So why do we need to study about this anyway?

It is a refrain that teachers and parents hear often: “So why do we need to study about this anyway?”  (Can you hear their whiny voices and the emphasis on ANYWAY?)

I wonder about some of the subjects myself sometimes (especially when helping my children with their math homework), but we all know that knowledge is critical.

I always ask my students, “Does someone need to study Talmud to be a good Jew?”  The answer, of course, is no.  Studying Talmud, though, makes one a better informed Jew.

This lesson is reinforced by the Talmud’s statement concerning the tzara’at that could appear on the walls of the home.

The Talmud (Sanhedrin 71a) teaches:

בית המנוגע לא היה ולא עתיד להיות ולמה נכתב דרוש וקבל שכר

A home with tzara’at never happened and never will happen.  Why is it written in the Torah?  Study about it and receive reward.

According to the Talmud, there is no practical application or real-word occurrence of this situation.  It is there to get us thinking.  And this thinking will be rewarding.

What is the purpose of such an affliction?  What lesson can we learn?

One explanation in the Talmud (Yoma 11b) is that tzara’at of the home is a punishment for an improper attitude towards one’s possessions.  If a person is stingy with what s/he has and does not share, the tzara’at of the home will be a reminder that, ultimately, God owns everything.

Rabbi David Silverberg, a teacher at Yeshivat Har Etzion in Israel, points out that the lesson of the tzara’at of the home is a reminder to appreciate what we have and what we can do to help others with what we have.  When the house has tzara’at, it must be emptied of all possessions.  This process of seeing everything removed allows the owner to evaluate exactly what s/he has, to realize how much s/he has, and to be grateful.

The tzara’at of the home reminds us to use what we have – our possessions, our talents, our presence – in ways that allow us to fulfill our mission of being better people and better Jews.

Learning – and living – this lesson is most certainly rewarding.

(Another reason to “Bring back tzara’at!)