Parashat Metzora

Reflection by Moran Peled, OHL Teacher

"Parshat Metzora draws our attention to the connection between words and the person who speaks them. The parsha deals with the laws of a Biblical skin condition - tzaraat - often mistranslated as leprosy. According to the Talmudic tradition, a מצורע, a person with tzaraat, can be understood through wordplay as  'מוציא רע', bringing out the bad, or giving someone a bad name. In other words, this condition is caused when a person speaks harmfully about another.

The cure for tzaraat in the Torah involves leaving the camp for a set period of time. We must first move away from places where our speech can be harmful. With space, we can reconnect to the vulnerability within ourselves - the part of us that wants to shout, request, receive compassion.

This instruction given for one with tzaraat might be the Torah’s first retreat. In fact, the words Moses prays for the healing of his sister Miriam from tzaraat are words we chant on retreat `אֵל נָא רְפָא נָא לָהּ` ana el na refa na la. Returning from retreat is also done gradually and gently, like the purification ceremonies for the healed person with tzaraat. The first ceremony is held outside the camp, then outside the family’s tent and finally outside the Tent of Meeting.

Our words have power, to hurt and to heal. This whole affair illustrated by the Torah offers us a model of gentleness and caution in maintaining new connections between our relationship with ourselves and our own speech.”

Shabbat Shalom from Or HaLev