What will life look like in 6 months from now? In a year from now, will I still have a job? Will air travel be the same? What will be scars from the coronavirus pandemic – on our families, communities, economies and culture?
Will we go back to our old lives or will we be forever changed by the digital creatures we are slowly becoming?
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This week we read two parshiyot in the Torah. Tazria and Metzora both discuss the biblical, spiritual-physical illness of tzaraat. Most years the two parshiyot are joined together.
Tazria mainly discusses the illness. Metzora mainly discusses the cure.
Tzaraat was a serious illness that required physical isolation from others. It was not contagious. Rather, the quarantine was part of the rehabilitation process. Since tzaraat was a form of punishment for speaking lashon hara, the appropriate rectification was learning the lesson of loneliness and damaged reputation that lashon hara causes.
I find it interesting that the Torah devotes so much discussion to the purification process of the metzora (person with tzaraat). The Torah is discussing a person who has been punished. Yet, the Torah ensures that there is a path to restoration. And devotes nearly an entire parsha to the purification process.
The Talmud teaches us that G-d always creates a cure before the illness.
In other words, illness itself is never a goal. It’s a step toward healing. Unfortunately, our view is not always complete. Sometimes, we don’t see or experience the full picture. But, the nature of illness is not to lead to disaster. Rather, it is designed to lead to healing. Sometimes it doesn’t pan out – but that’s the aberration, not the norm.
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As we survey the world around us and wonder what the future looks like, let us take a lesson from our parsha.
I don’t know what the future holds. But our Torah and our faith are clear. The purpose of this pandemic is not penalization, curse or retribution.
The covid-19 pandemic is horrible and devastating. Yet, it is not the end. The future is unknown. But, it is bright.
Cheri wrote...