Parashat Tazria-Metzora

 

                Almost the entirety of this week's double-parsha is devoted to laws of tum'a and tahara - ritual impurity and purity. There really is no English equivalent for these terms, since the very concepts of tum'a and tahara are not present in western life, so I will continue to use the Hebrew terms throughout today's shiur.

Tahara - purity

Tum’a - the opposite

[Note: What is a double parsha? The Torah is read in its entirety during the course of one year, from the Shabbat after Sukkot until Simchat Torah. A Jewish year can have between 48 and 53 Shabbatot however, while, on the other hand, some of those Shabbatot will coincide with festivals, when there are special readings. Hence, in most years, there are more parshiot - weekly divisions - than there are weeks in the year. Certain sections are separate in some years but combined in others. This year, Tazria and Metzora are read in one week. The same will take place the following week, with Acharei Mot and Kedoshim combined.]

                Most discussions of Judaism do not dwell extensively - if at all - on tum'a and tahara, but even a cursory glance at the first great compilation of Jewish law - the Mishna - will disclose that one-sixth of that book deals with this topic. Most of the laws relating to tum'a and tahara, however, are not particularly relevant today, so our understanding of these concepts has gradually become very limited. We will try today, in the context of the parsha, to begin to understand them, as best we can.

                There are several cases listed in our parshiot which engender tum'a. The first one is a woman who gives birth. The second, to which the rest of the parasha is devoted, is a skin condition called "tzaraat," which is usually translated as leprosy, though the symptoms described by the Torah do not match the disease known as leprosy today. At the end of Metzora we find tum'a in the context of a menstruant. Aside from these cases, there is tum'a also for one who touches a carcass, and, most importantly, for one who comes into contact with a corpse.

                What are the laws pertaining to one who is "tamei" (one who has contacted tum'a)? These differ depending on the severity of the tum'a. The "hero" of our parsha, who has contacted tzaraat, bears the most severe consequences of all - "All the days that the plague be on him, he shall be tamei, he is tamei; he shall dwell alone, outside of the camp shall be his dwelling" (Lev. 13,46) - but all those who are tamei bear some degree of EXCLUSION. This is based on a verse later in the Torah -"Command the children of Israel, and they shall send out of the camp all who have tzaraat, or an issue, and all who are tamei from the dead" (Numbers 5,2). The "camp" of this verse is interpreted variably by the oral law, since there are three "camps" in the desert encampment of the Jewish people, the "camp of the Presence" (the tabernacle, or its future parallel, the Temple), the "camp of the Levites" (who dwelled surrounding the tabernacle - the future parallel is the Temple Mount, the courtyards surrounding the Temple, which is the area within the Western Wall today), and the "camp of Israel" (the actual dwelling of the Jews around the tabernacle, equivalent to the city of Jerusalem). The metzora (one who has tzaraat) is the only one who is expelled from the "camp of Israel." The other ones who are tamei in our parsha - tuma'a which derives from an internal condition of the tamei (childbirth, menstruation, seminal discharge) are excluded from the "camp of the Levites." Lighter forms of tum'a are excluded only from the Temple proper. But what is common to all is a measure of exclusion, of alienation, of the ability to relate to the sphere of sanctity.

                Is there a common factor underlying all forms of tum'a. I believe we can conclude that all those who are tamei have come into contact, to one degree or another, with death. Death is the common factor of all forms of tum'a. Obviously this is true for one common form of tum'a, the one which is relevant even today for kohanim - contact with a corpse. Indeed, a dead body is called by the Sages the "grandfather of tum'a." But a moments reflection reveals that other forms of tum'a are also connected with death. A dead animal body conveys tum'a. The internal condition forms of tum'a of our parsha are all connected with death, or rather, with the forfeit of life. Menstrual blood represents the dissolution of the conditions to support a new life. The venereal discharges listed at the end of parashat Metzora are also counter-indications to reproduction. "Aha!," you will say, "what about childbirth, the very opposite?" Obviously, childbirth is the epitome of producing life. But, from the point of view of the body of the mother, childbirth is a separation from life, for where before there was a multiplicity of life, there is now only one. A birthing mother, in the moment of producing life, is also experiencing a measure of death. The experience of death, in any form, engenders tum'a.

                Tum'a in the Torah is clearly a real metaphysical state. It is hopeless to try and translate it into states more familiar to us (not that tum'a is unfamiliar - it is omnipresent today. It is not capable of being assimilated to the sorts of experiences of our normative, empirically defined life). But by understanding its cause, we can categorize it in relation to our experience. And by relating that cause to the consequences, we understand how it operates. What we have seen is that death, the experience of death or contact with death, excludes man from a full relationship with God, and, at times, even with other people.

                Tzaraat, the condition describes at length in our parsha, is also viewed by the Torah as a state of death. The reason why it is the most severe of all states of tum'a is because it is not merely contact with death, or the experience of a missed opportunity for life, but an actual experience of death itself. The flesh of the metzora is described by the Torah as being dead. When Miriam, Moshe's sister, is struck with tzaraat, Aharon, her brother, says to Moshe: "Let her not be as one dead, who when he comes out of his mother's womb, half his flesh is consumed" (Numbers 12,12). The Sages sum it up pithily: "A metzora is considered dead."

                With this in mind, we can examine the purification ceremony dictated for a metzora in the second part of our double-parsha.

This shall be the law of the metzora, on the day of his purification: he shall be brought before the priest. The priest shall go forth, out of the camp, and the priest shall look, and behold, the plague of tzaraat has been healed in the leper.

And the priest shall command to take for the purificant two live pure birds, and cedar wood, a scarlet thread, and hyssop.

And the priest shall command to slaughter one of the birds in an earthen vessel over running water. The live bird shall be taken, and the cedar wood and the scarlet thread and the hyssop, and he shall dip them and the live bird in the blood of the slaughtered bird, over the running water. And he shall sprinkle over the purificant from tzaraat seven times, and shall purify him; then he shall send the live bird free into the open field.

The purificant shall wash his clothes and shave off all his hair, and bathe in water and be pure; afterwards he may come to the camp and wait outside his tent for seven days.

And on the seventh day, he shall shave all his hair, his head, his beard, his eyebrows and all his hair, and he shall wash his clothes and bathe his flesh in water and be pure.

On the eighth day, he shall take two unblemislambs and one unblemished ewe-lamb of the first year.... and sacrifice them....

The priest shall take from the blood of the guilt-offering and the priest shall place it on the tip of the right ear of the purificant, and on the right thumb of his hand and on the right thumb of his foot.... (14, 2-20).

                There is a lot here that is mysterious, and, to our ears today, very unusual. The commentators offer a few suggestions as hypotheses. For instance, the use of birds, especially where one is let free rather than sacrificed, drew a lot of attention. Rashi writes: "Tzaraat is brought about by evil talk, which is the action of chattering; therefore his purification requires birds, who chatter incessantly aloud." This is based on a statement of the Sages (Talmud Chullin 140), who claim that tzaraat is the punishment for slander. You may recall that when Moshe was sent by God to take the Jews out of Egypt, he demurred, claiming that the Jews would not believe him. God gave him a number of miraculous signs to perform, one of which was to place his arm in his clothes and take it out - and it would be covered by snow-white tzaraat (Exodus 4,6). As a sign, this would be definitely effective, but the Sages were struck by the fact that it appears to be a rather unpleasant experience as far as Moshe is concerned. They draw the conclusion that God is hinting at criticism of Moshe for having slandered the Jews by doubting their faith level - and tzaraat is the punishment for slander. Similarly, Miriam was struck with tzaraat after speaking against Moshe marrying a Cushite woman (Numbers 12). Continuing in this symbolic moralist vein, Rashi explains the other objects of this part of the purification:

Cedar wood: For tzaraat is brought about by course spirit (pride). A scarlet thread (the scarlet color is produced from a worm, "tolaat"): What is the remedy and cure (for pride)? He should humble himself from his pride like a worm and hyssop.

In other words, the purification is dependent on the contrast of the mighty cedar - the most majestic tree of the Middle East - and the lowly hyssop, a mere weed, and the worm.

                One could attempt to continue in this manner with the rest of the purification ritual, though symbolic explanation is necessarily speculative. I would like to supplement this method with a comparative analysis of the different stages of purification of the metzora. This method will not necessarily explain the details, but will, hopefully, uncover the significance of each stage, and will, as a result, give us an understanding of the meaning of tum'a as well.

                The four elements of the purification ritual are:

1. Shaving;

2. Bathing in water (immersion in a "mikve," a reservoir of fresh water);

3. Sprinkling;

4. Placing of blood on the right ear, finger, and toe.

                Each of these elements of the purification ritual is found in at least one other place in the Torah. By examining the other context, we can understand the purpose in the case of metzora as well, even without a detailed explanation of the particular symbols of each.

1. Shaving

                The members of the tribe of Levi were sanctified to serve God in the mishkan (desert tabernacle) and the Temple. The inauguration ceremony of the Levites in described in parashat Baha'alotcha:

Take the Levites from the midst of the children of Israel, and PURIFY them. This is what you shall do to them to purify them - sprinkle water of purification on them ( we shall discuss this part below, in point 3), and LET THEM SHAVE ALL THEIR FLESH, and rinse their clothes and be purified.... Bring the Levites to the Tent of Meeting... and the children of Israel will lay their hands on the Levites. And Aharon shall offer the Levites as an offering before the Lord from the children of Israel, and they shall be (dedicated) to serve the service of the Lord. (Numbers 8,6-11)

                The verse clearly connects the shaving with purification. The positive dedication of the Levites takes place in the Tent of Meeting later. The shaving then does not have a positive significance, but is a preliminary purification before the sanctification can take place. Speculating on the symbolic significance of the procedure, it seems fair to conclude that shaving off all body hair is a way of detaching oneself from all extraneous elements of one's previous life. The hair, which is connected to the body but not part of the life of the body, symbolizes external entanglements which must be unraveled and expelled before total dedication to the service of God can take place.

2. Bathing (mikve)

                All forms of tum'a require immersion in a mikve; in all the minor forms, immersion alone is sufficient. Immersion then is the equal of purification. Comparing it to the preliminary of shaving, we may suggest that it lacks the idea of removing extraneous parts of one's previous existence, symbolizing purity itself. Relying on a widely-accepted symbolic explanation of mikve, I would suggest that the waters of the mikve symbolize the waters of the primordial creation ("... and the spirit of God hovered over the waters" - Genesis 1,2), or alternatively, the waters of the womb. In other words, immersion in a mikve is equivalent to rebirth, to a return to the primordial (pure) state of the beginning; in other words, renewal. It is important to remember that there is a basic difference between the concept of purity (tahara) and that of holiness (kedusha). The natural state of all things is purity; tum'a is an added (negative) quality. Holiness is an elevated unnatural state; the natural state of all things is mundane. A return to birth is a return to purity.

3. Sprinkling

                Sprinkling is found in the purification ritual of one who has become tamei by contact with a corpse (Numbers 19, see verses 12-13). The comparison is strengthened by the presence there as well of the cedar wood, hyssop, and crimson thread. As we saw above, the inaugural ceremony of the Levites also included this element. These two cases are different from that of the metzora in regards to the ingredients of the sprinkling medium. In the other two cases, water mixed with the ashes of a red heifer is sprinkled, unlike the metzora, who is sprinkled with the blood of the slaughtered bird. The use of ashes would suggest a symbolizing of cleansing, a washing away of negative elements; and, in fact, the Torah uses the verb "lichatei" in this context, which seems to mean "to clean" (check your English translations - Numbers 19,11;19, where it is usually translated simply as "purify," avoiding the problem of a difficult Hebrew word). The case of contact with a corpse is, as we have seen, the paradigm case of tum'a, the most direct contact with the cause of all tum'a. In such a case, rebirth in the waters of mikve is not sufficient; the tum'a must be cleansed - in other words, the personality must be cleansed. I leave it to you to speculate on the difference between the use of blood or ashes, mentioning only that both blood and ashes are directly connected to life and death, and that the metzora is understood by the Sages to have been involved in sin (as we saw above, slander or pride), whereas tum'a by contact with death can have been innocent or even meritorious.

4. Placing of the blood

                We find this strange ceremony in the inauguration of the original priests, Aharon and his sons, which we read four weeks ago:

Take Aharon and his sons with him, and the garments and the anointing oil, and the sin-offering bull and the two goats and the basket of matzot. And gather the entire congregation before the Tent of Meeting....

(Moshe dresses the priests in the priestly garments)

Moshe poured the anointing oil on the head of Aharon, and anointed him to sanctify him....

Moshe took some of the blood and placed it on the tip of Aharon's right ear, and on the right thumb of his hand, and on the right thumb of his foot (Leviticus 8,2-23).

                The context here is clear - this is an inauguration ceremony. Notice that it is performed after the priests are already dressed in the special garments which mark their special status (the clothes, as is said, make the man). Engaging in another bout of speculation, which sefairly well-based in this case, the "ear, hand, and foot" seems to suggest that their actions (hand and foot) are dedicated to God, but only under the supervision of the ear dedicated to hearing God's commands. Here we have a positive state being conferred, rather than a negative one being removed. There is no mention of purification here, but of sanctification.

Back to metzora

                The summation of all four ceremonies for the metzora, taken after the exclusion of the metzora from all religious and communal life, indicates the following: Tum'a, contact with death in one way or another, strips man of the spiritual status necessary to relate to God, to act as one created in "the image of God." In order to return to functioning as a spiritual being, he has to undergo, at least in the most severe forms of tum'a, four processes: Excising the dead elements, renewal, cleansing, and inauguration. This indicates how deeply death contradicts the meaning of life and spiritual activity. The last process especially, even though it is found only in the case of the metzora, indicates how even being normal, simply pure and ready to act as a regular person, requires inauguration, dedication, and a measure of sanctification, analogous to the inauguration of the priests of God. In most cases, simply returning to the natural state of birth accomplishes this, but in the deepest experience of death, where the death has taken hold with oneself in the form of the tzaraat, one must not only be reborn, but rededicated as well, after removing all traces of the previous life and its contamination.

                Although tum'a would seem to us to be an arcane and esoteric state, removed from our experiences today, this analysis shows us that the underlying state of human personality reflected in tum'a and tahara, purity and impurity, encapsulates a deeply significant view of the relationship of man to his freedom, life and to God.