Thazria - Metzora: tragedy

 Thazria - Metzora: tragedy

It begins with the wait.  Seven days to evaluate the disease.  Did it spread? Did it fade?  The worst is if it stayed the same, leading to another 7 days of doubt.  There are many similarities between the tzoraath process and the cancer process.

The parsha gives technical details: observations, wait times, criteria for diagnosis.  Behind theses details there are fears and tears. A diagnosis that ruins the life of the victim.  A diagnosis that isolates, impoverishes, blames and kills.

The cause  is not clear, but it may have had something to do with the behavior of the victim: eating wrong, smoking, tale bearing.   Maybe there is an element of contagion...not clear.The murkiness is part of the torture.

Loss of hair is part of the purification ritual.  In the old days, it was done by shaving.   Now we have chemotherapy.

Every cure is a miracle, celebrated with birds and feasts.

May we all be spared. 

shemni: consequences.

I remember a telelevion show from my boyhood: "Truth or Cosequences.  In the show , the contestant woud be asked a question  that was either uanswerable or nearly so.  The contestant would always get it wrong and would then be tasked with an embarassing stunt.  If the actons were performed successfully, she would get a wonderful prize, if not he would get a booby prize.  The parsha reminds me of that TV show. 

The parsha starts with the completion of the Priestly initiation sacrificial rite: a complex task that leads to the first priestly sacrifice and, ultimately, the appearance of the Holy Spirit.  A difficult task rewarded by a great prize. 

This is followed by the central story of Vaikra: the inappropriate offering of Nadav and Avihu, the sons of Aaron, and their resulting death ( by exposure to excessive sanctity).  Their death demonstrates how dangerous the Holy area and rite are.  They did it wrong, so they died.  Consequences. 

But their deaths occured in the midst of the 8 day long initiation, which cannot be halted. The father and  surviving brothers cannot interupt the process that has begun.  Nevertheless, Aaron, Elazar and Ithamar lose their apetitite for the sacred meat that they are obliged to eat.  Initially Moshe criticizes them fro their deviation, but then, he sees their point.  This deviation does not have ill consequences. It might even be positive.  It is certainly moving.

Judaism has a set of rules. Over the centuries, the rules have been redefined and,consequently, expanded. Deviations happen, but the significance of the deviation depnds upon the motivation.The inappropriate, dangerous, rebellious actions of Nadav and Avihu set up a series of consequences. The human reaction to that is seemly. There is an element of intermittent reinforcement  and high stakes chance here. 

Do you think that the sacrifical rite would make good television?

Peach supplement: lachma Anya

The magid section of the Haggadah begins  with Ha lachma Anya diachlu avhathanu biarah dimitzrayim.  The Maxwellhouse translation: This is the bread of affliction that our ancestors ate in the land of Egypt.  The implication is that  our ancestors ate this simple, bland , inferior bread.

The instructions are to point to the Matzoh when reciting these words. Matzoh is mentioned in two contexts with respect to the  exodus from Egypt.  The Israelites were instructed to eat Matzoh with the pesach lamb, and at the time of the exodus itself, the hurried aspect of that event is emphasized by the lack of time the fugitives had, not even enough time to let the bread rise. This second point implies that the ancestors did eat leavened bread ( at least at some point) in Egypt. 

I think that this matzoh is not a symbol of hardship, but a symbol of a obedience. Following the instructions for the  pesach ritual brought the salvation. In that context the Anya is not affliction, it is the answering of prayer, as in aneynu.  

The matzoh is the zoth of the wicked, simple and silent children. 

When the Jews were afflicted, they did not have matzoh.