Parshat Tazria: The supernatural affliction
Are speakers of lashon ha’ra not found amongst the nations? Why then don’t we find that they are afflicted by tzaraat?
In our Parasha, we read of the wondrous affliction of Tsaraat, which, as our Sages explain, usually came about due to a number of sins, most notably the sin of lashon ha’ra, which causes the afflicted person to become impure, and to be ‘quarantined’ from the community.
The Torah describes in great detail the manner in which the affliction manifests itself, its treatment, and, finally, its ‘cure’.
We read:(13:1-9):’Hashem spoke to Moshe and to Aaron, saying: If a person will have on the skin of his flesh’ an affliction, ‘and it will become a tsaraat..he shall be brought to’ the Kohen.
‘The Kohen shall look at the affliction on the skin of his flesh. If the hair in the affliction has changed to white, and the affliction’s appearance is deeper than the skin of the flesh - it is a tzaraat affliction;
the Kohen shall declare him contaminated…if its appearance is not deeper than the skin, and the hair has not changed to white, then the Kohen shall quarantine the affliction for a seven day period.
The Kohen shall look at it on the seventh day, and if the affliction retained its color and did not spread on the skin, then the Kohen shall quarantine it for a second seven day period.
The Kohen shall look at it again on the seventh day, and if the affliction has dimmed, and not spread on the skin, then the Kohen shall declare him pure..But if the affliction has spread on the skin after it has been shown to the Kohen again..the Kohen shall declare him contaminated: it is tzaraat’.
The Torah then describes the steps required, for the treatment, and cure of this tzaraat.
The Midrash asks:’Why is the afflicted person brought to a Kohen; why is the affliction not shown to one of the people? Because just as the Kohanim receive the tithes, the trumot and the korbanot of the people, so too should they receive their troubles.
‘For this reason, Hashem commanded that the people should come, and show the Kohanim their afflictions, as it is written;(Shoftim 21:5)’’And the Kohanim..by their mouth shall every..affliction be judged.’
Rav Zalman Sorotzkin proffers a different answer:’The Torah wants to teach us, that these afflictions are not physical ailments, which can be treated by a doctor, but an ailment of the soul; as our Sages teach, this affliction comes as a result of certain transgressions.
‘They add: the affliction operates as ‘an altar of atonement’, and therefore it is the province of the Kohanim; the person afflicted does not require a physical cure by a doctor, as with other ailments, but a spiritual doctor, who will teach him the ways of Hashem, which is the avocation of the Kohanim, as the Torah states:( Vezot Habracha 33:10 ):’They shall teach ..your Torah to Israel’.
‘The Torah therefore states here:’He shall be brought to’ the Kohen - the Kohen does not only look at the affliction, but also at the afflicted person.’
Rav David Hofstedter brings the question of the Ohr Hachaim Hakadosh: ’Why is it that only Bnei Israel are afflicted by tzaraat?
He answers:’The Torah states that the affliction is only ‘in the skin’ of the person, not in his inner parts, and therefore, it is not relevant to the nations, the whole of whose being is ridden with impurity; in their case, it would not be seen on their skin, as it is not different than the rest of them.
‘Bnei Israel, on the other hand, their inner parts are pure, being a part of the Divine, and therefore, should they stray, it is only externally - not in their essence - and seen only on their skin.’
The Rav adds - this is the basis of the exposition of the Alshich Hakadosh :’We can now understand, why today, we don’t find Bnei Israel who are afflicted by tzaraat.
‘This is because the previous generations were of a far higher level of righteousness - therefore the slightest transgression made an impression on them; however, recent generations, when the forces of impurity gained ascendancy, and the people were of a lower level of purity and righteousness, transgressions no longer make an impression, on theit bodies.’
The Alshich Hakadosh adds a beautiful explanation of this wondrous phenomenon.
‘Why’, he asks rhetorically, ‘Does the Torah choose to describe the afflicted person, by the most noble appellation of אדם, which is the loftiest of the titles by which the Torah describes human beings, rather than אנוש or גבר or the more common: איש?’
We brought his answer, in the exposition of Rav Hofstedter, above.
He adds:’In the period with which our Parasha was concerned, the generation that merited to have Moshe Rabbeinu to guide the people, and Aaron as a role model, when the people were ‘complete’ and righteous, only then would the transgression make a mark on the person.
‘As befits the righteous who inadvertently strayed, Hashem gave them the chessed of tzaraat, as a warning sign that they had strayed from their standards.
‘This is why the Torah uses the word: והיה, at the beginning of our sugya, which, as our Sages teach, denotes ‘joy’ - to teach that the affliction is truly a source of simcha to the afflicted person, as it will lead him back to the path of the righteous.’
Rav Shlomo Ganzfried, brings the exposition of the Alshich Hakadosh, and sweetens our understanding, by noting that the sage, also asked: Why is the purification from the affliction given to the Kohanim?
He expounds:’Our Sages teach, that tzaraat comes as a result of speaking lashon ha’ra - and here we ask: are speakers of lashon ha’ra not found amongst the nations? Why then don’t we find that they are afflicted by tzaraat?
‘The answer is that lashon ha’ra and divisiveness does not affect them in the way it affects Bnei Israel, because unity is not of their essence in the first place.
‘Bnei Israel, on the other hand, whose souls are all part of the one Divine source, are obligated to be at peace and to love one another, be it in the observance of the Torah, or in all other matters, as is well known.
‘This is the deeper meaning of the Gemara ( Yeb’ 61. ):’You are called אדם, and the nations are not called אדם.’
‘Because - unlike the other titles by which men are called - אדם is always in the singular, and not in the plural, as are גבר or אנוש or the most common: איש - thereby alluding to unity and peace.
‘This is why our Parasha opens with the words:’ אדם will have on his skin..tsaraat’: because you are called אדם, peace and unity must exist amongst you; therefore, one who speaks lashon ha’ra and causes separation, his skin will be afflicted, and the remedy is, that ‘he shall be brought to the Kohen’, whose attribute, as is known, is the love and pursuit of peace, to learn from him, and to obtain atonement.
The Alshich Hakadosh also favors us with a beautiful exposition of the deeper message of this phenomenon:’Hashem wanted to strengthen us in the root of emunah in His hashgacha, lest people who are afflicted by ailment think that it is by chance, and not the work of Hashem, but to cause us to understand that all is by His hashgacha.
‘Second, that sin is the reason that illness afflicts a person, and that when the person does teshuva, Hashem will heal him.
‘Therefore, the Divine Wisdom decreed this supernatural sign, the most severe of all ailments, tzaraat, that cannot be cured by natural means; and therefore the Torah tells the person afflicted:
don’t think that it has a natural cause, and that you should go to a doctor to cure you, but that, if you are afflicted by it, you should consult the Kohen, the emissary of Hashem, because it is only He who can heal you, totally dependent on your repentance of the sin, which was the cause of the affliction.
‘This, because the tzaraat afflicted you because you did not guard your mouth against speaking lashon ha’ra; this is why the Kohen quarantines the offendor for seven days, within which time the person will do some soul-searching, as to why this fate has befallen him, and he will come to realize that he is ‘closed away behind the door of his house’, measure-for-measure for his errant opening of his mouth, and will undertake to refrain from lashon ha’ra in the future.’
A parting insight from Rav Eliyahu Shlezinger, based on the exposition of the Alshich Hakadosh:’Precisely in אדם can the affliction of tzaraat appear - this, because he is created in the image of the Divine. Therefore, when he strays, it causes the affliction to appear on his skin, as a warning of chessed from the Creator.
‘The cure is therefore only by the Creator’s emissaries: the Kohanim - when they proclaim: ‘impure’, it is the Shechina which is talking through them - and, so too, when they declare that the person is now טהור: pure, it is the Shechina declaring that the pure soul has now returned to its pristine level.’
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/388375
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