Hamaayan / The Torah Spring Edited by Shlomo Katz Parashat Tazria Volume XVII, No. 27 3 Nissan 5763 April 5, 2003 Sponsored by the Saltzman family on the 25th yahrzeit of Yosef Noach ben Yitzchak Isaac a"h Abe and Shirley Sperling & William and Ruth Konick on the yahrzeits of Tzvi Dov ben Avraham a"h (Harry Sperling) and Mindel bat Tzvi Dov a"h (Mildred Klessmer) Bobbi and Jules Meisler on the yahrzeit of father Irving Meisler a"h Today's Learning: Me'ilah 4:2-3 Orach Chaim 7:4-8:2 Daf Yomi (Bavli): Avodah Zarah 23 Daf Yomi (Yerushalmi): Rosh Hashanah 5 This week's parashah introduces the the laws of tzara'at, while next week's parashah discusses the process of obtaining purification from that ailment. Regarding this, R' Zvi Yehuda Kook z"l (1891-1982; rosh yeshiva of Yeshivat Merkaz Harav) taught: The Torah necessarily encompasses man's entire existence. Certainly the Torah relates to a normal, healthy person. The first part of the Book of Vayikra describes lofty spiritual levels -- the sacrifices and the dedication of the mishkan. However, the Torah is meant to direct a person, and the life of a typical person includes times of illness. In Parashot Tazria and Metzora we meet the Jew when he is in an unhealthy state, specifically, when he is spiritually unhealthy. The unique aspect of the human being is his power of speech. Thus, on the verse (Bereishit 2:7), "And G-d blew into his nostrils the soul of life, and man became a living being," Onkelos comments, "He became a speaking spirit." Man's speech reveals his thoughts. Man has within him a special soul, and that soul's power reveals itself through speech. Man is known to be a social creature, and society is made possible by speech. On the other hand, speech is a terrifying and horrible thing when used in an impure fashion. This is why Chazal speak so strongly of the evils of lashon hara. When one corrupts the power of speech, he corrupts the essence of the human being. At the head of all illnesses are those which come from unhealthy speech. All other faults stem from there. When man is worthy, he radiates the light of Torah on his surroundings. When he is unworthy, there will (G-d forbid) be tzara'at in his house. (Ha'Torah Ha'go'ellet II p.134) ******** "If a person will have on the skin of his flesh a se'ait, or a sapachat, or a baheret [different kinds of white marks], and it will become a tzara'at affliction . . ." (13:2) "If there shall be a tzara'at affliction in a garment, in a woolen garment or a linen garment . . ." (13:47) "When you arrive in the land of Canaan that I give you as a possession, and I will place a tzara'at affliction upon a house in the land of your possession . . ." (14:34 - in next week's parashah) R' Moshe ben Maimon z"l (Rambam; 1135-1204) writes: "Tzara'at" is a name that is shared by several different things that are not similar to each other. Certain white marks on a man's flesh are called "tzara'at," as are certain types of hair loss. Also, certain changes in the appearance of clothing and houses are called "tzara'at." The abnormalities in clothing and houses that the Torah calls "tzara'at" are not natural occurrences but rather signs and wonders to warn the Jewish people against lashon hara. If one speaks lashon hara, the walls of his house will change their appearance. If he repents, his house will become purified. If he continues his evil even after part of his house has been torn down, then the leather items within his house will change their appearance. If he repents, they will become purified. If he continues his evil even after his leather items have been burnt, then the clothes that he wears will change their appearance. If he repents, they will become purified. If he continues his evil after his clothes have been burnt, then his skin will change its appearance and he will become a metzorah. Then he will be infamous and separated from people so that he cannot engage in conversations in the way of evil people - i.e., mockery and lashon hara. Regarding these matters the Torah says (Devarim 24:8-9), "Beware of the tzara'at affliction, to be very careful and to act . . . Remember what Hashem, your G-d, did to Miriam on the way, when you were leaving Egypt." The Torah is saying: Reflect on what happened to the prophetess Miriam when she spoke about her brother. She was older than he was and had helped to raise him. She even endangered herself to save him from the sea. She did not speak ill of him, but only erred in equating him to other prophets. Moreover, Moshe certainly was not bothered by her words, for the Torah says (Bemidbar 12:3), "The man Moshe was exceedingly humble." Nevertheless, she was immediately punished with tzara'at! How much more so will there be punishment for those foolish and evil people who regularly speak "great things" [a euphemism for lashon hara - see Tehilim 12:4]. Therefore, someone who wants to go in a straight way should distance himself from sitting with such people and speaking with them so that he will not be caught up in the net of their wickedness and foolishness. In contrast to the wicked, the conversations of the kosher folk among the Jews and of their tzaddikim includes only words of Torah and wisdom. Therefore, the Holy One, blessed is He, aids them and brings merits their way, as it is written (Malachi 3:16), "Then those who fear Hashem spoke to one another, and Hashem listened and heard; it was inscribed before Him in a book of remembrance of those who fear Hashem and meditate upon His Name." (Hil. Tumat Tzara'at 16:10) R' Shalom Noach Brazovsky z"l (1911-2000; the Slonimer Rebbe) observes: Tzara'at existed only in era of the prophets, for it was a form of direct communication from G-d to let a person know that he had sinned. In a way, tzara'at was a sign of G-d's love for man. It is bad enough when G-d distances Himself from us, but it is far worse when He distances himself and we don't even realize it. This is the meaning of the verse (Tehilim 51:14), "Cast me not from Your Presence, and take not Your ruach hakodesh / Divine inspiration from me." If You must cast me from Your Presence, and least leave in me the ability to recognize that You are distant from me. (Netivot Shalom) ******** Pesach "How much more so should we be grateful to the Omnipresent for all the numerous favors that He showered upon us: He brought us out of Egypt . . . and He built us the Temple, to atone for our sins." (From the Haggadah) R' Yaakov Kranz z"l (1747-1805; the Dubno Maggid) asks: Given the implication here that the building of the Bet Hamikdash was the completion of the Exodus process, why did the Jewish people agree to be redeemed when the Temple would not yet be built until 480 years later? He answers with a parable: If a father would say to his daughter, "Let us schedule your wedding now, and we will prepare a wedding gown, Shabbat clothes, Yom Tov clothes, an apartment, etc. as the need for each arises," his daughter would likely refuse. She would say, "No! Let us first prepare a trousseau and then arrange the wedding." On the other hand, if a girl were a prisoner and someone rescued her and said, "Marry me, and I will provide everything you want as the need arises," she would certainly agree. Bnei Yisrael in Egypt were like that second bride. They were more than happy to be rescued from their situation, even if there permanent marital home would not be completed for hundreds of years to come. We read in Shir Hashirim (4:8), "With Me, from the Levanon, o' bride; with Me, from the Levanon, you will come." The Midrash comments on this verse that most brides are decorated and perfumed before they enter the chupah, but Hashem did not do this for His bride - the Jewish people. Rather, He took His bride directly from the Levanon - from the word "levainah" / "brick" (i.e., from building Pharaoh's cities). But He promised her, "You will come with Me to the Levanon - a reference to the Bet Hamikdash, where the sins of the Jewish people became lavan / white. [Note also that the Bet Hamikdash was built from cedars of Levanon / Lebanon.] (Haggadah Shel Pesach Sha'arei Armon p.132) *** "We cried out to Hashem . . ." (Devarim 26:6; quoted in the Haggadah) R' Yosef Yitzchak Schneerson z"l (the Lubavitcher Rebbe; died 1950) once commented: People mistakenly think, "If only we had a Moshe Rabbeinu today, he would rescue us from our exile." Those people are wrong. The redemption is not delayed because we don't have a Moshe Rabbeinu. Even in Egypt, Hashem sent the redeemer only after the people cried out to Him. If we would cry out to Hashem similarly, He would send out redeemer. (Quoted in Otzrot Tzaddikei U'geonei Ha'dorot) *** "Hashem brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand - this refers to the plague of devver / epidemic - and with an outstretched arm - this refers to the sword . . ." (Devarim 26:8, as expounded in the Haggadah) R' Yehuda Loewe z"l (the Maharal of Prague; 16th century) comments in Gevurot Hashem (Ch. 56) that "a mighty hand" alludes to those plagues that occurred because G-d distanced himself from man, while "an outstretched arm" refers to those plagues in which G-d actively struck man. R' Aharon Lopiansky shlita (Rosh Bais Midrash at the Yeshiva of Greater Washington) explains: G-d brought the plagues upon the Egyptians not only to punish them, but to teach both them and us. There are two erroneous viewpoints that the plagues were designed to counter. Some philosophers assert that G-d does not exist at all, while others acknowledge that He exists and that He is the Creator, but claim that once He finished creation, He can no longer intervene in the world's affairs. To counter the first belief, G-d sometimes pulls back from the world and says, "Look what would happen if I did not exist -- the world would fill with darkness and evil." This is the meaning of the verse (Eichah 3:38), "From the mouth of the Most High will not emanate evil." When evil strikes man, it is not because G-d did it, but because He distanced himself from man, thus creating a spiritual vacuum that was filled by evil. To counter the second belief -- that G-d is subservient to the laws of nature -- G-d sometimes intervenes directly in the world. We read regarding the drowning of the Egyptians in the sea (Shmot 15:1), "A horse with its rider He hurled into the sea." Why is it important that the Egyptians were riding on horses when they drowned? A soldier mounted on his powerful stead is a symbol of man's might. Thus, this verse reminds us that G-d is mightier still. Nothing can stop Him from intervening in man's affairs when He chooses. (Heard from R' Lopiansky 26 Adar 5763)