Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts
Divre Torah/Words of Torah, of Prayer and other Reflections
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| SHARE YOUR PAIN, THAT OTHERS MAY CRY WITH YOU Torah Portion/Parashat Tazria The primary theme in Parashat Tazria is leprosy. It is a difficult portion to read, reflecting in its language the difficulties of which it speaks. Beneath the surface is a tender message of hope and compassion that speaks to all of us. Rabbi Victor Reinstein |
Parashat Tazria is a difficult portion to read. Primarily about leprosy, its language reflects
the difficulties of which it speaks. Pain and sorrow are universal realities of life. The
manner of our response to suffering, to our own and to that of others, measures the true
social breadth of professed compassion and reflects the degree of inner security that for
each of us shall banish self-loathing and fear of rejection.
The Torah speaks of the leper, whose “garments shall be rent, whose head shall remain
unshorn, who shall be covered down to the upper lip, and who shall cry out: ‘Unclean!
Unclean!’.” The cruel implication is that the leper shall warn away others, that they not
become contaminated. The leper has become synonymous with those who are the social
outcasts of every generation. In our time it may be those suffering with AIDS, or those
whose sexual orientation is other than heterosexual.
There is another way to read the verse, however, which rests upon a simple grammatical
mark. Between the two words that mean “unclean, unclean,” or more accurately, “impure,
impure,” there is a small vertical line called a p’sik. The p’sik tells the reader or chanter to
pause between the words, much like the pause indicated by a rest in music. The Hebrew
should thus be read, v’tamei | tamei yikra, “and the impure | the impure shall cry out.” This
teaches something very different than the less exact reading, “and the impure shall cry
out impure.”
With this reading in mind, the Talmud says, “This teaches that a person needs to share
their pain with others, so that others will seek compassion on behalf of the one who
suffers.” A sensitive nineteenth century commentator, Boruch HaLevi Epshtein, brings
other teachings and interweaves them with his own, adding to the message of comfort:
“As it is written in the Book of Lamentations, ‘She shall surely weep at night.’ Why at
night? Because the voice of one who cries at night will surely be heard. Whoever hears
will cry with them, and seek compassion on their behalf.”
By pausing for a moment before uttering the next word a new understanding emerges. In
taking time to pause amid the din, reflection can challenge assumption and the pained cry
of another can be heard. Beneath the surface of a challenging verse of Torah is a tender
message of hope and compassion that speaks to all of us.
the difficulties of which it speaks. Pain and sorrow are universal realities of life. The
manner of our response to suffering, to our own and to that of others, measures the true
social breadth of professed compassion and reflects the degree of inner security that for
each of us shall banish self-loathing and fear of rejection.
The Torah speaks of the leper, whose “garments shall be rent, whose head shall remain
unshorn, who shall be covered down to the upper lip, and who shall cry out: ‘Unclean!
Unclean!’.” The cruel implication is that the leper shall warn away others, that they not
become contaminated. The leper has become synonymous with those who are the social
outcasts of every generation. In our time it may be those suffering with AIDS, or those
whose sexual orientation is other than heterosexual.
There is another way to read the verse, however, which rests upon a simple grammatical
mark. Between the two words that mean “unclean, unclean,” or more accurately, “impure,
impure,” there is a small vertical line called a p’sik. The p’sik tells the reader or chanter to
pause between the words, much like the pause indicated by a rest in music. The Hebrew
should thus be read, v’tamei | tamei yikra, “and the impure | the impure shall cry out.” This
teaches something very different than the less exact reading, “and the impure shall cry
out impure.”
With this reading in mind, the Talmud says, “This teaches that a person needs to share
their pain with others, so that others will seek compassion on behalf of the one who
suffers.” A sensitive nineteenth century commentator, Boruch HaLevi Epshtein, brings
other teachings and interweaves them with his own, adding to the message of comfort:
“As it is written in the Book of Lamentations, ‘She shall surely weep at night.’ Why at
night? Because the voice of one who cries at night will surely be heard. Whoever hears
will cry with them, and seek compassion on their behalf.”
By pausing for a moment before uttering the next word a new understanding emerges. In
taking time to pause amid the din, reflection can challenge assumption and the pained cry
of another can be heard. Beneath the surface of a challenging verse of Torah is a tender
message of hope and compassion that speaks to all of us.
| Nehar Shalom Community Synagogue 43 Lochstead Avenue, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130 |
