 | | Parshat Tazria-Metzora teaches us about the spiritual malady of tzaraat, which is commonly mistranslated and misunderstood as leprosy. Like any medical disease, tzaraat had to be diagnosed by an expert, however, unlike all other medical diseases, the expert was not a doctor, but a kohen, thus demonstrating the purely spiritual nature of this condition. That being said, it was not always clear if a person had tzaraat. In other words, they presented symptoms, but may not actually have the disease. In such a case of doubt, the Torah tells us, “the kohen shall isolate the affected person for seven days. On the seventh day the kohen shall examine him, and if the affection has remained unchanged in color and the disease has not spread on the skin, the kohen shall isolate him for another seven days. On the seventh day the kohen shall examine him again: if the affection has faded and has not spread on the skin, the kohen shall pronounce him clean. It is a rash; he shall wash his clothes, and he shall be clean” (Vayikra 13:4-6). Thus, a person whose status as a metzorah is unclear must undergo a series of quarantines in order to observe the nature of the affliction. Once it is determined that he is not a metzorah, he is pronounced clean, but first, must wash his clothes (i.e. go to the mikveh), before he can rejoin the community. The big question is, why does he have to immerse himself after he has been pronounced clean? He never actually had tzaraat! He was clean the whole time!
According to Rashi, the reason why this person had to immerse after such an ordeal is because, “since he required quarantine, he is called impure and needs immersion.” In other words, the mere fact that this person was put in quarantine in the first place means that he will continue to be suspect by others unless and until he undergoes some sort of ritual, in this case going to the mikveh, and gain closure in the eyes of others through that act. This is understandable. When someone is not sure if they have a disease or not and it turns out they did not have it, we are still a bit cautious around them until we are sure that they have been medically cleared. So, by going to the mikveh, this person sheds their “suspect metzorah” status, and is able to fully rejoin the community. Thus, the immersion is more for others than for the individual himself.
That being said, the Bechor Shor has a slightly different view. He explains that the reason why immersion is necessary for someone who thought they might have tzaraat but in the end did not is because, “the person was in a state of doubt regarding his purity. And anyone who is in doubt regarding his own purity is not so careful about engaging in impure things. Therefore, he needs immersion.” According to the Bechor Shor, once we label someone “impure,” even in a case of doubt, that label will have an impact on the way they think about and view themselves. “Why should I be careful about what I say, who I come into contact with, what I eat, or what I do? I’m impure anyway, so what does it matter?!” Now, whether or not this person actually did impure things during his time in quarantine is one thing. But the fact that he thought this way about himself in the first place – that he gave up on himself, that he thought he was impure so he might as well do impure things because he does not matter – that is enough to mandate that that person be cleansed from that disheartening, self-defeating attitude. According to this explanation, the immersion is for the sake of the individual and his own ritual awareness. It is not about the community’s perceptions of him.
However, there is a third view. I recently heard Rabbi Joel Finkelstein of Memphis explain that really, the immersion at the end of this period of doubt is a metaphor for how people feel when they are put in unsure situations. True, there are times when we need to overcome serious challenges and get out of real-life, bad situations. Perhaps we acted unwisely and unkindly. Perhaps we made a mistake, or had a lapse in judgment. But there are other times when we have to get ourselves out of doubtful situations – we are not sure if we did something wrong, we are not sure if something is going wrong or is going to go wrong. The truth is, living in a place of doubt is extremely difficult. It is very hard to not know what will be in the end. Thus, even when everything is cleared up, the doubt is laid to rest, the burden is removed and the fear is gone, we still have suffered – emotionally, mentally, spiritually, and yes, even physically due to the doubt. We have still endured a crisis, and so we must cleanse ourselves of that experience. While we may not go to the mikveh, we must surely cleanse ourselves emotionally and spiritually from the effects of that crisis. Thus, the immersion in the case of doubt is not for the perception of others or for our own ritual status, it is for our own emotional, mental and spiritual wellbeing.
Living in a place of not knowing is very difficult. But one of the lessons that we can learn from someone whose status was in doubt as to whether or not he has tzaraat, is that the pain of uncertainty is real, and before we can move on with our lives, we must first address that pain and find closure for ourselves. This Shabbat, may we take time to do a bit of self-care. Check in with ourselves, and if we have gone through a crisis of doubt – medically, ethically, halakhicly, or socially, let us take a moment, a day, a week, to find our spiritual centers and discover wholeness within ourselves and then, after that, find wholeness within our community.
Shabbat Shalom!
-Rabbi Dan
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