“Do not imitate the behavior of the Egyptians amongst who you lived and do not behave in the same way as the Canaanites do, in whose land you are going to live” (18.3). For more than three thousand years this has been the major challenge that has faced the Jewish people. However, many of us have been killed by those…
Sefer Vayikra
Sexual Sins
All forbidden sex falls under the general rubric of “Erva.” Literally nakedness, revealing, uncovering what should be covered. There are no subdivisions, like incest, everything, from adultery to homosexuality comes under this term. And yet there are a lot of other words used in the Torah to express disapproval. In this chapter alone you have in addition to Ervah, Zima,…
Do Times Change?
The Torah continues with chapters concerned primarily with events that caused disruption or displacement to the normal functioning of the human body, both male and female. Sometimes this applied to sickness or disease. Other examples were the flow of bodily liquids. In addition, touching or being in the same room as a dead person also put one into a different…
Leprosy
These chapters we now read officially deal with leprosy but it is not the disease of that name we are familiar with today. After all there is no such disease as leprosy of clothes or buildings. Rather it symbolizes any infection or decay that affects our bodies, our fabrics and our structures. The priest had to identify a problem and…
Purification
Why were the priests in ancient Israel involved in checking for leprosy and other infectious disease? Surely this was the job of the doctor. But then if you think of the term “Witch Doctor” you realize that it was common practice for religion and health to be interconnected. The priest reminded us that we need a spiritual dimension to lead…
Isolation
The diseases described in the Torah this week as Leprosy are not actually the disease we know of by that name. Rather it is a general way of describing any serious or potentially infectious disease or fungus. The Torah involves the priests in assessing the problem, prescribing isolation if necessary and then participating in the healing process. This interconnection between…