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Monday, April 16, 2018

SONSINO'S BLOG: TAZRIA/METZORAH


SONSINO’S TORAH COMMENTS: TAZRIA/METZORAH, Lev. 12:1-15:33, for 4/21/2018

These combined Torah portions mainly deal with various ritual impurities and discharges. Most of them are obscure.
1.     Chapter 13 refers to something called TZARAAT. What is it?  It appears on the human body as well as on garments and walls, and is often translated as “leprosy,” but the original meaning is not known. Today, most scholars understand it as some kind of a plague. The ancient Rabbis, playing on words, interpret TZARAAT as MOTZI RA, namely, a slanderer. For them, the worst sin is “sowing discord among people” (Midrash Rabba, 16:1)
2.     The biblical text also mentions TUMAH? This is often translated as “impurity.” The fear is that we will be contaminated because of our association with something that is dangerous.
3.     The priests, upon examination, declared affected people either “clean” or “unclean” (these people were removed from the community).
4.     The challenge for us living in the modern world is to turn a NEGA (affliction, trouble) into an ONEG (joy)—using a play on word.
5.     What are the plagues of our time? I would say, global warming, religious fundamentalism, inequality between poor and rich, curse of racism etc. Can you add others?

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