Acharei Mot/ Leviticus 16:1-20:27

This we have a combined parasha : -. These two parshiot combine well because they both deal in large part with the mysterious ailment tzara’at, which can affect human skin, fabrics, or houses. Metzora is the word for someone suffering from tzara’at. It’s the ailment sometimes inaccurately translated as leprosy, particularly in older translations, although the description is nothing like Hansen’s Disease, which is also called leprosy. As described in the bible, this is a kind of scaly skin disease. In addition to affecting the skin, it can also be found in fabrics and in the form of a kind of mold in houses. Tza’arat is a disease manifestation that is potentially contagious, requiring quarantine. and the priests are to serve as diagnosticians and as public health quarantine squad. The contagion, though, is not related to germ theory, which was unknown at the time. It is, rather, a physical manifestation of a moral failing. Since tzara’at was believed to be caused by sin, it needed a ritual remedy. Once the disease manifestation was over, the patient still had to be cleansed of the sin that had caused the outbreak. That is accomplished through penitential sacrifice, the procedure for which is described in this week’s reading. The recovered sufferer was instructed to stay out of his or her tent for a week, then shave off all body and head hair, then (through the priests) offer sacrifices. The sin that causes the skin disease is not specified in the text. The lists several sins that can lead to tzara’at: slander, the shedding of , a vain oath, incest, arrogance, robbery, and envy. - speaking ill of others – is the sin most commonly associated with tzara’at. The Talmud, however, makes clear that no one gets tzara’at anymore, that it is a disease of the past. What was the disease called tzara’at, if it was not leprosy? Several different ailments have been suggested, including vitiligo, a skin disease of unknown etiology. Modern science would suggest that the mold-like outbreaks in fabric and houses were not the same ailment as that on human skin.

Haftarah 9:7-15

The brief comes from the and follows a common prophetic pattern. The people are threatened with punishment for their sins and then promised redemption when they return to the ways of G-d. The haftarah begins by asking, “Aren’t you, children of Israel, just like the Ethiopians to me?” and goes on to say that G-d rescued other people besides the and judges all people for their sins. Sinful peoples will be wiped out, the prophecy goes on to say. However, it promises that the Israelite people will never be completely destroyed and once they return to the ways of holiness they will have a great reward.

According to Michael Fishbane, the connection between the reading and haftarah is one of thematic counterpoint. The emphasizes the importance of holiness, of abiding by the covenant, a promise that is particular to G-d and Israel. The haftarah talks about what happens if the people diverge from the commandments. Then they are no longer a holy people, but just like the other peoples of the earth. The combination of the parasha and the haftarah, according to Fishbane, offers “the possibility of a more nuanced theology of chosenness.”