This Shabbat, we find ourselves at a crossroads of deep reflection and joyful celebration. The Torah portions of Tazria and Metzora speak about illness, healing, isolation, and return. They tell of individuals who are cast out of the community because of tsara’at, not as punishment, but as a way to heal. And when they are made whole again, they are welcomed back with ceremony, with blessing, with love.
What a powerful image for Shabbat Atzma’ut, as we celebrate the rebirth of the modern State of Israel. Israel, too, was born from a place of wounds — centuries of exile, suffering, and yearning. The soil was dry and hard; the hands that planted were trembling with fear and hope. Yet out of that fragile earth, a home blossomed. A place where a people could once again stand in dignity.
Tazria reminds us that even the act of creating new life is not simple. It carries the weight of vulnerability and the promise of renewal. So, too, Israel’s creation was no simple triumph; it was a courageous leap of faith, stitched together with dreams, sweat, and sacrifice.
In Metzora, we see that healing is a process — a return that requires careful attention, a ritual of restoration. Israel’s story continues to be a story of healing: building a society that holds together many different voices, many scars, many hopes.
On this Shabbat, we give thanks not only for what has been achieved, but for the spirit that never gave up. We remember that independence is not a static gift; it is something we must nurture daily — just as we tend our own souls after times of distance or pain.
May we, like Israel, never forget the beauty that can arise from fragile soil. And may we commit ourselves anew to building a world of compassion, justice, and peace — in our Land, in our lives, and in all the places where healing is needed.
Shabbat Shalom and Yom HaAtzma’ut Sameach.
Rabbi Adrian
