Dear Friends;
I hope that you will enjoy the following Parsha summary followed by a Dvar Torah;
” Parsha in a Nutshell “
The Torah commands a woman to undergo a process of purification and to bring a korban (sacrifice) after the birth of a child. A son is to be circumcised on the eighth day of his life.
Tzara’at is a super-natural plague, which can afflict people as well as garments or homes. If white or pink patches appear on a person’s skin, a Kohen is summoned. Judging by various signs, such as an increase in size of the afflicted area after a seven-day quarantine, the Kohen pronounces it tameh (impure) or tahor (pure).
A person afflicted with tzaraat must dwell alone outside of the camp until he is healed. The afflicted area in a garment or home must be removed; if the tzara’at re occurs, the entire garment or home must be destroyed.
” Dvar Torah “
The main topic of discussion in this week’s Parsha and the week after is a disease called Tzara’at. There is no English translation for this disease, since this disease never existed in any other cultures, but it’s somehow similar to Leprosy. This disease does not have any scientific proof to it, nor any medical remedy, but rather, it is a heavenly disease brought down by Hashem and cured by Hashem. The Chachamim say that this disease is a punishment for those who have committed “Lashon Hara”, gossiping and evil talking about someone else. This disease is an affliction that discolors human skin, hair, beard, clothing, household items and even homes; but it is discussed in greater detail when it falls on the body. Tzara’at appears as a white patch on various parts of the body. If afflicted, the person is quarantined and then reevaluated; if condemned, he is sent outside the Jewish camp, isolated from the whole congregation, until he heals, which is a sign that he has repented his slanderous ways. The whole procedure was a very embarrassing event. If contaminated with the disease,the Kohen had to accompany the convict to outside of the camp in front of the whole congregation and he had to announce in loud voice that he has Tzara’at. The Chachamim say that the punishments given in the Torah are usually measure for measure. The same way that the victim of an evil gossip is avoided and disrespected by everyone else; the same way the gossiper is put to shame and forced to isolate himself from the rest of the community. They also say that the purpose that Hashem puts the convict through all these hardship wasn’t “Chasbe Shalom” to hurt him, but rather, the reason was to put him through a “Spiritual Rehab”, so that he would spend some time by himself in order to realize that what he did was wrong and to repent.
The Torah tells us then that the fate of the stricken man is totally dependent upon the will of the kohen. The kohen is shown the negah (blemish) and has complete authority to declare it “tamei” (impure) or “tahor” (pure), which determines the faith of the victim whether he could stay or leave the camp. In fact, even if all signs point to the declaration of impurity, if the kohen, for any reason deems the person tahor or refuses to declare him tamei, the man remains tahor. But the way the Torah demands from the Kohen to examine the blemish on the afflicted person before declare him impure is quite strange. The Torah says: “And the kohen shall look at the “negah” affliction on the skin and behold it has changed to white and appears deeper than the skin of the flesh – it is tzara’at and the kohen shall look at the man and declare him tamei”!
The question that is brought up by the Chachamim is quite simple. How many times does the Kohen need to look? If he looks at the blemish and it’s clearly tzara’at, then why does he need to look at the man again before publicly declaring him impure?! As the saying goes; if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, then it must be a duck!
Rabbi Kamenetzky gives a beautiful explanation to this question. The kohen who is instructed to deal with the stricken individual should not only look at the affliction, but he must look at each person individually too. The Kohen must realize what consequences his verdict will bring upon the person and what the victim has to go through! Even if the “negah” has all the attributes that should lead to a declaration of impurity, there are other factors that must be weighed. If the man is a groom, about to be wed, impurity must not be declared. If the man is expecting a new baby sometime soon; if he is moving to a new house or if it will ruin any upcoming festivities, then a declaration of contamination must be postponed. The kohen, a man of love and peace, is not expected to embarrass or humiliate the afflicted person when he is in a state of joy, but rather, he is obligated to hide the truth. A person who has committed Lashon Hara and has humiliated someone publicly, deserves to be humiliated himself. But the Torah is telling us otherwise! The Kohen is expected to show compassion towards the afflicted one! The purpose of the tzara’at is not to punish the person or “chasbe shalom” to get back at him, but rather, it’s suppose to make him realize what he did was wrong and help him to change his ways. And that’s why the Torah demands from the Kohen not to just look at the blemish, but rather, he should look at the man and his future!
Yes my friends, there is a great lesson to be learned from this scenario. When we want to announce something publically about someone else, whether it’s true or not, we should look at the man first and think of the consequences of our action! How will our announcement affect his life? It’s very easy to call someone a thief, a crook, a womanizer or an alcoholic, but we have to remember that this stain might stay with him for the rest of his life. The torah is telling us that embarrassing someone publically is so bad that sometimes we are allowed, even obligated, to hide the truth! If Hashem has so much compassion even towards a sinner and doesn’t want to embarrass him in public, then how much more we should have compassion for our fellow jews and not to humiliate them in public!
The Pirkei Avot says; “judge all of the people in a good way,” and do not look at the partial person: rather, judge all of the person — even a flaw may have a motivation or rationale behind it. That’s why when you see a flaw in a man, you should look beyond the flaw and you should look at the entire man!!
Shabbt Shalom & Regards;
Martin