For #MeToo transgressors, the only cure is banishment

(JTA) — In the years following the reckonings with sexual harassment and assault prompted by the #MeToo movement, there has been debate over the correct communal response to those accused of sexual misconduct and whether perpetrators should be pushed to the edges of a community.

Questions of sin, quarantine and repentance are central to this week’s Torah portion, Tazria-Metzora, prompted by the rules surrounding the metzora, a person afflicted with tzaarat. Sometimes translated as “leprosy,” tzaraat is a skin disease that, per the description in this week’s portion, can also affect houses and...