Thoughts on Parashat Tazria
The ancient Israelites, as well as the Sages of the Talmudic era, generally believed that diseases, including skin afflictions, are a result of sin – an improper or immoral behavior. Separating people from the community for this reason was aimed at stopping the spread of the disease – our ancient ancestors knew that fact very well; what they didn’t understand was the biological mechanism that caused the spread. Additionally, the entire ancient Jewish ‘philosophy of medicine’ was entirely focused on preventive measures and avoidance. (contrary to the Greek model that looked for the[…]
