Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 8 Nisan, 5784
Parsha Metzora’ – “Tzara’at sufferer”: (Leviticus 14:1 – 15:33)
Third Portion: Leviticus 14:21 – 14:32

Good morning! As we move forward on this healing journey together it is going to ebb and flow; it will feel daunting sometimes. This morning I read In the “Book of Awakening” by Mark Nepo about navigating just “One Drop of Truth at a Time.”  It can become very overwhelming as we take the entire picture in around us. We can ground ourselves in one piece at a time. This is the complete cleaning. This is our humanity.

Let’s dig in:

21But if he is poor and cannot afford [these sacrifices], he shall take one [male] lamb as a guilt offering for a waving to effect atonement for him, and one tenth [of an ephah] of fine flour mixed with oil as a meal offering, and a log of oil.

22And two turtle doves or two young doves, according to what he can afford; one shall be a sin offering, and one a burnt offering.

23And he shall bring them on the eighth day of his cleansing, to the kohen, to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, before the Lord.

I love how the Torah accommodates those who do not have abundance. The Torah does not shame or guilt the poor. The Torah does not tell the poor to work harder. The Torah sees the ebbs and flows of life – sometimes people will have plenty. Other times they won’t.  The Torah welcomes ALL of us.

What I also don’t see is the Torah condemning the rich either. Which is something I am contemplating on.

24And the kohen shall take the guilt offering lamb and the log of oil, and the kohen shall wave them as a waving, before the Lord.

25And he shall slaughter the guilt offering lamb, and the kohen shall take some of the blood of the guilt offering’s and place it on the cartilage of the right ear of the person being cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot.

26And the kohen shall then pour some of the oil into the left palm of the kohen.

27And the kohen shall sprinkle with his right index finger some of the oil that is in his left palm, seven times before the Lord.

28And the kohen shall place some of the oil that is in his palm, on the cartilage of the right ear of the person being cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot, on the place of the blood of the guilt offering.

29And what is left over from the oil that is in the kohen’s palm, he shall place upon the head of the person being cleansed, to effect atonement for him, before the Lord.

30He shall then perform [the service of] one of the turtle doves or of the young doves, from whatever he can afford,

31[from] what he can afford, one as a sin offering, and one as a burnt offering, besides the meal offering, and the kohen shall effect atonement for the person being cleansed, before the Lord.

32This is the law of one in whom there is a lesion of tzara’ath, who cannot afford [the full array of sacrifices], when he is to be cleansed.

We’ve discussed this before. And it reaffirms it. We are to give out of what we have. Not out of our guilt or shame to convince others we have more than we do. And this starts within us.

What is our takeaway?

My thoughts are around being present. Just be in a moment with what he have, and focus on that. We often worry about what we don’t have. This is a place of lack. How do we desire from a place of fullness?

My kids often times will say “dad, my dinner side is full – my dessert side is ready for more.” Can we feel full in our abundance side AND be ready for dessert?

Something to reflect on.

What are your thoughts?

Here are my thoughts from two years ago:

Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 4 Nisan, 5782

Greetings! It is so interesting what we’ve been connecting in the book of Leviticus.

I believe todays passage will hit even more; because todays portion is a repetition so to speak of the last few days. However, the Torah talks about “what happens if the Tzara’at sufferer is poor, and can’t afford all of the sacrifices required?”

The Torah has a pattern here. The message is; forgiveness and restoration is NOT ONLY for the rich; but also for the poor financially. We can take comfort that those who have limited financial means belong in the community of Israel. To me this is an additional message of God’s mercy and grace in the Old Testament. Hashem tends to get a bad rep in the Old Testament – like God is some cosmic judge with his lightning hammer ready to strike us down at any moment because we mess up.

Hopefully you have seen with my Torah thoughts over the past months (it’s been over six months people!) that Hashem in the Torah is VERY compassionate and understanding!

So let’s dig in;

God says; “If he is poor and cannot afford the above offerings, he should take;”

• One male lamb as a guilt-offering, for a wave offering to atone for him
• 1/10th of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil as a meal offering
• A log of oil to apply on the thumb and big toe
• Two turtledoves or two young doves according to what he can afford- one for a sin offering and one for a burnt offering

A lot less financial requirement there, and even in this, there is a sliding scale!

The process is the same as we read yesterday – on the 8th day, he brings everything to the priest, the priest waves the lamb and oil, then slaughter the lamb, then place blood on the right ear, thumb and toe. Then pour some oil on the priests left palm, sprinkle it 7 times before God. Then place oil over the blood on the ear, thumb and toe. The leftover oil goes on his head and the priest will atone for him.

Then one bird becomes a sin offering and the other a burnt offering.

So someone who cannot afford the purification ritual should not be prevented from cleansing.

Rabbi Schneerson wrote this about this portion:

If a rich person says, “I will bring the sacrifices of this tzara’at sufferer on his behalf” and the tzara’at sufferer was poor, then he must bring a rich man’s sacrifice, for it is within the means of the rich sponsor to bring the sacrifice.

If a poor person says, “I will bring the sacrifices of this tzara’at sufferer on his behalf,” and the tard’at sufferer was rich, then he must bring a rich man’s sacrifice, for the person who is making the vow has obligated himself with the sacrifices of a rich man (Maimonides, 124 century).

It seems peculiar how one person could bring a sacrifice to achieve atonement for another person. After all, it is the tzara’at sufferer who is in need of atonement, so how could somebody  else atone on his behalf?

The fact that one person can achieve atonement on behalf of another teaches us that the entire community are truly one “body” who need to feel each other’s pain and ease each other’s suffering. You ought to feel that another person’s problem is your own problem.

And the fact that a poor person must bring a rich man’s offering (if he sponsors the offering on his behalf) teaches you that if you will pledge a large sum of money to charity, God will help you to fulfil your pledge, even if it is well beyond your means.

An amazing thought to close today’s portion!! What are your thoughts?