Parashat Tazria-Metzora
SERMON Parashat Tazria-Metzora April 17, 2026
BLESSING FOR ANEL PICO
Rabbi David Edleson Temple Sinai South Burlington
Anel, Moses is in med school, and he’s doing his dermatology rounds. Let’s see if you can diagnose what the patients are presenting:
A person has a swelling and a rash on their skin, and it is discolored and turns into a scaly patch on their skin. If hair in the path of skin has turned white and the patch seems to go deeper than the skin, it is… (leprosy)
Ok, another person has a patch of skin that is hardened, and under it is a white swelling, and some of the hair is white but there is a patch of normal skin in the middle of the swolen area, it is…..(leprosy)
This patient presented last week with an inflammation on the skin but it seems to have healed. But now they are back and there is a white swelling and discoloration streaked with red where the inflammation was. Upon examination, the area seems sunken compared to the rest of the skin and the hair in it has turned white, it is… (leprosy)
Ok, same scaly patch but now it has spread out so that it covers all the skin of the patient from head to foot, and all the pigment has gone from the skin and hair, it is …(absolutely fine; send him home with some oil).
These presenting cases and diagnoses are from this weeks Torah portion, Tazria-Metzora. It’s all about skin diseases and how the ancient doctors, who were also priests, practiced their craft in the ancient world. Quarantine was their go-to treatment since they had no medicines to speak of: old and yet recent.
Anel, as Jews, we are particularly proud that you are going to be a doctor. While there have been more than a few notable Jewish doctors - none is more famous that Maimonides. Well, maybe Freud but Maimonides is up there. He was a court physician in Spain, then Morocco, then Egypt. He wrote the most famous codes of Jewish law, and also books on medicine, and brought Aristotle’s way of thinking into Jewish thinking. Tim, my Tim, was part of the design team for his tomb in northern Israel.
However, there would be no Maimonides if it hadn’t been for the amazing Moslem doctor, Ibn Sina, or Avicenna. Living in what is now Iran and Iraq, he had memorized the Koran by age ten, and went on to develop medical techniques and treatments that were well before his time. He wrote the “Book of Healing” which was translated and spread all over the known world within 50 years after its writing. Ibn Sina also wrote books on Islamic philosophy, and famously brought Aristotle and Plato into the Moslem Golden Age. It is from Ibn Sina, that people like Averoes, Maimonides and Thomas Aquinas become familiar with the classic Greek method of philosophy and inquiry.
Your parents can now say the most powerful blessing known among our people. Ramiza and Ibrahim can now say these ancient words:
“My son, the Doctor.” Those are words my mother never got to say and she never let me forget it. She did however get to say the other words Jewish mothers love: “You could have been a doctor”
Anel, we are so proud of you. You grew up here, and your family has been and is a profound blessing to our community. That can’t always have been easy, partly because of occasional flareups of tensions between our communities, but also because dealing with this many Jews in a confined space is just not easy.
Through it all, you have been gracious, funny, caring and dedicated. These past few years have been hard in our community. Many of us have lost close friends, and we sometimes have felt alone and we’ve felt unsafe. The tensions between the Jewish and the Muslim communities have been particularly difficult.
But when we needed someone to be at the door to keep an eye on things, you stepped right up – no hesitation. I hope you know how much that means to us and how deeply grateful we are to you and your family. We don’t say that enough. Thank you. It won’t be the same without you here on Friday nights.
You’ve worked so hard and always kept a positive attitude and kept your eye on your goal. That was impressive, and that you did it with a sense of humor and ease, well I’ll just say, you have the best qualities of your amazing parents who love you and are so proud of you.
I want to give you a blessing before you move to Tennessee, the state I was born in, to start medical school.
This blessing comes from the Talmud and it seems fitting:
Talmud Berakhot 17a
May you live to see your world fulfilled,
May your destiny be for worlds still to come,
And may you trust in generations past and yet
to be.
May your heart be filled with intuition
and your words be filled with insight.
May songs of praise ever be upon your tongue
and your vision be on a straight path before you.
May your eyes shine with the light of holy words
and your face reflect the brightness of the heavens.
May your lips speak wisdom
and your fulfillment be in righteousness
even as you ever yearn to hear the words
of the Holy Ancient One of Old.
In Jewish culture, whenever we come to a big milestone or a happy occasion or a big accomplishment, we say a blessing called the Shehecheyanu. It means Thank you God, Ruler of the World, who gives us life, kept us safe, and allow us to live to see this moment.
(Sing) Baruch Ata Adonai, Eloheinu Melech HaOlam Shehecheyanu V’kiy’many v’higiyanu lazman hazeh.
Or as they say in Bosnian:
SRETNO! MAZAL TOV! SING: Siman Tov
Thank you for being a friend
You opened up the door and let us in
Your heart is true
You're a pal and a confidant
I'm not ashamed to say
You have been a friend in every way
My hat is off
Won't you stand up and take a bow
And tonight we just want to thank you
And thank your family too
So you would see what a gift you’ve grown to be
And we all want to say..
Thank you for being a friend (I wanna thank you)
Thank you for being a friend (I wanna thank you)
Thank you for being a friend (I wanna thank you)
Thank you for being a friend (I wanna thank you)
Thank you for being a friend (I want to thank you)
Thank you for being a friend (I want to thank you)
Thank you for being a friend (I want to thank you)
Thank you for being a friend (I want to thank you)
Let me tell you 'bout a friend (I want to thank you)
Thank you for being a friend (I want to thank you)
Thank you for being a friend (I want to thank you)
Thank you for being a friend.
Shabbat Shalom.
