Interesting take on this week's Torah portion

Received this in an e-mail from The American Jewish World Service.

Parshat Tazria 5768
By Rabbi James Jacobson-Maisels
April 5, 2008

In this week's parshah, Tazria, we read about the disease tza'ra'at, commonly translated as leprosy. What is peculiar about this skin disease is that it not only afflicts humans but also clothing1 and houses.2 It is not only people's bodies that are struck with tza'ra'at, but also their possessions. What is the significance of this peculiar feature of tza'ra'at and what does it tell us about our society?

The rabbis understood tza'ra'at to be a punishment from God for various transgressions, including, most famously, wicked speech (lashon ha-ra), but also pride, deceit, false witness, bloodshed, wicked thoughts, pretending to have knowledge of Torah, causing discord, miserliness, announcing but not giving charitable donations, defamation of character, idol worship, blasphemy and robbing the public.3 Together these many sins point to a society that is falling apart: one filled with selfishness, deceit, disharmony and violence. Indeed, the theme of deceit, predominant in the above list of evils, strikes at the very core of what is essential for a society to function - namely our trust in our fellow citizens, leaders and social institutions.

The Sefat Emet, a Polish Hasidic Rebbe, takes the theme of wicked speech even further, indicating that the plague of tza'ra'at results not only from evil things one has said, but also from things one should have said but didn't.4 That is, it is not only that acts of evil are being committed, but as importantly, acts of good are being omitted. In particular, it is the failure to protest and oppose evil rampant in society that leads to the plague.

Tza'ra'at strikes beyond the body, then, because its causes and their effects are more than personal. Rather, these sins and crimes are profoundly destructive for the entire society in which they take place. Societies filled with deceit, discord and violence end up suffering from "plagues" that strike houses, clothes and bodies - symbolic representations of shelter, sustenance and healthcare. An effective and moral society, one that speaks out against injustice, will be a society in which each of these necessities is attainable by all people.

Indeed, the midrash makes clear the consequences of social and national destruction in its reading of this parshah, where it interprets the story of a house plagued with tza'ra'at as referring to the destruction of the Temple and the exile of the people.5 The sins of tza'ra'at, then, lead not only to personal and societal suffering, but also to national calamity.

Tza'ra'at, or forms of this "plague," exist today. In both the developing world and our own communities, people lack the most basic necessities, not as a result of natural forces but as a result of our failure as local and global citizens to create the social conditions necessary for providing these resources. In our own society, a society of great wealth and abundance, we fail to provide adequate housing and clothing to all, though the resources to do so are plentiful. More strikingly, of course, is that many Americans lack access to adequate healthcare. In the developing world, the provision of these resources is even more difficult. Yet on a global level, with our help, providing these basic elements of life is not impossible.

Despite the destruction we see in the world, salvation is possible. The midrash cited above does not end with exile and destruction. Rather, it concludes by interpreting the explanation of the rebuilding of the infected house ("and they shall take other stones, and put them in the place of those stones"6) as referring to the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the Temple and the return of the exiles. So too, the Sefat Emet tells us that the reason tza'ra'at spreads to our houses and clothes is to indicate to us that not only can they be afflicted, but they can also be sanctified. We can sanctify our houses, clothes and bodies by making sure that shelter, clothing and healthcare are available to all. We can help create societies that not only lack the destructive values of selfishness, deceit, discord and violence, but that also know when and how to speak the words that need to be spoken, to stand up and take action. Together, then, we can help create a global society of compassion, harmony and truth.


Rabbi James Jacobson-Maisels earned a Master's Degree in Modern Jewish Studies in England at the University of Oxford. He then went on to four years of yeshiva study in Israel culminating in rabbinic ordination from R. Daniel Landes at the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies. He is currently pursuing a PhD in Jewish Studies specializing in Kabbalah and Hasidism at the University of Chicago, and teaching in a variety of settings in the U.S. and Israel on Judaism and Jewish mysticism. He hopes to integrate his study and practice and to help teach and live Judaism as a spiritual discipline. James can be reached at moshe@uchicago.edu.


1 Leviticus 13:47 and on
2 Leviticus 14:33-57
3 Leviticus Rabba 16:1, 5; 17:2, 3
4 Sefat Emet, Mezorah, on Leviticus 14:4
5 Leviticus Rabbah 17:7
6 Leviticus 14:42


©2007 American Jewish World Service. AJWS is committed to a pluralistic view of Judaism and honors the broadest spectrum of interpretation of our texts and traditions. The statements made and views expressed in this commentary are solely the responsibility of the author. The AJWS Torah Commentary series was made possible in part by funds granted by the Charles H. Revson Foundation.

Monday loldog

see more loldogs are funny dog pictures!

Bleah.

"Earth Hour"

Hmm.

So the World Wildlife Fund started a thing last year where cities agree to turn off lights for one hour in an effort to reduce carbon emissions. It has continued this year with many more cities participating.

While I applaud the spirit with which this effort was launched, I think the very effort of conserving energy is a waste of the intellectual energy that could better be spent figuring out how to free ourselves from carbon-producing fossil fuels. In my personal opinion, which is heavily shaped by that of my life partner, who knows quite a bit about the subject, the only viable, green, clean, alternative to fossil fuels is nuclear power. I'm trying to get my partner to write some stuff for this blog about the environmentalist case for nuclear power, so you might see that here soon.

In any event, I do not believe that turning off the lights for one hour is going to make enough of a difference in carbon usage, even as a symbolic thing, to really accomplish much of anything. Conservation is only a tiny part of fixing global warming. The thing that will really make a difference is eliminating fossil fuels, enacting strict pollution controls, and working on a global basis to figure out how to live greener.

Kossack calls for re-regulation of business

Excellent diary about the failure of "self-regulation" within the business community, and the need for tighter regulations to tame the capitalist beast.

Would someone please tell me how this is legal?

SAPULPA -- Nearly a third of the inmates in the Creek County Jail were baptized Thursday night in a corrugated steel horse trough set up in the jail's kitchen.

I know it was done by a volunteer force, but:

Seventy men and 12 women were baptized Wednesday, the second time baptisms have occurred in the new jail, which opened nearly three years ago.

The Rev. Luis Torres, chaplain of the Creek County Jail and pastor of the First Assembly of God in Sand Springs, said a baptism was held in the old jail six years earlier.

I guess it depends on how "official" the event is, and whether Rev. Torres is being paid by the jail as a chaplain. I also wonder if non-Christians, or even Christians who don't follow the fundamentalist doctrine of the Assembly of God Church, have access to alternative chaplains. The bottom line is this: how are the inmates who don't participate in the baptism treated in an environment like this? How can true freedom of religion be guaranteed in a circumstance where no doubt enormous pressures are put to bear on inmates to convert?

This may be "technically" legal if it was done by volunteers and no prisoners were forced to do it, but I would still argue that it violates the spirit, if not the letter, of the 1st amendment.

Happy Friday

And now, another word from that adorable Executive Transvestite, Eddie Izzard:

Sinister Radio

Ok, I'm going to try this - 10:00 PM. I'm calling in on a cell phone, but I've had pretty good luck with reception on this phone, so hopefully it'll sound ok.

You should be able to listen to the show by clicking the link on the left sidebar. I hope that works.

If you want to call in, please use this number: (646) 200-3304. It is NOT toll-free, so be aware that long-distance charges may apply.

We'll see how this works! :-)