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 real translation for this disease, since this disease never existed in any other cultures, but it’s somehow similar to Leprosy, with the exception of not being contagious. This disease was not a result of a health problem such as chemical imbalancement or nutrition deficiency, and it did not have any medical remedy to it. But rather, it was a heavenly disease brought down by Hashem and cured by Hashem. The Talmud says that this disease was a punishment for committing a sin, mainly the sin of “Lashon Hara”, gossiping and evil talking about someone else. This disease is a disfiguration and a discoloration of human skin, but it could also fall on a person’s hair, beard, clothing, household items and even home. When a person was suspected of being afflicted with Tzaraat, he did not need to see a physician, but rather, he had to go to a Kohen. The Kohen then evaluated the afflicted area, and if he visually saw the symptoms, he quarantined him. After a week, he looked at the blemish again, and if it has increased in size or depth, he declared the victim “tamei”, impure, and he had to leave the camp and be isolated from the rest of the congregation. Only when he was healed, he may have entered the camp again, which was a sign that he has repented his slanderous ways.
The whole procedure of Tzaraat was quite embarrassing. 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: “This man 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.
The Torah then tells us that the fate of the stricken man is totally dependent upon the will of the Kohen in charge. Unlike today’s time, the victim could not ask for a second opinion! 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 pure and stays in the camp. But the way the Torah describes the examination procedure by the Kohen 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 following question is asked by our sages. How many times does the Kohen need to look at the afflicted person? If he has all the signs of tzara’at, why does the Kohen need to look at the man again? If he surely has the disease, shouldn’t the Kohen declare him impure right away?!
Rabbi Kamenetzky gives a beautiful explanation. The kohen who is instructed to deal with the stricken individual should not only look at the affliction, but he must also look at each person, individually! 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. We would think that 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 even towards a sinner! 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 to look beyond the blemish and look at the man himself!
Yes my friends, the Torah is teaching us a great lesson here . When we want to announce something embarrassing about someone in public, whether it’s true or not, we should think of the man first, and evaluate the consequences of our action! How would our announcement affect his life? It’s very easy to call someone a loser, a thief, a cheater or a womanizer, but keep in mind that these stains may stay with him for the rest of his life. The torah is telling us that embarrassing someone publically is so wrong 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 human beings 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….. you should look at the man!!
Shabbat Shalom, Rosh Chodesh Tov & Regards;
Martin