Religion

Parshiyot Tazria & Metzora: Lessons in Leprosy, Infestations & Isolation

The Torah’s picture of one afflicted with leprosy is one of isolation. For me, my four month battle with bed bugs was possibly the loneliest experience of my life. Everything from the self-conflicting instructions on how to prep my apartment to the tortuous fights with my landlords; From the exterminator who refused to tell me what chemicals they were using in my apartment (that didn’t work anyway) to the fear that I would be one of those who would still be dealing with the creatures two years later… I was terrified that each treatment in my apartment…would kill me and I was scared to leave my apartment for fear of spreading my infestation elsewhere (which actually rarely happens). And the worst part was, like many others I was ashamed to talk publicly about my situation even though IT WASN’T MY FAULT!