Danny’s Dvar Torah - 25 April 2020

Shabbat Shalom everyone. Thank you for joining in to my Bar Mitzvah, especially for those who have been members of FPS longer than me, thank you for letting me have my Bar Mitzvah through today’s online service.

At first I was against having my Bar Mitzvah under these strange new circumstances, so different from all my friends’; not in the synagogue, without Rabbi Rebecca and my teacher John standing next to me, with not a single guest present. And a party? I gave up on that long time ago. Maybe one day we will make up for that?!

However, after some thinking I could see the advantages of having a virtual BM on the actual day we planned it:

-it’s exciting to be part of something new and innovative,

-it’s good to read my Parashah on the day it was intended for,

-family members and friends from Israel, Hungary and the US, some of whom could not have been able to travel can join in

-and that we can record the service to watch it later on.

Not only this, but my brother is in uni right now and stranded in Scotland.  He has some important exams going on and by having my Bar Mitzvah online allows him to take part.

I am especially hopeful that my grandfather, my last surviving grandparent and step grandmother who live in the US can watch the recording later on. They are in their 90s and they would not have been able to travel here.

This was my choice to have a Bar Mitzvah and I have been working very hard up to this moment with my teacher John. I decided to have a BM because it was important to me to come of age and follow my siblings.

My Torah portion is from the Book of Leviticus and its a double portion called Tazria-Metzora about leprosy, skin disease and house mould or leprosy in buildings. I wanted to read this section on the ‘affliction that spreads through the house’, because I am fascinated by the ambulance documentaries on TV, so I thought this would suit me fine.

In my portion it explains how God instructed Moses to deal with leprosy in the house and how they would stop it from spread by various methods of isolation whether it was taking the house apart and throwing the stones into an unclean place or creating quarantine.

When I chose this portion I had no idea that life would supply me with lots of parallels to help me write my speech. At the moment our whole life is suspended and we live in an alternative universe trying to stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Everyone is in quarantine, we are doing everything to stop this deadly virus: we are not going into each other’s houses, not leaving our own house, washing hands often, washing our clothes and cleaning our houses more often than usual; which is also the reason I am here right now. Doctors and nurses dealing with patients infected with the illness throw away the masks, gloves and overalls after each use. There are guidelines on how long the virus survives on various surfaces and we keep that in mind, just like how in the Torah bricks from the house afflicted by the virus were removed and replaced. It is surprisingly similar.

There were some interesting details about the disease in the Torah description that has led me to consider this as a symbolic disease as well. The skin affliction that can affect the walls of the house with greenish-reddish streaks does not sound like an actual illness, it is more like a symbol of something else. God has more or less promised that once the Israelites were in the land of Canaan he would inflict an illness on some of their houses. Not that He may inflict an illness, but that He will inflict an illness on the house. This illness is unlikely to be leprosy, as it would not impact the walls and it could not be cured in 7 days. So what would that illness be?

It is interesting that the priest has the authority to come out and to make a diagnosis and to suggest a remedy, just like modern day doctors. Or maybe if the illness is symbolic then there is more need for a spiritual leader.

I am choosing to read from a CZECH scroll. I like this connection with the past and also my mum’s family comes from Hungary which is close to Czech Republic. I find the writing of this scroll very cool, especially the use of the little crowns above certain letters.

My initial Tsedakah project was to do a Swimathon at the end of March in support of a homeless charity. Unfortunately all swimming pools were shut weeks before the end of the March and the event was postponed to October. Instead we came across a really great idea. My mum saw online that people who had 3D printers at home, like us, were joining forces and sharing files and printing various simple, but very useful items for frontline medical staff. One of these is a simple flat bit of plastic that allows masks to be better adjusted to the wearer’s head and to be strapped around the head instead of the ears to prevent irritation on the ears. We contacted Whittington Hospital and Chester Hospital Trust and now we are printing about 20-25 pieces a day for these hospitals.

I would like to say a big thank you to John my teacher who taught me and made every lesson really fun and interesting and for sure I will miss our chats about everything ranging from IT to how to change your virtual background on Zoom. And another thanks to Rabbi Rebecca who went out her way to accommodate us and to make this happen.