Let’s be real.
You’re trying to live a good life.
You want to grow, to connect, to become who you’re meant to be.
But then — bam — life hits.
- Things break down.
- You get isolated.
- You feel like a walking contradiction: wanting closeness, but finding distance.
And then you open the parsha this week… and it’s the same story.
Parshas Tazria: a Torah portion about growth and birth — literally “to seed”…
…yet it spends most of its time talking about spiritual disease, tzaraas, and total social exile.
It’s like the Torah’s playing a cruel joke.
How can something about life be filled with so much loss?
Why Is a Parsha About Death Called “Planting”?
Chazal teach us: the name of a parsha holds its soul.
It’s not a label — it’s a lesson.
So if this parsha is called Tazria — “she will seed” — there’s a deeper message.
Tzaraas, this strange and frightening skin disease, isn’t just some Biblical ancient flu.
It’s not even medical — it’s moral.
It’s the body screaming a spiritual truth the soul’s been ignoring.
The Divine Wakeup Call: How Tzaraas Unfolds
The Rambam breaks it down for us.
Tzaraas came in stages — each one louder than the last:
- The Walls of your home show signs first.
- Your clothes and possessions start changing.
- Your body gets hit last.
This isn’t punishment.
It’s prevention.
It’s Hashem saying: “I love you too much to let you go on like this.”
Alone — But Not Abandoned
“בדד ישב, מחוץ למחנה מושבו”
“He shall dwell alone; outside the camp shall his dwelling be.”
(Vayikra 13:46)
This verse used to sound harsh to me.
Cruel. Cold. Isolating.
But now I see it differently.
Sometimes Hashem has to pull you out…
…so He can build you up.
Being “outside the camp” isn’t exile.
It’s incubation.
Just like a seed must decay in the dark before it bursts into life —
Tzaraas is Hashem planting you.
The Secret of Suffering: You’re Not Buried — You’re Planted
Let’s connect the dots.
- The name of the parsha: Tazria = seeding.
- The experience of the metzora: total breakdown.
- The purpose: purification, elevation, rebirth.
It’s the ultimate reframe:
| What It Feels Like | What’s Really Happening |
|---|---|
| Exile | Reset |
| Breakdown | Breakthrough in progress |
| Rejection | Redirection and refining love |
You weren’t banished.
You were becoming.
Galus Is Also a Seed
This is also the secret of exile itself.
In galus, it feels like nothing is working:
- We try so hard and still struggle.
- We keep mitzvos, but the world seems cold.
- We look around and wonder, “Where is the light?”
But this is the ultimate Tazria moment.
We’re not just surviving in galus.
We’re sowing.
Every mitzvah you do…
Every time you hold back from anger…
Every word of Torah you learn,
…it all goes into the ground.
You’re not buried.
You’re being planted.
And one day soon — all of it will burst into bloom.
Action Steps: Turning This Torah Into Transformation
Before Shabbos, take 5 minutes and ask yourself:
- What’s something I thought was a breakdown… that might really be a setup?
- Where in my life is Hashem “removing me from the camp” so I can become more whole?
- What can I seed today that will bear fruit in my future?