Tazriah/Metzorah

Tazria/Metzorah

Conceived/Leper

Vayikra: Leviticus

Uncleaness

This Parsha deals with the two issues declared in its two titles. It talks of childbirth (Tazria) and the biblical disease of leprosy (Meztorah); specifically, we hear of their effect on biblical purity.

Namely both of these lead to being unclean and the Torah gives very specific circumstances and instructions for when and how one can become clean again.

In this Torah Portion the terms "cleanness/uncleanness" and "purity/impurity" are used frequently. It is important to understand that these terms DO NOT refer to sin. The Hebrew terms refer only to the state of ritual purity required to enter the Tabernacle/Temple and participate in sacrifices and some other religious practices.

A state of uncleanness occurs naturally in everyday life. A state of ritual purity was attained specifically for these things. Much as someone puts on fancy clothes, "putting on" a state of ritual purity was a way to show honor and respect to G-d when approaching Him in His House.

This Parsha begins by discussing that a woman was unclean after childbirth. For a time after giving birth everything she touched became unclean as well. After this time, she "days of purifying" after which she brought a sacrifice to the tabernacle and entered a state of ritual purity.

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Tazria

The Torah explains the process for diagnosing someone with leprosy. A Leper was unclean and had to live outside the camp to avoid make others unclean also.

​​The Leper

​Leprosy didn't only effect humans. Like people suspected of being leprous, clothes would be isolated to see if the spot on them spread. If it did, the clothes were destroyed.

The Leprous Clothes

As with clothes, a house might have a leprous spot. If after being cleaned and shut up, the spot spread, the house was declared leprous, torn down, and disposed of.

The Leprous House

​Metzorah

​Then the Torah discusses the process for a leper to become clean again. First, his leprosy needed to stop spreading, fade, or go away completely. From there he had to take two live birds. One was killed over an earthenware vessel of fresh water. The second bird, a scarlet yarn, hyssop, and cedarwood were dipped into the blood. The live bird was then released and the leper was sprinkled with the remaining blood. After shaving and a bath, the leper waited seven days, then brought a sacrifice to the temple. Afterward, he was pure and could move back into the camp.

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Cleansing

As for us

The teachings in this week's Parsha seem uncommonly difficult to derive any practical life applications from. Other Parshas might discuss purity laws as relating to sin, or give us instructions on how to treat others, but this Tezriah/Metzorah? Not so much.

No sins are overtly mentioned, we're talking about childbirth and a disease. And the instructions given are exclusively related to ritual purity, which really only matters if one is going to bring sacrifices at the temple. There's no temple anymore, so what do we take away from all these details?

Details, details, details

And this Parsha has a lot of details.

A woman is isolated after childbirth and a Metzorah has to leave camp during the course of his leprosy because they might make others unclean. However, human-to-human interaction is not the only problem. The Torah gives us extensive instructions on how to deal with everything they touch and make unclean, details, details, details. And the cleansing processes, especially for the Leper, are insanely detailed and specific.

Perhaps, however, there is something to these details. The unclean person must be careful of everything they do, even what they sit on, or what plat they eat off of.

Their most minor actions can spread uncleanness like dominoes falling.

While ritual purity may not be a concern anymore, the results of our actions always deserve our attention. The most minor actions we take can be filled with the divine.

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The Divine in the Details

If you were to put as much thought into your smallest actions as the Metzorah had to put into his, would you behave differently? Would your habits and behaviors change? Are you sure that they are glorifying to G-d?

If we see that even our smallest actions can be infused with our desire to serve G-d and do His will, even these little actions contain a divine spark.

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All the Little Moments

Loshon Hara

Widely accepted Rabbinical teaching says that leprosy was sometimes a punishment for the sin of Loshon Hara, or evil speech. This means gossiping or speaking badly about someone. Our speech is often something that we do not watch very well. Words have power, yes, but speaking is a "little" action, something that we do every day, multiple times.

For not watching his little actions and speaking badly of someone, the Metzorah received a condition that required him to be so conscious of the effect of his actions that he had to leave the camp and isolate himself.

So, what do the details of this Parsha have to teach us? They teach us to be conscious of the details of our own lives. What we say and do matters, whether or not we think it's a big deal. Like the Metzorah, we can't draw close to G-d until our actions and words are pure.

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​Back to us

Multiple Choice

Tazriah means?

• Birth

• Baby

• Purity

• Impurity

Multiple Choice

Metzorah means?

• wounds

• unclean

• leper

• mold

Multiple Choice

Cleanness/Uncleaness results from sin.

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

According to Rabbinic teachings, the lepers were being punished for the sin of

• talking

• gossip

• touching

• uncleanness

Multiple Select

Which of these are tasks to infuse the divine into?

• Washing dishes

• Folding laundry

• Cleaning up after the dog

• Driving to work

• Giving instruction to others

Open Ended

Choose one of the tasks and give a practical way of "infusing" it with the divine.