I TORAH PORTION I
Learning How To Make
Unheralded Sacrifices
Irwin Groner is senior rabbi
of Congregation Shaarey
Zedek.
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WIIIVAIINX41
see or greet Naaman. He
merely sends forth a
messenger with these words:
"Go and dip thy body into the
River Jordan seven times,
and thy flesh shall be restored
and thou shalt be clean
again." Here was a simple
remedy, entailing neither ex-
pense nor trouble. Did the suf-
ferer gladly avail himself of
this cure? No. It was too easy,
far different from the onerous
ordeal Naaman believed the
)rophet would impose on him.
Naaman flew into a rage so
intense he was determined to
return, frustrated and un-
cured, to Syria. Finally, one of
his servants enlightened him.
"If the prophet had com-
manded you to do a great
thing, would you not have
done it? Should you not res-
pond if he gives you a simple
task — to dip yourself in the
Jordan River and be clean?"
Reluctantly, Naaman allowed
himself to be persuaded. He
immersed himself seven
times. When he came up from
the water, "his flesh was
made whole, his skin was like
unto the skin of a young
child."
The servant was right. If
the prophet had prescribed a
course that would have given
Naaman considerable trouble
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UR CLEAN R
Tazria
Lieviticus
12:1-13:59,
Kings II 4:42-5:19
This truth can be applied to
our lives. In times of illness
and tragedy, family members
are drawn together. No trou-
ble is too great, no expense
too prohibitive, no demand
too rigorous for those who sit
by the bedside of a stricken
loved one. Sometimes mar-
riages become stronger,
reaching a greater expression
of devotion, at a time of trial
and difficulty. Conversely,
sometimes a marriage is in
great danger at a time of
relative ease and security.
The problems that bring peo-
ple to marriage counselors
are not major issues. Paradox-
ically, they are petty an-
noyances, minor grievances
and small hurts that slowly
accumulate through the
years, barely perceptible
wounds that deepen and
fester. What is required are
not strenous measures but
daily helpful responses: a
smile of trust, a nod of ap-
proval, a word of empathy, a
gesture of understanding.
This truth has a message
for our Jewish existence. Be-
ing a Jew in other ages and
places was fraught with the
most fateful consequences
and sometimes demanded the
ultimate in courage and
sacrifice. Because of our com-
fort and security in America,
we tend to forget the price
other generations had to pay
for the privilege that is ours.
For many centuries, Jewish
life was subject to contingen-
cies and dangers; the shadow
of degradation and expulsion
always hovered over the Jew.
He could have exchanged his
dismal ghetto for the privileg-
ed world outside by ignoring
his Jewish conscience and
converting to the faith of the
majority. Countless Jewish
generations chose, when they
had to, to give up their lives
rather than desert their God
and their people. When com-
pelled, they chose exile rather
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T
he haftara portion of
this Sabbath, the fifth
chapter of the second
book of Kings, describes a
notable incident in the life of
a non-Jew, Naaman the cap-
tain of the host of the kings
of Syria.
Although Naaman was a
famous general, powerful and
revered, he suffered from the
most terrible of afflictions —
leprosy. Shunned by all, he
was condemned to a living
death. He is advised to seek
out a prophet, Elisha, of the
Hebrew people. Naaman was
told Elisha's intercession with
the Almighty might obtain a
cure for him.
He drives up with all the
regalia of his military office to
Elisha's home. The prophet is
not impressed, and will not
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Special to The Jewish. News
to carry out he would have
readily obeyed. The more
troublesome the cure, the
more satisfied he would have
been. What depressed and an-
noyed him was that the pro-
phet had asked for so little.
We can say that it was
stupid of Naaman to behave
in this manner, but it was
very human. It is a
widespread human weakness
that we are often ready to
give much where we would
refuse to give little. We would
consent to make a great
sacrifice where we would
refuse a task that means a
trifling inconvenience for us.
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RABBI IRWIN GRONER
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