Torah

Tzara’at, malicious gossip, and value of solitude

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That “No man is an island” and “It takes a village” are just two of the clichés used to convey the realization that people cannot “go at it alone.”

But just as it is vital that each of us learns that we are ultimately limited in what we can accomplish by ourselves, it is equally vital that we learn of the benefits of occasional solitude and of the need to sometimes just be alone.

In this week’s double Torah portion, Tazria-Metzora, we read in great detail about an individual who is afflicted by a condition known as tzara’at, often translated as leprosy. It is a condition characterized by specific discolorations of the skin and understood by our sages to be the consequence of immoral behavior, particularly malicious gossip.

The Torah prescribes that such an individual rend his clothes and let his hair grow. He is considered ritually unclean and “he shall dwell apart; his dwelling shall be outside that camp.” (Leviticus 13:46)

Opinions vary as to why he must be removed from society. Some say simply that he is quarantined because his condition is contagious. Others insist that since his misdeeds caused harm to others, he must be punished by living apart from others.

I prefer the view that believes a period of solitude is imposed upon this individual to afford him an opportunity to think, to reconsider his actions, and to resolve to live a new moral lifestyle. He is afforded the social isolation necessary for thoroughgoing introspection, a chance to think for himself.

There is a lesson here about the benefits of solitude that is of renewed relevance in our day and age.

Some years ago, American Scholar carried an essay by William Deresiewicz titled “Solitude and Leadership,” which he delivered to the plebe class at the US Military Academy at West Point. Deresiewicz eloquently conveys the message to these future military leaders that leadership demands a mindset which can only come about with frequent and sustained periods of solitude.

He emphasizes the importance of thinking and writes, “Thinking means concentrating on one thing long enough to develop an idea about it.”

He further highlights the importance of concentrating, and writes that it means “gathering yourself together into a single point rather than letting yourself be dispersed everywhere into a cloud of electronic and social input.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson made Deresiewicz’s point long ago when he said, “He who should inspire and lead his race must be defended from traveling with the souls of other men, from living, breathing, reading, and writing in the daily, time-worn yoke of their opinions.”

These opinions of a famous 19th century essayist and one of his contemporary counterparts stress and amplify a message implicit in this week’s Torah portion — that time by oneself, reflecting and engaging in serious introspection, is an essential component of self-improvement and a prerequisite not only for membership in society, but for leadership of society.

Jewish sources go much further than Emerson and Deresiewicz. The latter restrict their insightful comments to the importance of solitude in everyday, mundane affairs. Our tradition teaches that solitude is necessary for spiritual growth and for religious leadership.

The sages of the Talmud insist upon the necessity of cheshbon hanefesh (self-reckoning). The Jewish ethical treatises of medieval times recommend that one regularly withdraw from society to engage in such self-reckoning. Chassidim, and most particularly the followers of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, engage in daily periods of hitbodedut (solitary contemplation).

The secular writers quoted above are helpful in that they make it clear that solitude need not entail mystical practices or spiritual techniques. Rather, solitude provides an opportunity for thinking on one’s own and for concentrating deeply without the undue influences of one’s social surroundings.

I personally am convinced that occasional solitude would be a healthy antidote to the blind conformity which is imposed upon us by our contemporary world.

Once again, the Torah, in the midst of a passage which seems out of tune with modernity, gives us a lesson essential for coping with modernity.