Tazria–Metzora 5786: Embodied Holiness
From Pardes from Jerusalem by Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies
April 12, 2026 · 39 min
About this episode
This episode explores the relationship between spirituality and the physical body through the lens of Parshat Tazria–Metzora.
Can distance be a necessary part of spiritual life? In this episode, Zvi Hirschfield and Rabbanit Nechama Goldman Barash explore Parshat Tazria–Metzora and the Torah’s complex treatment of the human body. Through discussions of ritual impurity, illness, and healing, they challenge the assumption that spirituality requires distancing from the physical. Instead, they present a vision in which the body is central to religious life—even as it creates moments of distance that require care, reintegration, and compassion. The conversation invites us to consider how communities respond to vulnerability, and what it means to help others return from isolation back into belonging.
People in this episode
Host: Zvi Hirschfield
Guest: Rabbanit Nechama Goldman Barash
Topics covered
- spirituality
- ritual impurity
- healing
- community
- vulnerability
- belonging
Keywords
- spiritual life
- human body
- ritual impurity
- illness
- healing
- community response
- isolation
- belonging
Mentioned in this episode
Books & works: Parshat Tazria–Metzora
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