Questions & Commentary on Parashat Tazria'-Metzora'
1. At the beginning of Parashat
Tazria', women are commanded to bring offerings to the Temple
to mark the end of their periods of purification following the birth of a male
or female child. What are those offerings, and why are they brought?
Rabbi Jonathan
Kaplan
Our parasha tells
us that women are commanded to bring two offerings at the conclusion of their
periods of purification following childbirth - a burnt offering (‘ola)
and a sin offering (chata't).
On the completion of the period of her purification, whether
for a son or a daughter, she shall bring a lamb one year of age for a burnt
offering and a pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering to the opening of the
Tent of Meeting, to the priest.
Leviticus 12:6
The first of these
maternity offerings - the burnt offering - seems entirely appropriate. In one
sense, it signifies the woman's return into the cultic community after a period
of ritual impurity which prevented her from participating in the sacrificial
life of the Jewish people. This offering purifies her so that she can again
enter the sacred precincts of the Tent of Meeting. In another sense, the burnt
offering can be understood as a thanksgiving offering for the gift of a child.
The expense of the lamb suggests the value of the child which God has given the
new mother.
It is the second offering
- the sin offering - that seems out of place. What sin has the new mother
committed that requires an expiatory offering, an offering to clean the slate
of her sin? As the 15-16th century Spanish commentator Isaac Abarbanel puts it,
"there is no iniquity that the woman in childbirth committed to warrant such a
procedure!" Why then the sin offering?
Perhaps the answer to
this question is found when we step back and consider childbirth. The gift of
the child is truly an awe inspiring event. The midrashim on this chapter in
Leviticus repeatedly ask the question, "Is this not a matter for praise?"
Indeed it is an opportunity for awe and praise. Nehama Leibowitz reminds us
that in the midst of the joy, praise, and awe we encounter our Creator in a
profound way. Indeed we have not sinned, but we are sinful. Childbirth reminds
us of our position before God. She sees this dynamic in Isaiah's vision of
God's throne where, when he encounters the holiness of God, he becomes
profoundly aware of his own sinfulness.
And I said, ‘Woe to me, for I am undone. For I am a man of
unclean lips, and I live in the midst of a people of unclean lips. For my eyes
have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.
Isaiah 6:5
Indeed childbirth
confronts us with the wondrousness of the creation and the Creator, humbling us
and requiring us to reflect on our station before the Holy One. Thus the new
mother, confronted with the gloriousness of God's creation and its Ruler is
commanded to bring offerings which acknowledge God's gift and her renewed
understanding of her place before her Creator.
2. This week's double Torah portion focuses on an
affliction known as tzara‘at
(Leviticus 13:1-3). Is tzara‘at identical
to leprosy or is it something else? What is the connection between tzara‘at and the suffering of the
Messiah?
Rabbi Jason Sobel
The traditional Jewish
interpretation of the affliction known as tzara‘at is that it is not the
medical disease known as leprosy. Commenting on the spiritual nature of tzara‘at
Ovadiah Seforno (16th century Italian commentator) writes:
The tzara‘at
lesions which the Torah speaks of as rendering an individual unclean have
nothing in common with the leprous diseases known to medicine. Tzara‘at is a supernatural affliction
imposed by God on a person to punish an individual for a sin or to help them
make amends for a wicked deed.
Thus according to
rabbinic tradition, the primary sin that causes the supernatural spiritual affliction
of tzara‘at is lashon hara‘, gossip and slander (Numbers
12:1-10). Two other major causes given by our Sages for tzara‘at include
ga'ava, arrogance and tzarat ayin, miserliness. It is also
important to note that this painful affliction is primarily redemptive and not
punitive in nature. As Hebrew 12:6 says, "For the Lord disciplines the one he
loves, and punishes everyone he accepts as a child."
The person struck with tzara‘at
not only sinned against God but also the people of Israel
by causing strive and division through their thoughts, words, and deeds. As
punishment for the broken relationships that were caused by their actions, the
individual was punished by having to live alone outside the camp and yell
"Unclean, unclean!" whenever another individual approached. The suffering and
isolation that individual was forced to experience was meant to cause the
individual to turn from their evil ways and be reconciled with God and the
people in the community he had harmed.
Several rabbinic texts describe
the Messiah as a metzora', a leper who suffers on behalf of the Jewish
people:
What is his name [i.e., the Messiah]?-His name is "metzora'/the white one/the leper" of the
house of Rebbi," for it is written, "Truly he has bore our sickness and carried
our pains, yet we considered him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted" (Isaiah
53:4).
b. Sanhedrin 98b
Like the individual with tzara‘at,
our Messiah's suffering is also redemptive. First, Yeshua suffered on our
behalf in order to bring about forgiveness and purification for our sins. As
Isaiah writes, "But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for
our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon him, and by his stripes
we are healed" (Isaiah 53:5)
The word metzora' can
literally be translated as "white." I believe this alludes to the fact that
through Messiah Yeshua's suffering, as the symbolic leper of Israel, he takes
the crimson stain of our sin and washes us as white as snow (Isaiah 1:18). On
the basis of Yeshua's atoning sacrifice, God offers us spiritual cleansing and
transformation.
Furthermore, Yeshua's
suffering also brings about reconciliation on two levels. First his death
brings about spiritual reconciliation as Shaul writes,
Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to himself
through Yeshua the Messiah, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation,
that is, that God was in Messiah reconciling the world to himself, not imputing
their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
2 Corinthians 5:18-19
Secondly, once we
experience God's reconciliation through Messiah Yeshua, we are called to do
whatever is in our power to have right relationships with those around. Yeshua
clearly emphasized the critical importance of reconciliation when he said:
Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there
remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there
before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and
then come and offer your gift.
Matthew 5:23-24
By actively seeking
reconciliation with others who we have wronged us or whom we have wronged, we
emulate and bear witness to the love of Yeshua. We also fulfill God's calling
to be agents of reconciliation.
Another similarity between
Messiah Yeshua and the metzora' is the way they are treated by the
community of Israel.
As mentioned earlier, the leper had to live outside the camp due to his
uncleanness. He was forced to live alone and was considered stricken by God on
account of his sins. This is exactly how the majority of our people view Yeshua
today. As disheartening as this may be, we should not be surprised by this
reality for according to the prophets the Messiah had to be rejected. Before
Messiah can reign as Davidic King over Israel
and the Nations, he first had to suffer and be rejected as the prophets writes:
He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and
acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from him; he was
despised, and we did not esteem him.
Isaiah 53:3
The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief
cornerstone. This was the LORD's doing; It is marvelous in our eyes.
Psalm 118:22-23
Unfortunately, many of
our people will treat us like they treated him, as a metzora'. By following
the leper of Israel,
we become one as well. We must bear this reproach even as Yeshua did with love
and forbearance. By suffering with him,
we are spiritually transformed and can help bring hope and healing to other
hurting people. Our leprous status is not a badge of shame but rather one of
honor for it will result in great blessing for the nations, our people, and us.
The good news is that
there is coming a time, I believe in the not too distant future, when all Israel
will understand that the leper Messiah found in rabbinic tradition is really
Yeshua of Nazareth. At that time they will say concerning the suffering servant
of Israel,
"This was the Lord's doing; It is marvelous in our sight" (Psalm 118:23). Until
that glorious day, let us find meaning in and embrace our marginalization by
going fourth to him [Yeshua] outside the camp and bearing the disgrace he bore
with joy for the God's glory and Israel's sake (Hebrew 13:12-13).
Sean Emslie
Matthew 20:17-28 - The Cost of Leadership
In this week's reading
from the Besora, we come to the important topic of leadership and we get
some important lessons on leadership from our Messiah. We read first of Ya‘aqov
and Yochanan, the sons of Zavdai and their desire for a prominent role of
leadership in the Messianic kingdom:
Then Zavdai's sons came to Yeshua with their mother. She
bowed down, begging a favor from him. He said to her, "What do you want?" She
replied, "Promise that when you become king, these two sons of mine may sit,
one on your right and the other on your left." But Yeshua answered, "You people
don't know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I am about to drink?"
They said to him, "We can." He said to them, "Yes, you will drink my cup. But
to sit on my right and on my left is not mine to give; it is for those for whom
my Father has prepared it."
Matthew 20:20-23
Yeshua's response
demonstrates that Ya‘aqov and Yochanan were not aware that leadership, as
Yeshua demonstrated it was a path of sacrifice. In the next verses we get some
important words from Yeshua on what a leader should be:
But Yeshua called them and said, "You know that among the Goyim, those who are supposed to rule
them become tyrants, and their superiors become dictators. Among you, it must
not be like that. On the contrary, whoever among you wants to be a leader must
become your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave! For the
Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve -- and to give his life as a
ransom for many."
Matthew 20:25-28
The path to follow to be
a leader like Yeshua is not the path of seeking power or position for selfish
motives, to be a tyrant, or to be a leader without taking into account that
sacrifice is required. Yeshua explains here that leadership requires one to be
a servant and, like our Messiah, to demonstrate a life of leading by serving
others. So then let us seek to be like our Messiah and follow his example and
lead by serving.
Learning 
