Venue: Great Neck Synagogue Great Neck Synagogue

Parsha:

Metzora,  Tazria 

Collections: The Isolation of the Metzorah

References: Arachin: 16A ,  Moed Katan: 15A ,  Avoda Zara: 5A ,  Taanit: 23A ,  Bava Metzia: 58A ,  Sotah: 10B ,  Sotah: 32B  

Description

The Metzora, cast completely outside the camp, experiences the very isolation he inflicted on others. His status mirrors that of the dead, as he mourns for himself, expressing the Torah’s insight that the loss of human connection is akin to death. Yet the Torah’s response is not rejection but rehabilitation, calling on the community to meet isolation with compassion and restore the Metzora to the “land of the living.”