Parashat Metzora 5784

by Rabbi Margie Cella

We learn of the purification ritual for a leper who has been healed. Two live birds were needed. One was slaughtered, the other dipped in its blood before being set free. After another seven days, the person washed their clothes, shaved their hair, and bathed. Two lambs were sacrificed, the priest putting some of the blood on the individual’s right earlobe, thumb, and big toe. Oil was placed in the same three spots and poured over the person’s head. They were at last deemed pure.

Houses could also contract this impurity. The priest locked it up for seven days. If the infection continued, the infected stones would be removed and replaced. If the problem persisted after an additional seven days, the house was torn down. An infection-free house was cleansed using the same ritual with the two birds, and the blood was sprinkled on the house seven times.

Finally, there were purification rituals for men who had seminal discharges or women after their menstrual flow, whose impure state was highly transmittable through contact. Their expiation similarly required washing, sacrifices, and bathing.

Finally, any person who did not cleanse their own impurity could potentially defile the Tabernacle, the dwelling place of God among the people. The improper conduct of one individual could have disastrous consequences for the entire nation.

Today we interpret this metaphorically. Kol Yisrael Arevim Zeh Ba’Zeh – All the people of Israel are responsible for one another—means that we share a collective responsibility to live a life of personal observance, and to reach out to others when we see them heading down the wrong path. Only if/when we all commit ourselves to a life that strives for purity, benefiting others as well as ourselves, can we assure that the presence of God will dwell in our midst.