I often remark that this week’s double-parsha is a challenge for rabbis who seek to make the Torah relevant because it’s about an obscure topic: The skin disease known as tzaraat. More loosely translated, tzaraat can mean spiritual or ritual leprosy. This translation allows for the more common approach to focus on the traditional idea that tzaraat is a punishment for spiritual transgressions such as lashon hara, as the Gemarah tells us in Mesechet Erchin, 16a.
א"ר שמואל בר נחמני א"ר יוחנן על שבעה דברים נגעים באין על לשון הרע ועל שפיכות דמים ועל שבועת שוא ועל גילוי עריות ועל גסות הרוח ועל הגזל ועל צרות העין
Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani says that Rabbi Yoḥanan says: Leprous marks come and afflict a person for seven matters: For malicious speech, for bloodshed, for an oath taken in vain, for forbidden sexual relations, for arrogance, for theft, and for stinginess.
However, I think to truly appreciate the depth of our parsha, we must consider why the topic of tzaraat is introduced with a reference to brit milah.
וּבַיּ֖וֹם הַשְּׁמִינִ֑י יִמּ֖וֹל בְּשַׂ֥ר עׇרְלָתֽוֹ
On the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised [Leviticus 12:1]
It may initially seem unclear how these topics are related, but a deeper understanding reveals their connection.
When God first commanded brit milah to Avraham, He said, "Walk in front of me and be perfect." This indicates that brit milah represents a transformation that made Avraham "perfect" and suggests that without brit milah, he was "imperfect." As many commentaries explain, brit milah teaches us that only through human intervention can the world attain perfection. Brit milah emphasizes our role in contributing to God's imperfect world and highlights the importance of our efforts to perfect ourselves and the world around us.
The significance of the human contribution to the world is illustrated in a story from the Midrash about a conversation between Rabbi Akiva and Ternus Rufus, a Roman governor. Rufus asked Rabbi Akiva which was superior, the works of God or the works of man. In response, Rabbi Akiva presented him with wheat kernels and bread and asked him which he thought was better.
הביאו לי שבולים וגלוסקאות, אמר לו אלו מעשה הקב"ה ואלו מעשה בשר ודם אין אלו נאים
Bring me wheat spikes and white bread. He said to him: The former is the work of the Holy One, and the latter is the work of flesh and blood. Is not the latter more beautiful? [Tanchuma, Tazria 7]
It was clear that bread, the product of man's work, was more valuable than raw wheat kernels. Rufus then asked why God did not create man already circumcised from the outset.
Rabbi Akiva countered Rufus' argument by suggesting that God intentionally creates humans imperfect so that we may work on ourselves to improve. According to Rabbi Akiva, even if God had created us circumcised, it would not fulfill the purpose of a brit milah because we would not have actively participated in the process. Rather than being a perfunctory physical change, brit milah represents a transformative act that humans carry out in partnership with God, similar to the act of baking bread.
Even in today's world, where there are countless variations of commercial bread and baked goods, many of us still appreciate the personal touch we find in small local bakeries. It's clear that bread-making has become a way for us to express our creativity. In a similar way, brit milah represents a transformation of God's world that becomes deeply personal and rooted in the relationship between humans and God.
The message of personal transformation is also evident in the context of the Metzorah. While there are many generic illnesses, tzaraat is intensely personal. The Torah teaches that God sends this affliction to prompt individuals to change their ways, to turn away from lashon hara, evil speech, and become more relationship-oriented. As the saying goes, "Change yourself and you can change the world." Understanding this, we can see how brit milah serves as a meaningful preface to the discussion of tzaraat. The world is imperfect, just as we are, and our task is to perfect it by perfecting ourselves. Through working on ourselves, we become unique individuals.
לפי שלא נתן הקב"ה לישראל את המצות אלא כדי לצרף בהן
Because the Holy One only gave Israel the commandments in order to mold and purify them.
I believe that this same framework can be applied to the commemorations we have during this two-week period: Yom HaShoah and Yom HaZikaron. In our remembrance, we express the conviction that people did not die in vain and become faceless numbers. From the flames of the Holocaust, the State of Israel emerged and has survived and flourished thanks to the bravery of our Israeli soldiers. When we remember all those who perished in the Holocaust and those who died defending Israel from its enemies, we remember not just a generic group, but individuals, who perfected themselves and sanctified God’s name, forever living on in our memories.
Just as we say "zachor" to memorialize Shabbat with creation, and Pesach with the Exodus, for Yom HaShoah and Yom Hazikaron, we say "zachor" and remember those who died al kiddush Hashem, by sanctifying God's name. We realize that these holy individuals, by giving their life for a powerful cause, paved the way for us and future generations and have forever changed the world for the better. תִּהְיֶינָה נַפְשׁוֹתָיהם צְרוּרוֹת בִּצְרוֹר הַחַיִּים.
Shabbat shalom.