Summary:
For the second week in a row, our Torah portion covers uncomfortable topics. It begins with Priestly rituals to cure tzaraat (a skin condition) when it afflicts humans. Rituals are then described which are meant to rid dwelling places of tzaraat. The parashah then denotes male impurities resulting from a penile discharge or seminal emission. The parashah concludes with accounts of female impurities caused by a discharge of blood.
Lessons from our Haftarah – First Kings 7:3-20:
Just as in our Torah portion, in our haftarah we continue to deal with skin diseases. This week we read of four lepers who come to Samaria and end up saving the nation.
Throughout the Bible there is a focus on leprosy. The fear stems from a lack of understanding and of contagion. Josephus, the Roman historian of the first century, refers to lepers as “dead persons.” An early king of Israel, Uzziah, is forced to live in a separate house. In our haftarah the four lepers, following the biblical injunctions, are banished and sit outside the gates. In the story they behave in a fatalistic way, endangering their lives by going over to the Samarian side during the battle.
In ancient days disease was understood as a punishment from God. Leprosy was a terrible punishment and thus the sin must have been severe. Our rabbinic sages determine that leprosy is punishment for the sin of slander, learning this lesson from Miriam who is struck with skin disease and temporarily removed from the camp as a result of speaking ill of her brother, Moses.
We too often react out of fear rather than knowledge. The four lepers of our haftarah teach is that even in despair there is hope. Despite being afflicted with leprosy, in the end, they save the nation.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Don Goor