This Week’s Torah Portion: Tazria (Leviticus 12:1−13:59)

The Baal Shem Tov, the mystical founder of Hasidic Judaism, once said:

“We must always bear in mind that God is always with us… When we look at any material thing, we are really gazing at the image of God which is present in all things.”

This week’s Torah Portion, Tazria, puts that grandest conception of Hasidic mysticism, that the presence of God infuses all things, to what might be its greatest test. Leprosy, Acne, and Afterbirth – these are the topics of Tazria. A Biblical collection of all that slimes and oozes, it is hard see the purpose of these ancient rites and rituals, much less the Divine spark of God which resides within them all. And yet, beneath Tazria’s slime and ooze lies a message of the holiness of life. From the moment of our birth, through the awkward acne of our adolescence, and even in the face of life threatening illness, God is there. We are never alone, neither in times of light nor times of darkness, because “God is always with us.”