Rabbi's Sermons

Shabat Shalom!

This week, two portions of the Torah, which are - MECHUBAROT - meaning – JOINED TOGETHER, are read. In fact, both “Tazria” and “Metzora”, are almost always read together and are considered the most difficult portions of the Torah to read. Topics on postpartum women, leper sores, or bodily fluids are difficult to read or hear about. So difficult has it been, in some liberal communities, that the rabbis preferred to give a lesson on the commentaries on these portions, to replace the reading itself, in the Torah scroll. I think that it is important to read them, try to understand the contents and find a meaning for them. It is true that studying on a Saturday morning about the colors of leprous sores or the types of bodily secretions are not easy topics to share, as they are related to our bodies. But what can we do?! our bodies are mostly, not Michelangelo sculptures: beautiful, sculpted, perfect and without blemish. Under our clothes we sometimes hide, what for ourselves is usually ugliness, disproportion, defects, stains, and especially, the passing of time. Clothes have a huge function in hiding everything that we might be ashamed of. The garments hide an insecurity that some feel about their bodies. And I think that, at some point in our lives, most of us become uncomfortable with our bodies, and what we see in the mirror may not be as pleasant or acceptable to us.

The classical reform, which originated in the 19^th century’s Germany, swept away everything that represented the shame of the body, in the West German tradition of those days. Under this significant influence, many characteristics related to the human body were removed from the prayer books of the classical reform movement. Bodily expressions were forbidden, such as hand gestures, as well as legs, covering the face when reading the Shema, or bowing during prayers; in fact, any movement, in general! Also, certain prayers were removed from the prayer books, such as, the - "Asher yatzar" prayer, a text that speaks of spaces and holes in our bodies, and is recited in the morning services in Shacharit, and after using the restroom.

Times have changed a great deal, and today, unlike those days of the classical reform, many may feel and think differently on the subject of our body, its function and participation during prayer. Among reform communities in Israel and around the world, it is understood that a great fault is committed, by omitting these prayers, as if it were a contempt for the body itself, because Judaism teaches us that the body is a part of life, and worthy of pleasure. Rabbi Shimshon Rafael Hirsch commented on the verse from Genesis 1:27, that says - "God created man in his image" and said: "The bodily clothing of man (that is, the human body) is worthy of God and has a divine destiny. Thus, the Torah taught us to recognize and appreciate the divine dignity of the body. In fact, the Torah came not only to sanctify the spirit, but above all: to sanctify the body... The sanctity of the body and the preservation of its divine image are an element for all moral purification and a condition for virtue. And just as the spirit seeks to transcend, so does the demand for the sanctity of the body”.

Rabbi Hirsh expresses that we are all created in the image of God, and in the creation of our bodies, God is a partner. Therefore, according to Hirsh, we were born perfect, and our cells constantly create new parts in our bodies, perfect parts, just as we are, with the imperfections which exist, in the body of each and every one of us, just as it is, there is perfection. That leads us to appreciate, care for and love our bodies. God tells us: you have a body, and it is a wonderful gift, and I command you to celebrate this body and take care of it.

The body is part of life and our actions, so diseases, injuries, secretions - even in those, there is holiness. The blessing - "Asher Yatzar" – mentioned earlier, reminds us, that in every bodily thing, there is a blessing, there is beauty, there is good, as it ends by saying: "Blessed are you, oh Lord, who heal all bodies and do wonders”. Perhaps, the most important part of the portion of Metzora, dealing with leprosy, is the way the priest carefully observed the bodies to determine the state of purity. This portion of the Torah is asking the priests to pay attention to our bodies. The next time you finish showering, take a few minutes to observe your body. Look at it in detail, check its current status. Discover the perfection of your hands, your legs, imagine how within the body, complex systems are functioning, carrying vital blood to all your cells, oxygen to your lungs, look at your skin, the first defense against the world around us. Look at your hair, your face, imagine how your lymphatic system is working, how electrical currents circulate in your nerve cells. Imagine how the sound waves reach your eardrums. Watch the cycles of your body. Look at its beauty, appreciate its flaws!

Perhaps some of you may find it funny or even embarrassing to appreciate our bodies. But Tazria and Metzora are very important portions in the Torah, as they highlight and express in verses, topics that we are not used to talk about. Once a year, on this Shabbat, the Torah reminds us that we are not just a spirit, or faith, or love. We are also a body, which we will give up at the end of our days, and which is our responsibility to appreciate, care for and love. The body is life, and it also helps us a lot! it is true that for some it has ugliness, shame or weaknesses. But the body is the temple of our spirit, and it allows us to feel, enjoy, perceive, live. As all of you surely heard before: "A healthy mind in a healthy body", and I would add - "A healthy spirit in a healthy body".

I invite you to appreciate and love our own bodies, with which God has graced all of us. I wish, that we can accept men and women as whole and perfect, even if their bodies are damaged or with flaws. I hope we may increase the strength of our human spirits over wounds, illnesses, pandemics and diseases of the body. I pray, that God will grant us longevity and good living, physical as well as spiritual health. Amen!

Shabbat Shalom!

May 2^nd, 2025

Rabbi David Laor