The double portion Tazria-Metzora is abundant with everything we need to know about dealing with skin diseases and bodily infections. Offering us more than a search on the Internet, we are taught not only the signs of these diseases, but how we should diagnose them and xtreat those individuals dealing with these infections.

While a modern day reading of this text may make us shudder and cringe at the description of the disease(s) and the isolation of those affected, this was actually quite an advanced approach for the time and place. At this time, illness was seen as a divine punishment for a misstep in behavior, rendering them “unclean.”  Yet, an infected person was not doomed for their lifetime. After isolation, and then special offerings, a person could become “clean” again and rejoin the community. The community did not move on when one of their members was in isolation, rather, they waited until the individual was cleared to return to their camp.  

Sforno, an Italian commentator born in the late 15th century, argues that the quarantine ordered by the priest permits, for the inflicted, a time for contemplation and self-examination, which leads to prayer and repentance. If we consider the “isolation” not so much a casting away of the inflicted, but the granting of a “cool-off” or “time-out” period, we may not be so taken aback by these verses in our Torah. If we choose to consider this message for our modern day, putting on hold the challenge of the ideas of disease as punishment, focusing on the specific point that those who have transgressed need to be separated from the situation/community for time to reflect, pray, and repent, we have a powerful model for dealing with those err.   

Many parents of younger children employ the discipline technique of “time-out.” The child who has done something wrong is sent to their room or to the “naughty chair/mat” to use the time (the experts suggest a minute for each year of age) to reflect upon their actions and realize what they did. The experts suggest that the time-out be followed by the parent approaching the child, at face-level, and asking the child what they think they did wrong.  The child is then supposed to ask for forgiveness for their behavior and express their intention to not repeat the same behavior. On Yom Kippur, we, as adults, too, give ourselves a “time-out” to isolate ourselves from the day-to-day tasks of life, to practice self-denial, and to repent for the wrongs we have done. Yet, apart from “time-outs” as children and on Yom Kippur (and the days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur), we do not necessarily employ this idea.

Granted, there are some acts of grave wrong-doing that require more that this proposal, but for those less severe, why not consider the idea that we need and deserve to give someone who has done wrong a “time-out.” This proposal is offered not only as the punishment for the one who has committed an offense, but with the implication that the one who has been hurt should consider that someone who has done wrong to them will recognize the error in their ways and repent. 

Being a part of a community means that each person is important to our community and thus we should not leave someone “outside the camp.” 

What would it take for us, and what would it mean for us, to tell the person who has done wrong to us or who has offended us to take some time away from the situation and from us for self-reflection?  Would this give them time to understand the error in their behavior and repent?  Would this give us time to cool-down from the anger and to lessen the pain?  Can we allow them back in our personal community after they repent?  What would be the loss to our community if we did not?