23/02/2026
Parshat Tazria deals with the biblical disease of צרעת (tzara’at), whose transmission initiates a radical transformation in the afflicted from ritually pure to ritually impure and back again. Writing this parsha as Purim approaches, my eye is drawn to the words הפך, נהפך, ונהפך. These words evoke the radical transformation we experience on Purim: the threat we feared is reversed, everything we expected is turned upside down, including our relationship to God and the Torah. On Purim we accept the Torah from love and choice; we choose to be obligated. A radically different experience than obligation under coercion.
