Thazriah: the Isolation of Disease

Thazriah:  the Isolation of Disease


A diagnosis of Tsaraath carries with it isolation, questionable tsaraath compels imprisonment. 

When I was an intern at Bellevue Hospital in New York, there was a  dank, remote, police patrolled prison ward. It was frightening to go to this outpost of Riker's Island,this embassy of the Gulag,where violence replaces reason.  There is no reason in isolation.  

But more frightening still was the ward for drug resistant tuberculosis.   This was also a prison where, in the sincere interest of public safety, people with a highly contagious disease, for which there is no effective treatment, were confined until a more suitable venue could be found. I will never forget looking into the throat of  a beautiful, young woman - probably more beautiful because of her consumption- in that place,  This most public  thing, her shining beauty , hidden from everyone

The leper is also contagious. What we now call leprosy -Hansen's disease - is caused by a bacterium that is similar to the tubercle bacillus, the cause of tuberculosis. But no one thinks that Hansen's disease is the tzoraath that the King James committee translated as leprosy.

The Torah demonstrates the isolation  that come from serious disease. All of the outpouring of sympathy magnifies the awareness that the  person with the disease is alone in his suffering and in her shadow of death. 

Shemini: the crux

Shemini: the crux

The middle letter of the Torah appears in this weeks parsha-גָּחוֹן -  the belly. This is an echo to the serpent of Eden, the animal that is relegated to crawl on its belly for the sin of tempting Eve into eating form the tree of knowledge. The opening of new knowledge is the crux of human history. The self realization of nakedness in Eden, the establishment of the permanent record of writing, the steam engine, random access memory - for each crucial discovery the Human stands taller and another army crawls on its belly. 

The middle word of the Torah also appears in the parsha: דָּרֹשׁ דָּרַשׁ - yes, the word is repeated. Moshe investigated.  He used that curiosity (that can be perverted by the serpent) to find out what had happened to the sin offering that was to be eaten by the surviving Cohanim. 

Nadav and Avihu, two of Aaron's sons, had just been killed by the Heavenly fire because of their trespass into the sacred.  They had violated the arbitrary but absolute Divine law.  Moshe probably suspected that their father and brothers might not have much of an appetite for sacred meat , under the circumstances.  Indeed, they had burned the flesh that was to eaten 

Moshe confronts Aaron.  How could he have violated the Holy Instructions? 

Aaron answers:  Would it have pleased the Lrd  if I had eaten the offering on a day like this?

And the answer pleased Moshe. 

But Gd is silent

This is the crux of the Torah: 

      Divine (unintelligible) command; 

       Human action

          some mixture of rebellion and terror

          thought and action that come from the human essence

      Human Compassion

      Gd is silent

Tzav: compensation

Tzav: compensation

 Much of Tzav  describes the portions delivered to the Kohen, the priest, in the sacrificial rite. The breast, the thigh, the hides, meal offerings.  The Kohen is given some choice parts, in consideration of his effort and role in the sacrifice process.

When a person is paid alot for a service, especially an intangible service, the money is called "compensation." Doctors, lawyers, executives  do not receive salaries or paychecks, they get compensation.  Perhaps the idea is that the monetary payment is not so much for the service as it is for forcing the professional to spend her time in the service of the client, rather than engaged in some other activity ( sechar batalah).

Like the priest, these professionals are anointed to their service, They are elevated beyond the ordinary by parchments and initiation rites.  They are permitted into private places .

The economic  relationship between the Kohen and the people who compensate him is legislated by Divine command. It is hard to see how the system could work otherwise.  I don't think that the Kohanim could have lived on tips.

The sacrificial rite forces one to look at  the meaning of life. A life is taken.  The bleating and groaning of the animal is silenced.  The mystical communication of pleasure and pain that bound the animal to its owner and to all  that came in contact with it,  is ended - willfully - by the conspiracy between the owner and the Kohen.  Now there is only blood and chelev ( Gd's portion) and cuts of meat and a fire to feed. There is no more breathing, heartbeating, feeding, walking, silent communication through the eyes. That was all temporary. It is sacrificed for something else, something less tangible, something akin to emptiness - expiation, compensation.

Vayikra: formulaics

Vayikra: Formulaics

 Now we begin the parshiot of the korbanoth, the sacrificial rite. The various sacrifices are described with details of their performance:Where the animal  is to be slaughtered, where  and how the blood is to be sprinkled, how to dispose of the carcass, who can partake of the meat.  The talmud elaborates on the ritual, resolving conflicts and adding more details. 

The first word of the parsha, Vayikra, has a small aleph. The vayikra contrasts with Bilaam's  yikore, when after his special sacrificial rite, Hashem comes to meet him. There is  power in the animal sacrifice.  If done properly - and there are alot of rules- the sacrifice summons and audience with Gd. 

The sacrifice brings expiation.  A person violates a mitzvah, a rule, often a rule that  she does not understand.  The correction for that violation is strict adherence to the rules, including  and exemplified by the rules of thee sacrificial rite.

The devil is in the details.