Parashath Tazria‘-Mëtzora‘ LeviticusXII,1-XV,33) 4/27/12

A.

The topic which occupies most of this week’s double parasha is a set of physical manifestations which have direct, metaphysical causes, grouped under the general term tzora‘ath. There are three subcategories of tzora‘ath: (1) a dead-white skin condition (simply called tzora‘ath); (2) a raised boil or blister; (3) a bald spot or scall.

If we consider only tzora‘ath proper, the manifestation begins when an area of skin turns white. Within this whitened area, there are three possible signs of tum’a: The presence of white hairs within the affected area (white at the root, not necessarily at the tip); a tendency of the area to spread, and a tendency to develop into an open sore.

So, our parasha tells us concerning this condition: אדם כי יהי' בעור בשרו שאת או ספחת או בהרת יהי' בעור בשרו לנגע צרעת והובא אל אהרן הכהן או אל אחד מבניו הכהנים: וראה הכהן את הנגע בעור הבשר ושער הנגע הפך לבן ומראה הנגע עמק מעור בשרו נגע צרעת הוא וראהו הכהן וטמא אתו: (“A person, that there will be in the skin of his flesh a swelling [së’éth] or scall [sappahath] or bright spot [bahereth], it will become in the skin of his flesh an affliction [nega‘] of tzora‘ath, and will be brought to Aharon the kohén or to one of his sons the kohanim. And the kohén will see the nega‘ in the skin of the flesh, and the hair of the nega‘ will turn white, and [if] the appearance of the nega‘ is deeper than the skin of his flesh; it is a nega‘ tzora‘ath, and the kohén will see it and declare it tamé’”; XIII, 2-3).

What leaps out at the ordinary reader from this description is that it is white which constitutes a siman tum’a, given that, in general, white for us normally is a mark of purity and cleanness. In this same connection, just a bit later, we read the following surprising passage: וראה הכהן והנה כסתה הצרעת את כל בשרו וטהר את הנגע כלו הפך לבן טהור הוא (“And the kohén will see and behold, the tzora‘ath has covered all his flesh and purified the nega‘; all of it has turned white – it is pure”; v. 13).

So which is it? Is the whiteness a sign of rum’a or tahara? How can it be both?

B.

The following is based upon a deep insight from the ‘Arvei Nahal (עיי' פר' וירא ווישב).

The fact that ד' הוא האלקים אין עוד מלבדו (“Ha-Shem is the G-d, there is nothing else beside Him”; Deuteronomy IV, 35) inevitably and inexorably leads to the conclusion that, if G-d is truly the Source and Origin of all that exists, this includes all of those aspects of Crea-tion which we are accustomed to consider ra‘, bad. Every phenomenon and object in this world exists because, at some, level, it is animated and energized by nitzotzoth qëdu-sha, sparks of sanctity from outside the physical realm which lie at their core, generating their manifestation on the plane of human perception.

As this physical manifestation comes about, the nitzothoth are shrouded ad concealed within successive layers of qëlippoth, “shells,” becoming increasingly alienated from their Divine source by the gathering qëlippoth as they become more solidly manifest in this world.

It is Israel’s task, through the 613 mitzvoth of the Torah, to elevate this realm of objects and phenomena and bring it nearer its Source. Thus, every time we do a mitzva bi-dhilu u-rhimu, with awe and love, we extract a single nitzotz through the qëlippoth to attach itself to our nëshama, a badge of honor, a medal, as it were, marking the accomplishment. It is these nitzotzoth, covering and decorating the nëshama, which comprise our sachar, our reward, in the next world, at the end of our sojourn here.

It is this concept which underlies the Talmudic question asked on the verse עבדו את ד' ביראה וגילו ברעדה (“Serve [‘ivdu] Ha-Shem with yir’a and rejoice with trembling [rë‘ada]”; Psalms II, 11) in which, as I have commented before, the word yir’a is not really translatable into English, covering, as it does, the entire gamut of emotions from awe through dread. Hazal wonder at the second clause: מאי "וגילו ברעדה" במקום גילה שם תהא רעדה?!  (“What does ‘and rejoice with rë‘ada’ mean? In a place where there is joy should there be rë‘ada?!” (ברכות ל: אבל ע"ע יומא ד:). Someone so filled with yir’a that he is trembling seems hardly likely to have much room for joy in his heart!

If, however, we think of this in terms of Hazal’s definition of tëfilla – איזוהי עבודה שהיא בלב זו תפלה (“What is the service which is in the heart? – This is tëfilla”; תענית ב.), we can draw our example from a petitioner in front of a king of flesh and blood: If one comes to beg for one’s livelihood and that of one’s children before the throne, one does so filled with feelings of submission and self-abnegation, wit a broken heart and spirit. When tëfilla is conducted in this spirit, each and every utterance attracts a nitzotz qadosh which attaches itself to that utterance, taking it directly to the Throne. Out of such tëfilla, such ‘avoda, is born the purest joy. בנים אתם לד' אלקיכם. Moshe declares of faithful Israel, fulfilling their mission with awe and love – “You are sons of Ha-Shem your G-d”; Deuteronomy XIV, 1); just as a prince, released from captivity, rejoices in the presence of his august Father’s granting his every wish, so, too, do we. It is the necessary root of tëfilla in yir’a and rë‘ada which attracts the nitzotz escorting us into the Divine presence, generating the ecstatic joy.

C.


Hazal tell us that the spiritual malady tzora‘ath can result from a variety of transgressions, the most commonly cited of which is lashon ha-ra‘, literally an “evil tongue.” Lashon ha-ra‘ is particularly insidious because, in its classic formulation, it consists of the transmittal of unnecessarily defamatory information which the narrator believes to be absolutely true (false, lying slander is a very different offense). It is thus easy for him to convince himself that what he is relating is both accurate and necessary, hence perhaps more difficult to come to the realisation that he is doing wrong.

Whence the essential hesed, the Divine kindness, of tzora‘ath; once diagnosed by the kohén, the tzarua‘ has no choice but to confront himself and his actions.

It has already been noted that every phenomenon in this world has at its heart a nitzotz qëdusha, to include those things which we consider bad. This is because, as King David sings, ד' בשמים הכין כסאו ומלכותו בכל משלה (“Ha-Shem has established His throne in the heavens, and His kingship reigns over all”; Psalms CIII, 19). Tzora‘ath affords us an object in how G-d’s essential goodness can be revealed through a phenomenon apparently negative in nature.

Tzora‘ath, be it noted, is rooted in hesed, in that it is meant to put a stop to inherently destructive behavior, such as lashon ha-ra‘, and bring the perpetrator to recognize his shortcomings and do tëshuva. When the nega‘ first appears, it is restricted to a specific location and area of the tzarua‘’s skin. The initial diagnosis (especially in the earliest stages) may be inconclusive, and the tzarua‘ can find himself quarantined for as long as two weeks, in the interests of letting the malady develop sufficiently to provide clear symptoms. It is this somewhat limited manifestation which is the siman tum’a.

But if the tzarua‘ takes advantage of his enforced solitude to examine his actions, draw the necessary conclusions, and do tëshuva, it can happen that by the end of that one- or two-week period, the result is that the whiteness spreads overall, and thereby becomes a siman tahara, such that the incipient tzarua‘ need not go into enforced isolation, driven by his tum’a. His former sins, as the prophet so strikingly says, כשלג ילבינו, “become white as snow” (Isaiah I, 18). The nitzotz qëdusha underlying the manifestation from the start now becomes a very distinctive addition to his nëshama’s “decorations.”

D.

Due to our present situation, exiled from our land and deprived of the Beyth ha-Miq-dash, the conditions which led to this exile not yet having been alleviated, tzora‘ath has been suspended, and no longer occurs. The lesson of the white nega‘ remains pertinent and timely in our present season, as the Shla”h ha-qadosh famously instructs us to expect, since we read this parasha during the sëfira between Passover and Shavu‘oth (עיי"ש פר' וישב).

There is an old saying that every cloud has a silver lining, which, lë-havdil, finds reflection in the fact that the very whiteness which is the siman tum’a of tzora‘ath comes to remind us of the underlying qëdusha in the condition. The earnest and sincere ba‘al tëshuva can take heart from this that even his darkest actions indeed can become purest white.

This period of the sëfira bridges the gap between the liberation from the shi‘bud Mitz-rayim, the enslavement to the lusts and appetites of the yétzer ha-ra‘ which was so embodied by the corrosively hedonistic Egyptian civilization, and Mattan Torah, the granting of the essential tool set, with its 613 mitzvoth, for preserving and maintaining that freedom.     

The Torah famously tells us that the text of the ‘Asereth ha-Dibbëroth, the “executive summary,” as it were, of the Torah’s mitzvoth was חרות על הלוחות, “engraved [haruth] on the tablets” (Exodus XXXII, 15). Hazal most tellingly read the phrase as though it were pointed differently: אל תקרא "חרות" אלא "חירות" שאין לך בן חורין אלא מי שעוסק בתלמוד תורה (“Read not ‘haruth but héruth [‘freedom’], for you have none free save one who is engaged in Torah study”; אבות פ"ו ב"ב).

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