| Dear CBO Families,
It is striking how this week’s Torah portion mirrors what is going on in the world right now. This week we read the double parsha of Tazria Metzora which deals with skin diseases, their treatment and the disease spreading to clothes or even houses. The Torah states, “He shall be impure as long as the disease is on him. Being impure, he shall dwell apart; his dwelling shall be outside the camp.” (Leviticus 13:46) The person who is impure with the disease has to live outside of camp. The reason for this is to make sure others don’t become infected with the skin disease. The person must remain in this state of isolation until the disease fully heals itself.
As you can see, this situation described in the Torah eerily mirrors the one we now face ourselves with due to Covid-19. We are isolating ourselves to slow and hopefully stop the spread of the virus. However, even with all of our technology, this isolation like that of the individual who had the skin disease, fills us with loneliness. We desperately want to be with our friends and family, yet we cannot because we want to protect the people we love and our community at large.
This virus has dramatically changed the landscape of our country and the entire world, when we are able to come out of this quarantine the world we knew will be completely different, people will interact differently with one another.
When the individual who had the skin disease is in the final state of being purified by the priest; the priest puts the blood of the sacrificial offering on the ear, the right thumb, and big toe on the right foot. Why is this done? Our Chumash tells us that the recovery from illness is the combined result of our actions, our attitudes and divine grace.
This virus is forcing us to slow down, it is kind of like a reset button on our lives. We have the chance to think about the actions we have taken. Were we helping others? Were we helping ourselves? What was our attitude toward our neighbors our community, our country, what was our relationship like with God? During this time of quarantine we have the opportunity for reflection and deep contemplation.
May we not only have a physical recovery from this virus, but a reinvigorated spiritual health that brings us closer to God, our faith and family.
I am here for you if you want to talk, and or feeling lonely during this time. My office hours are 1-2:30 pm on Tuesdays.
Shabbat Shalom,
Cantor Kowitz |
