The verse "Draw, and take for yourselves lambs" (Exodus 12:21) might seem straightforward, but the Rabbis saw layers of meaning. They connect it to the verse "With stillness and pleasantness you will be saved" (Isaiah 30:15). This connection leads to a fascinating discussion about when healing becomes forbidden.
The text starts with a general principle: we can heal ourselves with almost anything... except for three things: idol worship, forbidden sexual relations, and bloodshed. Strong words!
Bloodshed is fairly straightforward. If someone says, "Kill someone, and you'll be healed," the answer is a resounding no. The Torah is clear: "One who sheds the blood of a man, his blood will be shed by man" (Genesis 9:6). Asks the Rabbis, how can healing come from an act that itself demands punishment?
Forbidden sexual relations is where things get interesting. The Rabbis draw a parallel between the laws of the nazirite (a person who takes a vow of abstinence, detailed in Numbers 6:1-21) and the sota (a woman suspected of adultery, Numbers 5:11-31). It seems like an odd pairing, right? But stay with me.
The nazirite vows to abstain from wine. The Holy One, blessed be He, essentially tells him, "Don't even think about pushing the boundaries. No grapes! No grape juice! Stay far away from temptation." The text in Shemot Rabbah equates a woman to a grapevine, referencing the verse, "Your wife is like a fruitful vine" (Psalms 128:3). The lesson? Just as the nazirite must avoid even the slightest contact with wine, so too must a person avoid any inappropriate contact with a woman who is not his wife. As Solomon warns in Proverbs 6:27-29, "Can a man stoke fire in his bosom and his garments not be burned?...so one who goes in to his neighbor's wife; anyone who touches her will not be absolved." To touch a woman who is not your wife, we are warned, brings death. Given this, how could such a relationship bring healing?
Finally, there's idol worship. This is perhaps the most forcefully condemned. If someone is sick and told to worship an idol for healing, it's absolutely forbidden. Why? Because "One who sacrifices to gods shall be destroyed, except to the Lord alone" (Exodus 22:19). Better to die from the illness than to commit an act that leads to destruction! It's not just the act of worship itself that's prohibited, but also using anything associated with idolatry. Don't take anything from idols, don't use a tree worshipped as an idol as an amulet, as "Nothing of the banned items shall cleave to your hand" (Deuteronomy 13:18).
The text then quotes the prophet Jeremiah extensively (Jeremiah 10:2-16), contrasting the emptiness and powerlessness of idols with the living God, the "Maker of all things". Over and over, Jeremiah emphasizes the futility of idols, their inability to do good or evil. "Do not fear them, for they cannot do evil, neither is it in them to do good" (Jeremiah 10:5). How can something so empty, so powerless, possibly bring healing?
The Rabbis use the example of the Israelites in Egypt. They were worshipping idols, and God told Moses that they wouldn't be redeemed until they abandoned those idols. That's why God commands, "Draw, and take for yourselves" (Exodus 12:21) — draw away from idol worship, and take the lambs to sacrifice, thereby rejecting the gods of Egypt. Only then, "With stillness and pleasantness you will be saved" (Isaiah 30:15).
So, what's the takeaway here? This passage from Shemot Rabbah isn't just about ancient laws and rituals. It's about the boundaries of morality, about the dangers of seeking healing at any cost. It forces us to ask: What are we willing to sacrifice for health? What lines are we unwilling to cross? And can true healing ever come from a source that is itself impure or destructive? It is something to consider.