Thazria-Mezorah: the debt of the survivor

וְאַרְבָּעָ֧ה אֲנָשִׁ֛ים הָי֥וּ מְצֹרָעִ֖ים פֶּ֣תַח הַשָּׁ֑עַר וַיֹּֽאמְרוּ֙ אִ֣ישׁ אֶל־רֵעֵ֔הוּ מָ֗ה אֲנַ֛חְנוּ יֹשְׁבִ֥ים פֹּ֖ה עַד־מָֽתְנוּ׃ There were four men, lepers, outside the gate. They said to one another, “Why should we sit here waiting for death?

אִם־אָמַרְנוּ֩ נָב֨וֹא הָעִ֜יר וְהָרָעָ֤ב בָּעִיר֙ וָמַ֣תְנוּ שָׁ֔ם וְאִם־יָשַׁ֥בְנוּ פֹ֖ה וָמָ֑תְנוּ וְעַתָּ֗ה לְכוּ֙ וְנִפְּלָה֙ אֶל־מַחֲנֵ֣ה אֲרָ֔ם אִם־יְחַיֻּ֣נוּ נִֽחְיֶ֔ה וְאִם־יְמִיתֻ֖נוּ וָמָֽתְנוּ׃ If we decide to go into the town, what with the famine in the town, we shall die there; and if we just sit here, still we die. Come, let us desert to the Aramean camp. If they let us live, we shall live; and if they put us to death, we shall but die.”

The Haftarah presents a trio of bad alternatives. The afflicted men can either die of starvation where they are, go back to their town and starve in some greater proximity to the people they care about, or go to an enemy camp and take their chances.  The enemy camp has the advantage of having food, so there is a non-starvation option.  But  it is the enemy, so immediate death by the sword is also an option. 

What could they hope would happen to them in the Aramean, enemy camp?  They could hope to be slaves involved in some menial, probably unpleasant work and be fed table scraps.  There was a chance that they would be required to provide service that advanced the cause of the Arameans against their friends and families.   What would they do then? Fortunately for the men ( and for the story), the Aramean army abandoned their  well stocked camp because of a misinterpreted noise, contrasting their cowardice with the courage (? or desperation) of the lepers.  

The four men in the haftarah are in this unique position because they have tzaraath, they have an affliction for which the ancient law prescribes banishment.  A disease, something that makes sense in Gd's calculus, but surpasses human reason -  something for which they cannot be blamed - has separated them from the community.  This alienation must have impacted their decisions.   A normal, integrated resident of the town under siege, apparently starving because of the siege, would not  have have thought about the possibility of seeking the mercy of the cruel enemy.  Tzraath, with its expulsion of the afflicted, opened these four men to alternatives that included the possibility of betrayal.  The bond to their kin had been loosened.  They could present themselves as independent of the conflict. They were facing a harsh, painful, and probably fatal, reality ... alone.  

On one of our Passover programs, a man was recalling  a story from his Holocaust experience.  He was starving.  The only source of food he could identify was in a Nazi work camp.  He surrendered (volunteered?) for the camp to avoid starvation.  On Passover we sing the Song of Songs which includes the phrase: "Love is as strong as death. " Starvation can be stronger than love. 

וְצִוָּה֙ הַכֹּהֵ֔ן וְשָׁחַ֖ט אֶת־הַצִּפּ֣וֹר הָאֶחָ֑ת אֶל־כְּלִי־חֶ֖רֶשׂ עַל־מַ֥יִם חַיִּֽים׃ The priest shall order one of the birds slaughtered over fresh water in an earthen vessel;

אֶת־הַצִּפֹּ֤ר הַֽחַיָּה֙ יִקַּ֣ח אֹתָ֔הּ וְאֶת־עֵ֥ץ הָאֶ֛רֶז וְאֶת־שְׁנִ֥י הַתּוֹלַ֖עַת וְאֶת־הָאֵזֹ֑ב וְטָבַ֨ל אוֹתָ֜ם וְאֵ֣ת ׀ הַצִּפֹּ֣ר הַֽחַיָּ֗ה בְּדַם֙ הַצִּפֹּ֣ר הַשְּׁחֻטָ֔ה עַ֖ל הַמַּ֥יִם הַֽחַיִּֽים׃ and he shall take the live bird, along with the cedar wood, the crimson stuff, and the hyssop, and dip them together with the live bird in the blood of the bird that was slaughtered over the fresh water.

The prasha describes the elaborate ritual of purification after remission from tzoraath.  Part of the ceremony is the liberation of the living bird after its  immersion of a  into the blood of its dead twin. This private ritual is the most dramatic of the set of rites that involve pairs, usually pairs of  birds. One bird is offered as  an olah ( burnt offering) and the other as a chatath  (expiation offering).

Currently, daf yomi is Yoma, the tratctate that  deals with Yom Kippur. The great public  Yom Kippur rite prominently includes the pair of  identical goats, chosen by lot.  One goat is an expiation offering to Gd,  The other is to Azazel. One goat is killed ( and its blood is sprinkled toward the Inner Sanctum)  and one is sent out alive onto a harsh, steep, mountainside where it will probably die in short order. Which goat won the lottery?

This week, we celebrated the transition from Yom HaZikaron, Israel memorial day, to Yom HaAzmauth ( Independence day) . Last week was Yom Hashoah,  Holocaust memorial day. We dip the wings and tail ( see mishna yomit Negaim 14:1 for the details of the dipping) of our glorious freedom in the blood of those who died for it.