the shabbat parsha sheet and newsletter of CAN the Orthodox Minyan at Harvard Hillel TAB Parshat Tazria-Metzora・5 Iyyar 5781・April 17, 2021 Metzora from the Perspective of the Navi (Reprinted from 2020) The two haftorot associated with this week’s double parshah might lead one to believe that II Shabbos Times Kings is a book primarily concerned with various personages suffering from tza’arat, the skin (Cambridge) disease often translated as ‘leprosy’. These passages logically connect to the parshiyot, as the diagnosis and rituals of tza’arat take up the majority of them.1 But this juxtaposition also makes Candle Lighting: 7:09pm clear that the description of tza’arat in Leviticus and the reality of tza’arat in II Kings contain (Sefirat Ha'Omer 20) numerous discrepancies. The goal of these haftorot, then, is not to show a working model of what has been expounded upon in the parshiyot. Instead, we can understand better the experiences of Latest Shema: 9:22am these specific metzoraim because we have context about how isolating and ostracizing this disease Latest Tefillah: 10:29am was. Shkiah: 7:28pm In the haftorah for Tazria, Naaman is introduced first by his occupation, then by his affliction: he is Havdalah: 8:11pm a great military leader who is also a metzora (II Kings 5:1). A young Israelite girl that he had (Sefirat Ha'Omer 21) captured during a raid tells him that the prophet Elisha can cure his disease (II Kings 5:2). Indeed, Elisha recommends a solution without even examining Naaman in person: Naaman should bathe in the Jordan River seven times, then his flesh will be healed (II Kings 5:10). Initially Naaman refuses Book of Ruth shiurim! to believe Elisha; he had bathed regularly in the rivers of Damascus with no cure, why should the Jordan be any different (II Kings 5:12)? His servants persuade him to take Elisha’s advice, arguing There will be three opportunities to that this action is not difficult.2 After bathing in the Jordan, Naaman is cured and he declares, הִנֵה־נָ֤א יָד֙עְתִי֙ כִ֣י) ’learn about the Book of Ruth ahead of ‘Behold, now I know that there is no God in the whole world, except in Israel .(II Kings 5:15 ,אֵ֤ין אֱלקים֙ בְכָל־הָאָ֔רץ כִ֖י אִם־בְיִשְראֵ֑ל וְעַתָ֛ה קח־נָ֥א בְרכָ֖ה מֵאֵ֥ת עַבְדֶָֽ ,Shavuot! Zoë Lang, Avital Habshush and Talia Weisberg will be teaching Elisha’s prescription for Naaman is perplexing, as it differs significantly from the ritual that Sunday nights between April 28 and allows the metzora to return to a state of purification outlined in Leviticus. The first stage requires May 9 from 7:30pm to 8:30pm. Zoom ‘two live, clean birds, cedar wood, crimson thread, and hyssop’ (Leviticus 14:4), along with a priest information to follow. Please see to lead the ceremony. It is only after this ritual is complete that the metzora immerses in water, Evan’s email for more details. which allows him re-entry into the camp--seven days later, he immerses again, bringing him to a state of full purity (the entire ceremony is detailed in Leviticus 14:1-9). A priest is conspicuously Megilat Rut absent from the incident with Naaman, which directly contradicts the command that tza’arat must be diagnosed by Aaron or one of his sons (Leviticus 13:2)--in other words, not a young girl or a The independent group that prophet.3 The text also clearly states that a priest must see the person in order to render a organized Purim davening is planning judgment. The greatest discrepancy of all, though, is the fact that there is no reason to think that a women's reading of Megillat Rut an Aramean would be subjected to the punishment of tza’arat at all, as this is an affliction specific 4 during Shavuot. This reading will take to Israelites (see Mishnah Negaim, 3:1). In sum, the story of Naaman is not instructive about the place outside with social distance and procedures and requirements around tza’arat, so it must have other purposes. masks required. If you would be Perhaps one of the lessons from this narrative can be taken from Naaman’s reluctance to interested in participating either as a accept Elisha’s advice. Imagine that he has lived for years with this persistent skin condition, one that is so apparent that even a young girl in his household can recognize it. His snappish reply to leyner or attendee, please fill out the Elisha’s prescription could be exasperation at his attempts to cure it without success; furthermore, following form: https://forms.gle/ his insistence that he bathes often in the rivers of Damascus might suggest that he is insecure Lf1A2YCzm7x9f4ZW9. about his appearance, an insecurity that he mitigates by washing frequently. Naaman, then, has resigned himself to a state of reluctantly accepting that he is a metzora. Thus, when Elisha provides ZA'AKAH Peer-Support a relatively simple solution, Naaman is incredulous that it could succeed. His initial reluctance reflects his larger anxiety that he might suffer more disappointment if it fails. The ZA'AKAH Peer-Support Hotline The haftorah for Metzora, II Kings 7:3-20, also features several unusual elements in its is available as a resource to our description of tza’arat. Four metzoraim wait outside of the city of Samaria. Because it is under community for those who feel they siege, they see no reason to hasten their return to society--a situation not considered in Leviticus, need to talk to someone on Shabbat where the descriptions of the rituals suggest that the metzora seeks to cure his condition as soon (it has been approved by R. Passow for as possible to end his isolation.5 With no food available to them in the city or its gates, the four those who need it). It is not a decide instead to seek out the besiegers--the Arameans--and ask them for mercy (II Kings 7:8). substitute for professional crisis When they go to the camp, they discover, to their surprise, that it is empty.6 After plundering it, intervention. Call, text, or WhatsApp they return to the city to report that the troops have deserted. Soon the news spreads and the 1-888-4-ZAAKAH (1-888-492-2524). people of Samaria take the rest of the goods (II Kings 7:16). Although it would appear that the metzoraim have flaunted several of the rules in Leviticus, they are rewarded instead of punished. The haftorah does end punitively for one person, however, when the officer appointed to continued on the reverse וַתְמָאֵ֞ן הַמַלְכָ֣ה וַשְתִ֗י לָבוא֙ בִדבַ֣ר הַמֶ֔לְֶ אֲשֶ֖ר בְיַ֣ד הַסָריסִ֑ים וַיִקצֹ֤ף הַמֶ֙לְֶ֙ מְאֹ֔ד וַחֲמָת֖ו בָעֲר֥ה בֽו׃ (אסתר א:יב) Mental Health Resources watch the gate is trampled to death as the people leave the city (II Kings 7:17). The Kli Yakar identifies this as a case of midda keneged midda: when Elisha predicted that the JF&CS of Boston has recently launched prices for food would drop by the next day (II Kings 7:1), the guard mocked his prophecy הִנֵ֣ה) ’?two initiatives in response to increased with the retort, ‘Even if the Lord made windows in the sky, could this come to pass II Kings 7:2). Elisha responds that the guard will ,יי עֹשֶ֤ה אֲרבות֙ בַשָמַ֔יִם הֲיִהְיֶ֖ה הַדָבָ֣ר הַזֶ֑ה demand for mental health services in the greater Boston Jewish community. The see the miracle but not partake in it--the same lines that are restated at the end of the Mental Health Connect service is a free, chapter (II Kings 7:18-19). The guard shares with Naaman a skepticism toward Elisha’s prophecy and incredulity that it could come true. Unlike in the case of Naaman, however, confidential information and referral the text does not indicate that the guard changed his mind. service for mental health support. The Path But perhaps the guard shares another quality with Naaman. Both may lash out at to Well-being program, jointly run with CJP Elisha because they feel that they are in helpless situations. In the case of the guard, he has and McLean Hospital, is a free, virtual lived through a famine so severe that there is testimony of cannibalism (II Kings 6:26-29). mental health support program. Please That he should be skeptical about the end of the siege seems less surprising given the reach out to JF&CS (or by phone, context of the devastation he has seen. 781-693-5562), for more information. Is the lesson in these haftorot that one should blindly accept the words of a prophet? I think that this interpretation is overly simplistic; after all, Naaman needed help from his We e k n i g h t S h i u r i m household to listen to Elisha’s words. Instead, I see in these texts a reminder that regardless of how painfully our personal struggles affect our lives, there is always room for Join us for weeknight shiurim, taught by a glimpse of hope that change will come. your fellow community members! Open I had not originally thought to link this CanTab to our current situation, but it is to the entire community. almost impossible to engage with a text in a way that is wholly detached from the experiences we are enduring right now in this time of anxiety, uncertainty, unpredictability, MONDAY, 8:30 PM and fear. Certainly there are multitudes of people whose lives have been ruptured in ways that are deeply painful and may not ever be fully healed.