This week two sections are read: Tazria and Metzora (whose respective translations are "give seed" and "person are the disease Tzaraat").
The almost exclusive theme of both sections concerns the disease Tzara'at. This was a disease in which different types of stains appeared on a person's skin, clothing, or house. Based on these appearances, a Kohen (priest) was summoned to verify whether or not the stain was Tzara'at. Then, depending on the case, the stain was isolated to determine its condition. When the person, clothing, or house was "cured," the Torah describes the purification process for the affected individual.
Today this disease is not found, mainly because we are in exile, which means, in other words, that the Divine presence is much more hidden than it was in other times and this causes the whole world to function in a different way.
In a spiritual sense, the disease is found with the same (or even greater) force than before. Our sages explain this by saying that the stains appeared because the person spoke lashon hara (evil speech), gossip, slander, and other such nonsense. First, the stains appeared on the walls of the house; if the person did not correct their behavior, they appeared on their clothes and, finally, on their own skin. That person was isolated from the "camp" or settlement until they were cured, that is, until they repented of their slanderous behavior and, consequently, were cured of their stains. Then the person returned home and resumed their normal life.
Of course, this is a very current "disease," unfortunately, although not in the form of blemishes, but its use and effect are terrible: friendships, families, and entire communities are destroyed by gossip...
I would like to focus on the fact that the person was isolated from the rest of society. Our sages say that whoever isolates one friend from another by speaking ill of them, or whoever isolates a husband and wife by telling lies, should be isolated until they correct their ways. The cure was isolation.
However, I believe we could reverse this process. Today, it works the other way around: communities are being destroyed by isolation. First of all, I should clarify that I'm referring to the city of La Plata. The average person no longer gathers for Jewish reasons, but for other matters. Not to mention, for example, young people, who find themselves in an unconscious (and sometimes even conscious) state of isolation from the various centers of Judaism. Obviously, this isn't as punishment for gossip, but due to circumstances of upbringing or simple ignorance of Jewish matters. In a way, it must be understood that this isolation is destroying Judaism... Of course, there are always large communities where this effect is less noticeable, but those who don't live in a city with large communities... become isolated, they get lost...
Everyone must do what they can to reverse this isolation, and in an effort to do so, a new proposal has emerged in the city of La Plata: El Makom. Makom means "place" in Hebrew, and the idea is to open a new recreational and meeting place for young people. It's a project still in its early stages, but those interested can visit www.elmakom.org.ar and register or recommend the site to anyone they think might be interested.
It's clear this isn't a complete solution to the insulation problem, but it's something. It's a grain of sand in a vast dune, but if no one contributes their grain of sand, that vast dune will never be reached.