By Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D.
SAN DIEGO — In this week’s parasha, Tazria, we discover tzara’as, which we have come to know in modern terms as leprosy. While this disease is uncommon today, who hasn’t found a spot or two on their body, had a biopsy and been told, B’H, “all is clean?” This seems straightforward and quite different than the complex, elaborate treatments for skin disorders in biblical times. Skin disorders? Back then, skin blemishes not only were found on one’s body, but were also found on one’s clothing and the walls of one’s home! Why? Tzara’as was punishment for derogatory gossip mongering, “lashon hara,” spreading rumors. When the Kohen declared the person “unclean,” tamei, the High Priest used his medical and religious roles and expelled and isolated the afflicted.
This week’s parasha teaches us about the intertwined connection of our physical and religious lives. Rabbis and doctors, we know, both heal. The Rambam, a rabbi and a physician, embodies this for us. Today we understand the link between mind-body-soul for our overall wellness. The Rashbam said that we may not “rely upon standard human knowledge and expertise [that is, current medical information]. Instead, we must follow the analysis (midrash) of the sages, their decrees, and the inherited body of knowledge that they received from the earliest Sages.”
Thus, tzara’as can best — if not only — be understood from the Torah’s standpoint, rather than from a physiological or medical perspective, because it is a spiritually based ailment that manifests in a physical fashion.
Is someone who gossips emotionally healthy? The Torah teaches us the answer is “No.” This person separates her/himself from others, in a sense living expelled from others, unable to feel or care for the pain of others. Believing that you “go up” when you “put another down,” speaking lashon hora, reflects on your unhealthy ego. Speaking lashon hara about another is like wearing a glowing sign that shouts, “I’m emotionally unhealthy!”
Interpersonal relationships don’t exist on a seesaw. That’s not a healthy mindset, nor is it spiritually healthy. Living apart from others can breed loneliness and that feeds depression, which impacts one’s physical wellbeing. We learn in the Talmud, in Erachin 15b, that lashon hara afflicts the a) listener, b) the speaker and, c) the subject of gossip. Contemporary researchers on the topic of gossip tell us that gossip and talebearing, talking about people who aren’t present, isn’t necessarily always negative or untrue. This aligns with what the Chofetz Chaim taught long ago. Interestingly in one study recently, researchers found that of the 52 minutes a day on average that 467 subjects spent gossiping, three-quarters of that gossip was actively neutral. Yes, there is brain research that indicates that the act of gossiping can help calm the body…but this parasha teaches more pointedly that it destroys human relationships.
A Mi Shebeirach can lift our spirit, an MD can remove a skin cancer, however Taharah, cleanliness, comes from the way we live our lives. When we live fully whole, when we follow the Torah’s admonitions regarding not diminishing others with our speech, we live connected with others, our joy increases…we are living the way we were meant to be, tahur, a contributing part of a community, a kehilla. Keep in mind that tazria is from the root, zera, or seed. This suggests growth, development, hope that we can be fertile, free, and strong.
In the words of David Arnow, Ph.D., a psychologist and scholar on Passover, in his new book, “Choosing Hope: The Heritage of Judaism,” “Human beings are creating in the divine image…He has put the responsibility for fulfilling our hopes in our hands.” Tazria comes to teach us that we can draw on these talents to be as positively productive as we choose. The parasha is a reminder of our power to use this responsibility to increase good in our lives and in our community. The creativity, the harmony of tazria, stands in contrast to those who promote impurity in the world.
The parasha reminds us that our words have power and can damage and hinder or help us meet the adversities that come in our path and live optimally. Carol Dweck’s, Ph.D. psychological research teaches us that even when we have positive intent, we need to be careful of the words we use. She investigated what happened when students were commended for their intelligence while another group of students were praised for their effort when completing the same learning assignments. When attention was on the students’ intelligence, they stopped trying and their performance suffered. Contrast this with those students who were praised for their effort. They demonstrated greater resilience, fully embarked on new academic challenges, and their performance improved.
The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying: When a person has on the skin of his body a swelling, a rash, or a discoloration, and it develops into a scaly affection on the skin of his body, it shall be reported to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons, the priests. The priest shall examine the affection on the skin of his body…
We may wonder why must a “priest” examine people and proclaim one to be “unclean”? The “priests” were the spiritual heirs of Aaron, the first “priest.” What do we know Aaron was particularly recognized for? Promoting brotherly love, achdus, among the Jewish people. Declaring someone “unclean” in such a way as to not promote stigma, or shunning an individual with a feared disease, is a good lesson for today.
Just as today we teach that it’s not what’s in the doctor’s black bag as much as it’s what’s in the heart of the person carrying the black bag that is associated with healing, so too must we take extreme care in not gossiping about, rejecting, judging, or stigmatizing one with an illness or deficiency of any kind. These priests were not “providers,” and their patients were not “consumers” in a commercial transaction. We see the very sensitive, caring, connection between the one who examines and the one who is afflicted.
We are taught that we would be wise to pay attention to the messages that our body gives us about our mindset. It is sensible to avoid thoughts, words, and actions that trigger ill effects and instead to choose a way of life that brings on glimmering effects, hope.
The Slonimer Rebbe, zt”l, whom I had the privilege of learning from, teaches that we are like scouts, looking out on the world and life from a high tower. This vantage point allows us to see suffering and to recognize that Hashem did not create a world to be a place of such pain. We understand that the world is filled with good and that from a place of trust that what we do will make a difference in this world, supported by Hashem, we use our purpose in life to fix what is broken, including our own character. This rests on hope…and commitment to better ourselves and the world. In the words of Lord Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, zt”l, “Judaism is a sustained struggle against the world that is in the name of the world that could be — but is not yet.” This week’s parasha gives us hope to make that difference. Perhaps it begins with our tongues, which we had better guard.
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Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D., prepares a weekly D’var Torah for Young Israel of San Diego, where he and his family are members. They are also active members of Congregation Adat Yeshurun. He may be contacted via michael.mantell@sdjewishworld.com