Shavua tov…I usually add another greeting here but today, as our wonderful member H.K. taught us this past Shabbat, today is also Holocaust Memorial Day and the day of Heroism, Yom Ha-Shoah v’ha-g’vurah. This very special day of mourning and remembrance takes us back to a very dark time in our people’s history. Not only do we commemorate the uprising in the Warsaw ghetto, we remember all of the 6 million of our people who we lost during the Shoah, the Holocaust. As Hanan pointed out and also as the name of this day includes those heroic men and women who were able to avoid the death camps and joined underground forces who worked to attack the enemies of our people and free some of those in the camps and other desperate situations.
Although my immediate family was very lucky during the Holocaust, all of my grandparents and my father were already out of Europe long before the 1930’s, it is important for every Jew and every human being to remember that time and to make sure that it NEVER HAPPENS AGAIN. Unfortunately, we know all too well that other people’s and groups continue to be denied rights and slaughtered in other parts of the world…we need to be very aware and not ignore these on-going atrocities in the world.
May the memories of all of those lost during the Shoah, the Holocaust, and all those who fought to free our people in uniform and as freedom fighters, always have a very special place in all of our hearts and memories and may their memories always be a blessing to all of us.
And now, this week’s Torah portions, Tazria and M’tzorah. Yes, this week we have 2 Torah portions together. This usually happens in Jewish non-leap years, like this year, so the Torah reading will finish without having to skip any portions. These two portions are very, very different from the usual themes and topics that we study in the Torah. This week we study and learn about very specific diseases and natural emissions that effect both men and women.
The disease of leprosy, tza-ra’at, takes up almost all of the text in both of the portions. What is most amazing to me is the eerily similar response to this ancient condition and some of the treatments we ourselves are experiencing today as we battle the pandemic of Covid 19. Staying in our homes, keeping our distance from others and the need to wash ourselves and our clothes and to make sure that our homes are also cleansed of any appearance of the disease, whether it is visible or not.
I am certainly not comparing the ancient disease to what is happening to us today around the country and the world. What I am saying is that our ancient Priests and the Torah that set the standards for the health of the people still resonate with us today. Our people have always been very focused on health, washing hands before eating bread at a meal, keeping men and women safe during diseases that could become dangerous to the community. We need to continue studying these portions to understand how our ancient leaders had the responsibility to protect their communities, just as we have the same responsibility today.
Have a good and safe week and I look forward to re-Zoom our wonderful Shabbat services Friday night and Shabbat morning…Rabbi Ralph