{"id":2732,"date":"2018-04-16T16:39:56","date_gmt":"2018-04-16T16:39:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/batkol.info\/?p=2732"},"modified":"2018-04-16T16:39:56","modified_gmt":"2018-04-16T16:39:56","slug":"parashat-tazria-metzorah","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/2018\/04\/16\/parashat-tazria-metzorah\/","title":{"rendered":"Parashat Tazria – Metzorah"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Shabbat Table Talk <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Parashat<\/em><\/strong> Tazria – Metzorah<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 Erev Shabbat<\/em><\/strong> 20 <\/em><\/strong>April<\/em><\/strong> 2018<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Week of 15-21 April<\/p>\n

Torah portion:\u00a0 <\/em><\/strong>Leviticus 12:1-15:33\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Haftarah<\/em><\/strong>:<\/em><\/strong> \u00a02 Kings 7:3-20<\/p>\n

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Download<\/a><\/p>\n

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I<\/em><\/strong>n this week\u2019s parashat<\/em> we are asked to consider some elaborate rituals associated with uncleanness and impurity and the means by which those affected can regain their rightful place within the community.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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To modern sensibilities, while we can accept precautions and isolation in cases of distressing and infectious illness, it is difficult to understand the need for such elaborate prohibitions surrounding the natural functions of a woman\u2019s body or the blessings of childbirth.\u00a0 It would be a mistake however to totally separate the two or summarily dismiss the original motivation without delving into it a little more deeply.\u00a0 What we have here is not a judgment on the moral state of the person but one of a lack of wholeness.\u00a0 In such a state it was considered impossible for that individual to stand before the LORD.<\/p>\n

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\u00a0There is no room here to examine in detail the various rituals or the categories to which they apply; yet some random musings might lead us into further considerations. A woman who had given birth was considered temayah<\/em> [one who is impure] so needed to regain the status of tehorah<\/em> [ritually fit]. Until this is rectified wholeness cannot be restored, the means so precisely described here testify to the fact that it can be.\u00a0 Once it is, she is able to take up her former duties — but far from simply excluding her, these restrictions allow her some much needed \u201ctime out\u201d.\u00a0 Rabbi Ettinger notes that the Yiddish Torah Commentary draws a parallel between this postnatal period and the time following a death.\u00a0 She suggests that in both intense episodes in a person\u2019s life there is a need to be freed \u201cfrom other personal and communal obligations\u201d to deal with the events that have occurred (WTC 205).\u00a0 The fact that one is primarily physical and the other emotional makes little difference.<\/p>\n

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When we turn to those suffering from tzara\u2019at<\/em>, a word denoting a variety of skin aliments but most commonly called \u2018leprosy,\u2019 we see clearly that the priest\u2019s function is in no way medical but simply ritualistic.\u00a0 We gain nothing in trying to find in these verses any primitive treatments for such illnesses nor, according to Plaut (p.840) should we look for the meanings behind the ritual:\u00a0 \u201cCustoms often survive after their original motives are forgotten\u201d and were therefore not included in the text.\u00a0 One thing we might consider is that \u201cthe ceremonies were designed to remove a defilement that was a threat to the entire community.\u201d Are we so different in the present time as we grapple with the horror, fear and pain of health crises?\u00a0 In such uncertainty we turn to God with our rituals and prayers to find an answer.<\/p>\n

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After the destruction of the Second Temple the detailed procedures outlined in these chapters lapsed even though the study of their meaning and significance continues to the present day.\u00a0 Orthodox Judaism retains many rituals associated with personal purification. In one form it continued in some Christian denominations with \u201cthe churching of women\u201d after childbirth. I was made aware of this practice many years ago from the memories of older women, one who recalled her personal involvement in it as a joyful recognition of her motherhood.<\/p>\n

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We should ponder this ancient text without trying to justify or empathize too closely with a people whose ways are so far removed from ours. Many of us might feel on more \u201ccomfortable\u201d ground with this week\u2019s haftarah<\/em>. And yet why?\u00a0 It contains disease, discrimination, starvation, death and destruction. Surely however some of the scenes it describes come closer to our experiences than those in the parashat<\/em>.\u00a0 Global communications mean that we can all see aspects of a broken world dominated by many of these conditions. Reflection and Discussion: <\/em><\/strong>Metaphorically speaking who do we leave at the city gates because of illness or other circumstances? What are we doing to bring others\/ourselves back to wholeness, regain our rightful place in the community and the presence of God?<\/p>\n

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Bibliography:<\/em><\/strong> Goldstein ed. The Woman\u2019s Torah Commentary<\/em> (Vermont, 2000); Plaut, The Torah: A Modern Commentary<\/em> (NY 1981); The Chumash Stone Edition (New York, 2000)<\/p>\n

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This week\u2019s teaching commentary was prepared by<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Jean Kelly, B.Ed. M.A. Watford, England<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bat Kol alum 2001. E<\/strong>-mail: <\/strong>kellyjean55@hotmail.com<\/p>\n

\u00a0[Copyright \u00a9 2018]<\/strong><\/p>\n

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PLEASE NOTE<\/em><\/strong>: The weekly Parashah commentaries represent the research and creative thought of their authors, and are meant to stimulate deeper thinking about the meaning of the Scriptures. While they draw upon the study methods and sources employed by the Bat Kol Institute, the views and conclusions expressed in these commentaries are solely those of their authors, and do not necessarily represent the views of Bat Kol. The commentaries, along with all materials published on the Bat Kol website, are copyrighted by the writers, and are made available for personal and group study, and local church purposes. Permission needed for other purposes. Questions, comments and feedback are always welcome.<\/em><\/p>\n

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~~1983<\/em><\/strong>–2018~~<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Bat Kol Institute for Jewish Studies, Jerusalem<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cChristians Studying the Bible within its Jewish milieu, using Jewish Sources.<\/em>\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Website:<\/em><\/strong> www.batkol.info<\/strong><\/a>;\u00a0 <\/strong>Parashat Admin:<\/strong><\/em> gill@batkol.info<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Shabbat Table Talk Parashat Tazria – Metzorah\u00a0\u00a0 Erev Shabbat 20 April 2018 Week of 15-21 April Torah portion:\u00a0 Leviticus 12:1-15:33\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Haftarah: \u00a02 Kings 7:3-20 \u00a0 Download \u00a0 In this week\u2019s parashat we are asked to consider some elaborate rituals associated with uncleanness and impurity and the means by which those affected can regain their rightful…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":2734,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ghostkit_customizer_options":"","ghostkit_custom_css":"","ghostkit_custom_js_head":"","ghostkit_custom_js_foot":"","ghostkit_typography":"","_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2732"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/46"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2732"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2732\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2734"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2732"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2732"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2732"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}