Leviticus 13:19

וְהָיָ֞ה בִּמְק֤וֹם הַשְּׁחִין֙ שְׂאֵ֣ת לְבָנָ֔ה א֥וֹ בַהֶ֖רֶת לְבָנָ֣ה אֲדַמְדָּ֑מֶת וְנִרְאָ֖ה אֶל־הַכֹּהֵֽן:

When a white swelling or a white discoloration streaked with red develops where the inflammation was, that person shall report to the priest.

This Torah portion is typically accompanied by more cringes than any other, and I understand why. One can only read about the fine details of skin diseases – red streaks, rashes, sores –  for so long before a limit is reached. What happened to the ten plagues? The stories of our ancestors in Genesis? Joseph’s dreams? Let’s get back to that! Those chapters were far less unpleasant.

The inclusion of these chapters – the fine details of which skin diseases require isolation, and which do not, which sores require observation and which are benign, communicate a lesson that those more pleasant stories do not. As many of us know all too well – and as the rest of us will inevitably learn – the bodies we have been blessed with will someday suffer illness. It cannot be totally avoided. Tumors will be found, rashes will be examined, hips and knees replaced. 

The Torah’s unapologetic acknowledgement that our bodies will fall ill – and that it’s often not pretty – means that Torah does not stop at the door to the hospital. When we look at the mirror and try to figure out if that growth on our skin is something for the dermatologist to examine we are still within the confines of Torah and in relationship with God. No, it may not feel like it. But it will to those who internalize the message of this Torah potion. Our relationship with God continues – is even emphasized – when things don’t go according to plan with the wonderful, though finicky, bodies we have been blessed with.