Torah Study Blog

There have always been times of economic and social instability. In biblical times, the people might have looked to supernatural forces to find deliverance from their woes. Many of us living in the United States today have been fortunate to live during a time of wealth and safety, and we generally think that we have a greater understanding of science giving us greater sense of control over our circumstances. But the pandemic afflicting the world right now makes us less flippant about the preeminence of science.

In this week’s Torah portion, we learn that one of the responsibilities of the priests was to offer a sacrifice of well-being (Leviticus 3). Given today’s worldwide battle against COVID-19, a little well-being sounds like a good thing. Rabbi Jaech led us on an exploration of what the priests and the prophets could offer when it came to the health of their followers.

In Leviticus 13 we learn that, if a person is thought to have leprosy, a priest is brought in to examine the patient. The priest is not called upon to heal the patient, just to examine and to pronounce if the patient does or does not have leprosy. Our scholar-in-residence, David Sperling, told us that having a priest in charge of passing a medical judgement, but not healing the patient, is unique among the cults of the ancient Near East.

Leprosy in the Bible is not the specifically designated Hansen’s Disease of today. The Greek word “lepis” translates to “scale,” as in the scales of a fish. Biblical leprosy meant any scaly disease of the skin that was thought to have rendered the community impure.

The role of the priest was to maintain the ritual purity of the community. When the patient is thought to have been cured, the priest will examine the patient and declare if it is so or not. If so, the priest will indicate the items to be sacrificed to God, instruct the patient on proper cleansing rituals, and perform the sacrifice. The primary concern of the priest is the ritual functioning of the community. If the community is impure it cannot ritually function, and all these steps ensure that the purity of the community is restored.

Prophets were also involved in the health of the people. 2 Kings 5 relates the story of a military commander of a neighboring community who was stricken with biblical leprosy. An Israelite girl worked in the commander’s household and told him about an Israelite prophet who could cure him of the disease.

Upon learning of the commander’s arrival, the prophet Elisha sent a message to the commander that he was to bathe in the Jordan River seven times. Expecting that the prophet would come to him in person and do some hocus-pocus to immediately cure him, the commander exclaimed, “I thought that for me he would surely come out, and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and would wave his hand over the spot, and cure the leprosy!” (2 Kings 5:11)

Although the commander was inclined to go home and bathe in his own river, his servants suggested that he follow the instructions of Elisha. Upon bathing in the Jordan River seven times, the commander was cured of the leprosy. The commander went to see Elisha to express his gratitude and to proclaim, “Now I know that there is no God in the whole world except in Israel!” (2 Kings 5:15)

The priests in the Israelite religion know what is to be done to ensure the purity of the entire community. According to this story in 2 Kings, the prophet knows what to do to bring about the actual healing. The power claimed by the prophets comes from their ability to speak directly with God. Elisha could not wave his hands over the commander and cure him, because that would appear that Elisha had the power. Instead, Elisha gave instructions that showed the power lay with God.

We can imagine that there were probably power struggles between the priests and the prophets over who had the inside track to God. But, after the destruction of the Temple, the Rabbis emerged as the leaders,
declared an end to prophecy, and both priests and prophets were put out of work.

According to the Talmud, when the Rabbis were in need of a solution to an environmental or health-related crisis in the community, the remedy most often called for by the Rabbis was a community fast.

In one story, the Rabbis gave credit for the well-being of a community to the kind acts of one community member. Small acts of kindness are always appreciated by the community and also, perhaps, by God. One of our Torah Study attendees mentioned the small acts of kindness that have come his way during this time of social isolation. In these dark times, small acts of kindness have a healing effect all of their own.

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misquotes or misunderstandings in what Rabbi Jaech taught us are the responsibility of Tara Keiter