Ra'anana Community Kollel

                                       What I Learned from Leprosy

                                                     Rabbi Binyomin Lipson

In the second part of this week’s Torah portion we learn how the mysterious plague of tzora’at could even affect a person’s home in the form of a discoloration on its walls. Just as we were taught that a person infected with bodily tzora’at conveys a severe level of spiritual impurity to all those with whom he comes in contact, the Torah goes on to add that the same holds true in the case of the ba’it hamenugah. Thus, any vessels which were inside would also be rendered ritually unfit and would require purification in a mikveh. Interestingly, similar to the case of bodily tzora’at, this state of impurity would begin only after the Cohain had first examined the house and had officially declared it to be infected, whereas before such time it was considered totally pure. This is one way in which we can see that the disease of tzora’at to which the Torah has introduced us was not actually a “disease” at all, but rather, a physical manifestation of a purely spiritual malady. No matter what the symptoms, the affected party always remained pure until the Cohain had made his final ruling.

As is well known, one of the main causes of tzora’at was the transgression of lashon harah in which one used his heavenly gift of speech to besmirch the reputation of another. Thus, in order to repair the damage done by the type of speech which serves to drive people away from one another, the Torah forced the transgressor to approach none other than the Cohain, a descendant of Moshe’s brother Aharon who “loved peace and pursued it.” By requiring him to meet with the Cohain, the Torah sent the slanderer a crystal-clear message that rather than using the power of speech to distance people from one another, it should rather be utilized to pronounce the kind words which can bring them closer together. Just as speech can serve as the cause of severe impurity, when used correctly it can also raise us up and be instrumental in helping us to maintain our status as a holy people.

The Torah also tells us that before the Cohain would pronounce a house to be impure, he would advise the owner to remove all of the vessels which were presently inside in order that they would not become tainted by its impurity. While for most vessels, which can be purified through immersion in a mikveh, this precaution was a mere convenience which saved the owner from the effort of having to immerse all his various utensils, in the case of clay vessels, which cannot be purified, it prevented them from having to be discarded altogether. Although clay vessels were certainly inexpensive and their loss would not cause the owner any great financial setback, the Torah was still concerned that a person, even a sinner, not suffer even a small loss unless it was absolutely warranted.

One year, before the onset of Sukkot, R’ Ya’akov Yisrael Kanievsky entered a store in search of a lulav for the festival. However, he was not able to locate one which he deemed satisfactory. A short time after he left the shop empty-handed, he returned, selected a lulav and purchased it. Later he explained to a relative the reasons for his actions.

“If I were to leave this store without buying anything, people would undoubtedly assume that this was because I was not satisfied with the quality of the merchandise and not merely because I am extremely particular about the lulav that I use. This sort of rumor could cause the owner a loss of customers!”

With regard to bodily tzora’at, the Torah tells us that the transgressor must wear torn clothes and allow his hair to remain untrimmed. The Chofetz Chaim explained that this is due to the fact that one of the main causes of slanderous speech is one’s feelings of personal superiority over others. When a person feels that he is somehow better than others, he will certainly be much more likely to focus on their faults and verbally defame them. Thus, by commanding the transgressor to allow his personal appearance to fall into a state of disgrace, the Torah is helping him to overcome his feelings of false pride and to realize that he too is not without fault. We can see from here the great influence that a person’s external appearance can have over his internal mindset. As long as his appearance remains immaculate, it is hard for a him to remember that he is also riddled with faults and must put in great effort in order to improve. However, when he is forced to neglect his personal hygiene, his heart becomes humbled as he slowly remembers his own shortcomings.

Clearly, as children of the King of Kings we should try to retain a respectable appearance. However, as Jews we must remember that external beauty should but serve to enhance the more sublime aspects of our personalities and not to serve as their substitute. We sing at the conclusion of Eishat Chail every Friday night, “Sheker hachein v’hevel hayofi, isha yir’at Hashem he tithalal”. This means that although physical beauty alone is truly worthless, when the inner aspects of the person are filled with ultimate meaning, his physical appearance can also be praised. For the metzora, it is necessary even to go to the extreme of neglecting his personal appearance in order that he may begin to focus on the more essential aspects of self that lie within.