Tazria: What Lurks Under the Skin...

Ah, here we are; back again at the Torah's most uncomfortable Torah portion. Every year, rabbis cringe at having to talk about Tazria, because it deals with a whole range of 'fascinating' topics, ranging from menstrual bleeding to skin disease; baldness to moldy fabrics. So yeah, this is a fun

one to talk about... And yet, I think it's important for us to listen for the music behind the words. First of all, these things are a part of life. They're not thrilling to talk about, and they're certainly not wonderful for the person going through it, but nevertheless, we accept that they are all a part of life. Like walking down the pharmacy aisle that covers medications you DON'T want to admit you have: sometimes you have no choice... The Torah doesn't shy away from talking about the really personal, embarrassing topics, which really highlights for us that God is there for us, literally through ANYTHING we might be dealing with. And that can feel comforting. But I also think this Torah portion teaches us something about human nature, and the power of fear.

I think one of the unifying themes of all these weird 'conditions' that the Torah is talking about is fear, communal fear. I remember when I was still in rabbinical school, and I was interning as a hospital chaplain. Our supervisor taught us to listen to the music behind people's words. 

If a patient was screaming about why they didn't get the lunch they ordered, it's possible they're ACTUALLY upset about something else - like cancer - and they're using this (seemingly mundane) opportunity to express emotions that are scary, difficult, and hard to let out. Something similar is going on in our parashah. When we hear, for example, about a woman who has given birth being sent outside the camp because of her 'menstrual infirmity,' our initial reaction may be outrage: 'She just created another human life and pushed her/him out of her body - one of the most incredible acts of partnering with God imaginable - why the heck are we throwing her out of the community like some diseased leper?!?!' But if we can get past that emotional reaction, there's actually more going on under the surface.

The Torah (or perhaps more accurately, the MALE author of the Torah) is uncomfortable with bleeding. Especially in this context, where the bleeding is not the result of physical injury, and does not lead automatically to death. It's weird, it's unfamiliar... it's scary. 

And the same is true for skin diseases, mold, and (the insecurity that comes with) baldness. The ancient community, faced with all these inexplicable phenomena, tried to ritualize them and bring them into the context of their society. And again, we may frown on HOW they chose to deal with these issues, especially regarding women, but let's not get too distracted by that. We should try to focus, instead, on the underlying issue: fear. Because it's still an issue today. Just a couple of decades ago, people did not understand AIDS, and many religious leaders tried to blame it on the gay community, which at least helped them make sense of what it was. Today, we struggle with many kinds of 'plagues,' either in the form of diseases like cancer, dementia, Alzheimer's, and ALS, or societal problems like addiction, alcoholism, and bullying. 

Sometimes, problems just feel too big to deal with. We find other ways to explain them away (punishment from God, sports-related injuries, kids just being kids, etc.), so we don't have to take on the challenges they pose. But in the long run, avoidance hurts more. The emotional cost of 

trying every tactic imaginable NOT to deal with the real problem is SO much higher than just facing the demons themselves. Sometimes it's hard to see that, but I promise it's true. The first step is to listen for that music behind the words. And that's hard too. But when you hear it, and when you are then able to see the fear, insecurity, and anger that are lurking underneath, then the real work begins, and change can happen. We all have 'Tazria's' in our lives; the issues, emotions, and experiences that we treat like skin diseases. We avoid, deny, and ignore them. But they fester, and the problems grow. It's time to start working our way back to purity, both of body and of soul.

Photos in this blog post:

1. CC image courtesy of Rob Stinnett on Wikimedia Commons

2. CC image courtesy of Fæ on Wikimedia Commons

3. CC image courtesy of Gruff15 on Wikimedia Commons

4. CC image courtesy of Colin on Wikimedia Commons