Today is the 31st day of the Omer.
This week’s kavanot are all inspired by passages found in the weekly Torah portions from Leviticus. Among the most difficult books for a modern reader to comprehend, Leviticus (with the exception of one chapter) is an esoteric text focused on priestly (Cohanim) behavior and obscure sacrificial practices. Never ones to shirk from a challenge, commentators throughout the ages have plumbed the book for contemporary relevance. Each of the readings for this week will share some of those gems with the Wise community.
Tazria-Metzora: The Third Torah Portion in Leviticus
This Torah portion is dreaded by Bat and Bar Mitzvah kids everywhere! Its focus on leprosy, skin disease, bodily functions and ancient understandings of impurity leaves their adolescent heads reeling! Only recently I read an interpretation by Professor Wendy Zierler of Hebrew Union College that opened even this veteran mind to a new understanding of this strange bit of Torah. It’s an insight that has particular relevance in light of this past year.
Our skin is our ultimate boundary between us and the world. It keeps our insides in and most threats from the outside world out. And yet, it is through our skin that we also encounter the world most deeply. Our sense of touch provides us with vital information central to our well-being: the touch of a parent to a child, of lovers, the sense that warns us when something is sharp or dangerous. Our skin mediates between us and all that surrounds us. The ultimate goal of the rituals in the Torah portion is to restore the one afflicted with a disease that manifests in the skin to purity so that she or he can once again “touch” the community.
In antiquity, healing was accomplished through magical rituals that seem strange to us. Our return to communal life was accomplished through something equally miraculous: an injection or two into our arms (through that mysterious boundary: skin) that restored our body’s ability to come close to others again. This week I experienced two in-person shiva services in homes where all attendees were vaccinated. That ability to come close, to offer comfort, to shake hands, to hug, to restore wholeness through touch, was uplifting even in the midst of the pain of loss.
This year, we have learned, even more powerfully about the importance of the boundaries that protect us: from our skin to our homes to the fabric masks we wear. As the pandemic wanes we are reminded as well, of the importance of the touch of community: it is healing, sustaining, loving, reassuring. The rituals of Tazria-Metzora and the practices of the modern world affirm a basic human truth: We need one another.
— Rabbi Ron Stern