Help! I Need Somebody!
Parshiyot
Tazria/Metzora – 5780
Rabbi
Shaanan Gelman and Rabbi Ariel Rackovsky
Private First Class Kristofor
Stonesifer was a 28 year old Army Ranger from Missoula, Montana who was killed
in 2001 when his Blackhawk crashed in an Afghani dust storm. 18 years later, two men who pretended to be
military Veterans were required to write his obituary out by hand- and those of
39 other Montanans who died while serving their country. It was all part of a sentence imposed by
District Judge Greg Pinski of Cascade County against these men for fraudulently
portraying themselves as Veterans to receive benefits and preferential
treatment. Aside from prison sentences for their actual crime, the judge
offered them a chance at parole halfway through their sentences if they met
certain conditions. The final condition was
that they would be required to wear placards on Memorial Day and Veterans Day
outside the Montana Veterans Memorial with a sign that reads: “I am a liar. I
am not a veteran. I stole valor. I have dishonored all veterans.”[1]
[1]
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2019/08/26/two-men-lied-about-being-veterans-judges-sentence-wear-signs-saying-i-am-liar/
It’s this final punitive measure that
is the most jarring, as it takes their sentence from private penitence to
public shaming. However, if we look carefully, this sentence is positively
biblical in origin.
The metzora must endure a number of painstaking measures to remedy him
or herself from the disease. There is one step in the purification process,
however, which seems a bit excessive. A punitive
measure that might have been on Judge Pinski’s mind. The Metzora must declare,
publicly, that he or she is impure.
ויקרא פרק
יג
פסוק
מה
וְהַצָּר֜וּעַ אֲשֶׁר־בּ֣וֹ הַנֶּ֗גַע
בְּגָדָ֞יו
יִהְי֤וּ פְרֻמִים֙
וְרֹאשׁוֹ֙ יִהְיֶ֣ה פָר֔וּעַ וְעַל־שָׂפָ֖ם
יַעְטֶ֑ה
וְטָמֵ֥א׀ טָמֵ֖א
יִקְרָֽא:
As for the person with the tzara’at
affliction, his clothes shall be rent, his head shall be left bare, and he
shall cover over his upper lip; and he shall call out, “Unclean! Unclean!”
Why do they have to endure this kind
of public shaming? It’s like tarring and feathering, or the stocks. They are
already suffering enough!
Within our tradition, we find two
answers. The first is this is designed as a way or warning others to stay away
from them. Tzara’at is highly contagious with strong viral shedding, and
contact with a Metzora must be avoided.
רש"י ויקרא פרשת תזריע פרק יג פסוק מה
וטמא טמא
יקרא
- משמיע
שהוא
טמאת
ויפרשו
ממנו
I daresay most Rabbis this week will
share Torah with their communities about the quarantine of the Metzora, the
mandated social distancing - as an obvious connection that does not need to be
belabored.
There is another explanation, though, that
merits further investigation. According to the Talmud(Shabbos 67a)[2],
the purpose of this declaration is to encourage others to reach out and offer
assistance, and to beseech God on behalf of the Metzora. צריך להודיע צערו לרבים, ורבים יבקשו עליו רחמים- he must make the public aware of his
distress, so that they can request mercy on his behalf. This
has nothing to do with public health, epidemiology or the treatment of
infectious diseases. Instead, it is about identifying and caring for the
spiritual needs of a Metzora. No
doubt, the tendency of the metzora
might be to withhold how they are feeling. Perhaps it is because of the shame
they feel about their condition, or of misplaced humility- or maybe they don’t
wish to be a burden.
By being open about his condition,
the Metzora receives the assistance
and love he desperately needs, and the support of a caring community.
Additionally, he helps create a culture in which it is acceptable and
encouraged to ask for help.
There is a secondary issue which
arises when we are reluctant to disclose our suffering to others. So often, we
deny ourselves an opportunity to receive a much-needed helping hand, yet complain later on that we didn't
receive that assistance. Being able to identify and articulate our needs is
an essential part of being human, and does not diminish us in any way. Rav
Soloveitchik, in his essay “Redemption, Prayer, Talmud Torah” delivered May of
1973 notes that the beginning of the redemption process for the Hebrew slaves
was when they prayed to God and called out in despair:
וַיְהִי֩ בַיָּמִ֨ים
הָֽרַבִּ֜ים
הָהֵ֗ם
וַיָּ֙מָת֙
מֶ֣לֶךְ מִצְרַ֔יִם וַיֵּאָנְח֧וּ בְנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֛ל
מִן־הָעֲבֹדָ֖ה
וַיִּזְעָ֑קוּ
וַתַּ֧עַל שַׁוְעָתָ֛ם
אֶל־הָאֱלֹהִ֖ים
מִן־הָעֲבֹדָֽה׃
Exodus
2:23
A long time after that, the king of
Egypt died. The Israelites were groaning under the bondage and cried out; and
their cry for help from the bondage rose up to God. The Rav wonders:
Why
were they silent during the many years of slavery that proceeded Moses’
appearance? They had lacked the need-awareness, and experienced no need,
whether for freedom, for dignity, or for painless existence. They did not rebel
against reality; they lacked the tension that engenders suffering and distress.
The voice was restored to them at the very instant they discovered,
emotionally, their need-awareness and became sensitive to pain in a human
fashion.
This is not because we are martyrs,
or because we love to complain- it is because we don’t know how to ask for
help.
In our current period of
isolation, it can prove difficult to
tell whether someone is in need, what kind of needs they have- and what needs we have. This is not a matter of corona
etiquette; it will hold true long after this pandemic subsides, with God’s help
soon. Don’t stand on ceremony and wait for the outreach - ask for help, you
will be amazed at how much people want to help. If anything, you may be doing
them a favor. As people are sheltering in place, they feel irrelevant and want
to do meaningful things to support others and add purpose to their lives.
We are about to
begin the “Israel Season” on the Jewish Calendar, with Yom Hazikaron and Yom
Haatzmaut this week and Yom Yerushalaim around the corner. Israel has long been
the Metzora in the world, standing
alone in the UN against reprobate nations that dare to censor her, standing
alone in its wars against implacable enemies and against all odds. Many Jews in
the diaspora have found purpose in our political advocacy for Israel and
financial support of its institutions and citizens. Recent events have reversed
that perception. Israel has fared much better than many countries in managing
the Corona epidemic, dealing with the medical and psychological implications
expeditiously and with typical Israeli resilience. It is not a nebbach country that needs us. For
years, we’ve been saying that we take access to Israel for granted, because we
could theoretically hop on a plane and visit, or move there, whenever we want.
Currently, that opportunity is exceedingly limited. As we find ourselves
“outside the encampment” and denied access to Israeli borders, we need to
articulate how much we need Israel
in our lives. Now is not the time to be silent or ashamed of our vulnerability
and spiritual affliction. As the Rav expressed - Redemption can only be visited
upon those who are bold enough to admit their needs. May we fulfill the
comforting words of the verse (Isaiah 40:2)
דַּבְּר֞וּ עַל־לֵ֤ב
יְרֽוּשָׁלִַ֙ם֙
וְקִרְא֣וּ אֵלֶ֔יהָ
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, And
declare to her. May we experience a hasty and complete relief, and may the
Ultimate Purifier declare fit to return back to our camp, and back to our home.
[1]
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2019/08/26/two-men-lied-about-being-veterans-judges-sentence-wear-signs-saying-i-am-liar/
והתניא: אילן
שמשיר
פירותיו
סוקרו
(וצובע
אותו)
בסיקרא
וטוענו
באבנים.
בשלמא
טוענו
באבנים
- כי
היכי
דליכחוש
חיליה,
אלא
סוקרו
בסיקרא
מאי
רפואה
קעביד?
- כי
היכי
דליחזייה
אינשי
וליבעו
עליה
רחמי.
כדתניא:
וטמא
טמא
יקרא
- צריך להודיע צערו לרבים, ורבים יבקשו עליו רחמים.
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