Print version: Sforno Chukat
Sickness, Symbol, Salvation (Chukat)
Symbols are the imaginative signposts of life. —Margot Asquith
Among the many symbols modernity has inherited from the ancient world, one of the most striking and perhaps unsettling is the emblem of the medical profession: a serpent coiled around a rod. It has always seemed like an odd choice to represent healing.
This symbol, formally known as the Rod of Asclepius, comes from Greek mythology. Yet as we read this week’s Torah portion, it becomes clear that the idea may have even earlier roots in the Jewish tradition.
In the Book of Numbers, chapter 21, the Israelites complain once again about their conditions and speak against both God and Moses. As a consequence, God sends “fiery serpents” that bite the people, and many die. The people admit their wrongdoing, and Moses prays for them. Verses 8 and 9 describe the unexpected divine response:
“God said to Moses, ‘Make yourself a fiery serpent and place it on a pole. Anyone who is bitten shall look at it and live.’ Moses made a serpent of copper and placed it on the pole. If someone was bitten by a serpent, that person would look at the copper serpent and live.”
The Italian commentator and physician Rabbi Ovadia Sforno provides both a medical and spiritual explanation for this healing. Writing centuries before European scientists formally developed the concept of vaccination, Sforno describes how a substance related to the cause of an illness can be part of the cure. Although earlier healing traditions in China and India may have explored similar ideas, Sforno applies this insight to the biblical text.
More importantly, he suggests that illness can sometimes reflect a deeper spiritual condition. If the root of the problem is spiritual, then healing must include spiritual correction as well.
In this story, Sforno explains that the Israelites sinned by speaking wrongly about God and Moses. Their punishment, delivered through the bite of the snake, mirrored the nature of their sin. Just as their mouths had caused harm, the punishment came from the mouth of the serpent. Healing, therefore, also had to involve the image of a snake — not only to confront the source of their suffering, but to guide them toward repentance and spiritual correction.
By raising a serpent on a pole, Moses created a powerful moment of reflection. The people were reminded of their sin and directed to look upward. Those who repented, renewed their trust in God, and accepted the difficult truth of their failure were granted healing.
May we all find healing from whatever troubles us, whether in body or spirit. And may we always remember to lift our eyes toward Heaven, where true healing begins.
Shabbat Shalom,
Ben-Tzion
Dedication
To all those who enabled people to travel in and out of Israel, with creativity and determination.
