himself seven times — seven times representing the seven days of the week, the gift of time from the Creator God."
Naaman is healed. In gratitude, he embraces the God of Israel, like so many people who have joined the Jewish people over the ages. The prophet Elisha tells him to go home l'shalom, "to peace." Maybe he then had inner peace, and maybe he, as a great general, would return to his country to work toward outer peace, for his people.
Naaman has learned a valuable lesson: if you want to be healed — from an illness, or even a bad attitude — you cannot expect that others will do it for you. You have to do it for yourself.
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "Tazria' (Leviticus 12:1–13:59) and Haftarah (2 Kings 4:42–5:19)"
by .
Copyright © 2018 Rabbi Jeffrey K. Salkin.
Excerpted by permission of UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA PRESS.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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Table of Contents
General Introduction Tazria': Torah Commentary Tazria': Haftarah Commentary