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 6:1-2)1) and the sota (a woman suspected of adultery, (Numbers 5:11-3)1). It seems like an odd pairing. 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.
“Draw, and take for yourselves lambs” – that is what is written: “With stillness and pleasantness you will be saved” (Isaiah 30:15). We learned: One may heal himself with anything except for idol worship, forbidden sexual relations, and bloodshed. How so? If they will say to a person: ‘Come and kill a person and you will be healed,’ he may not heed them, as it is written: “One who sheds the blood of a man, his blood will be shed by man” (Genesis 9:6). Since “one who sheds the blood of a man, his blood will be shed by man,” how could the ill person be healed by means of bloodshed? Forbidden sexual relations, how so? If they will say to a person: ‘Engage in forbidden sexual relations and you will be healed,’ he may not heed them, as it is prohibited for a person to engage in forbidden sexual relations. You find two adjacent Torah portions, the portion of the nazirite, and the portion of the sota.1The laws of the sota appears in Numbers 5:11–31. The laws of the nazirite appear in Numbers 6:1–21. The nazirite vows not to drink wine. The Holy One blessed be He says to him: ‘You vowed not to drink wine in order to distance yourself from transgression. Do not say: I will eat grapes and it will not be a sin.’ The Holy One blessed be He says to him: ‘Since you vowed to refrain from wine, I will teach you not to sin before Me.’ He said to Moses: ‘Teach Israel the laws of naziriteship, as it is stated: “If a man explicitly vows…from wine and intoxicating drink he shall abstain…he shall not eat anything that is made of the grapevine” (Numbers 6:2–4). When he does so, he is like an angel, “all the days of his naziriteship, he is holy to the Lord” (Numbers 6:8), as you say: “A watcher and a holy one [came down from Heaven]” (Daniel 4:10). Likewise, a woman is called a grapevine, as it is stated: “Your wife is like a fruitful vine” (Psalms 128:3). The Holy One blessed be He said: ‘Do not say: Since it is prohibited for me to engage in relations with the woman, I will grab her and it will not be a sin for me, I will fondle her and it will not be a sin for me, or I will kiss her and it will not be a sin for me.’ The Holy One blessed be He said: ‘Just as if a nazirite has vowed not to drink wine, it is prohibited [for him] to eat moist and dry grapes, and food that is soaked in wine, and anything that emerges from the grapevine; so, too, a woman who is not your wife, you may not touch her at all, as Solomon says: “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” (Proverbs 6:27–9). This is why the Holy One blessed be He [wrote] the portion of the nazirite adjacent to the portion of the sota, because they are similar to one another. And anyone who touches a woman who is not his wife brings death upon himself, as it is stated: “For she has felled many corpses” (Proverbs 7:26), and it is written: “Her feet descend to death; her steps support one to the grave” (Proverbs 5:5). Since she has all these attributes, how can she give life to the ill? Therefore, one may not heal himself through her. Idol worship, how so? If a person of Israel is ill and they say to him: ‘Go to such and such idol and be healed,’ it is prohibited to go, as it says: “One who sacrifices to gods shall be destroyed, except to the Lord alone” (Exodus 22:19). Since everyone who worships idols shall be destroyed, it is preferable for him to die from the illness than to perform an act for which he will be destroyed in this world.2In addition to suffering in the next world. Not only that [act of idol worship] is prohibited, but it is prohibited to heal oneself with anything associated with idol worship. If they say to a person: ‘Take from what they are burning to idols, or take from a tree worshipped as idolatry and make it into an amulet and be healed,’ do not take it, as it is written: “Nothing of the banned items shall cleave to your hand” (Deuteronomy 13:18). This [prohibition] is [referring to anything used for] idolatry. And it says: “You shall not bring an abomination into your home and become banned like it” (Deuteronomy 7:26). Why? It is because they have no substance and they are to no avail, as it is stated: “Do not fear them, for they cannot do evil, neither is it in them to do good” (Jeremiah 10:5). Likewise, you find that Jeremiah said to his generation: ‘I am going to enter into a confrontation with idol worship, and I will state its actions and the actions of God, and the differences between the Holy One blessed be He and idol worship will be known.’ You find four times on one page that Jeremiah demonstrated the denigration of idol worship and praise of God, as it is stated: “So said the Lord: Do not learn the way of the nations…as the customs of the peoples are vanity” (Jeremiah 10:2–3); “they beautify it with silver and with gold… they are like a date palm, a block of wood, [and they do not speak; they are carried because they do not walk]” (Jeremiah 10: 4–5). You have heard the denigration of idol worship, come and hear the praise of the Holy One blessed be He, as it is stated: “There is no one like You, Lord” (Jeremiah 10:6); “who would not fear You, king of nations” (Jeremiah 10:7). You have heard the praise of the Holy One blessed be He, come and hear the denigration of idol worship, as it is stated: “But they are altogether brutish and foolish…silver beaten into plates will be brought from Tarshish…” (Jeremiah 10:8–9). You have heard the denigration of idol worship, come and hear the praise of the Holy One blessed be He, as it is stated: “The Lord God is true” (Jeremiah 10:10). You have heard the praise of the Holy One blessed be He, come and hear the denigration of idol worship, as it is stated: “So you shall say to them: The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, these shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens” (Jeremiah 10:11). You have heard the denigration of idol worship, come and hear the praise of the Holy One blessed be He, as it is stated: “He made the earth with His power…at the sound of His giving a multitude of water in the heavens” (Jeremiah 10:12–13). You have heard the praise of the Holy One blessed be He, come and hear the denigration of idol worship, as it is stated: “Every man is proved to be foolish, without knowledge… they are vanity, a work of delusion” (Jeremiah 10:14–15). You have heard the denigration of idol worship, come and hear the praise of the Holy One blessed be He, as it is stated: “Not like these is the portion of Jacob; for He is the Maker of all things…” (Jeremiah 10:16). The Holy One blessed be He said: Since it is like an inanimate stone and lacks substance, and others guard it so it will not be stolen, how can it give life to an ill person? Therefore, it is prohibited to heal oneself with anything associated with it. Likewise you find regarding Israel when they were in Egypt, they would worship idols and they would not forsake them, as it is stated: “Each man did not cast away the abominations of their eyes” (Ezekiel 20:8). The Holy One blessed be He said to Moses: ‘As long as Israel is worshipping the gods of Egypt they will not be redeemed. Go and say to them that they should abandon their evil deeds and repudiate idol worship.’ That is what is written: “Draw, and take for yourselves” (Exodus 12:21), meaning draw your hands away from idol worship and “take for yourselves lambs” and slaughter the gods of Egypt and perform [the rite of] the paschal offering, as thereby, the Holy One blessed be He will pass over you; that is: “With stillness and pleasantness you will be saved” (Isaiah 30:15).
