Finding The Silver Lining

Parshas Metzorah

Posted on April 4, 2022 (5782) By Rabbi Elly Broch | Series: Kol HaKollel | Level: Beginner

“When you arrive in the land of Canaan that I give you as a possession, and I will place a tzoraas (1) affliction upon a house in the land of your possession.” (Vayikra/Leviticus 13:33) Tzoraas manifested itself not only in the form of skin blemishes, but also affected clothes and houses in the form of discolorations. This, in certain situations, required burning of the garment or demolition of the entire house.

 

The Midrash expounds that although seemingly counterintuitive, this was good for the owner of the house. The heathen inhabitants who previously lived in the Land of Israel, before abandoning their homes, often concealed their money and possessions in the walls of their houses. Demolition of the house uncovered these treasures, allowing the new Jewish owner to benefit.

 

Yet the Talmud (Eruchin 16a) teaches that this plague came as a punishment for an individual’s indiscretions. If G-d was castigating the wrongdoer, why was it orchestrated that the houses broken down as a punishment would yield treasures?

 

Rabbi Moshe Feinstein (2) explains that although the plague came to benefit the house owner with treasure, that objective was possible to achieve without going through the ordeal of destroying their house. The tzoraas experience was demanding and unpleasant, to alert the recipient of his wrongdoing and need for change. The plague worked to achieve both punishment and reward.

 

Rabbi Avigdor Miller (3) further elaborates that the Creator of the World, in His infinite wisdom, has a master plan that our finite human minds cannot fathom. This plan will materialize, and cannot be stopped or frustrated by our decisions and actions. Certain events are destined to occur regardless of our actions, but the sequence or details of the events may be manipulated to teach us a Divine lesson. G-d wished to benefit the house owner by exposing the treasure. At the same time, the individual made choices and committed sins punishable by tzoraas. The tzoraas was a punishment, causing the afflicted to repent and commit to a more spiritual life, while simultaneously fulfilling G-d’s master plan with the discovery of the treasure.

 

We all undergo some misfortune or suffering that appears on the surface to be a negative message from the Divine. However, later reflection upon the events brings the understanding that while they were difficult and challenging, they provided him with a fantastic opportunity for growth and development. The Torah is reminding us of the well known and much experienced axiom: what at the moment may seem like a punishment is, in reality, an opportunity and a treasure.

 

Have a Good Shabbos!

Plagues: Personal, Societal and Familial

Parshas Tazria Metzorah

Posted on April 17, 2015 (5775) By Rabbi Berel Wein | Series: Rabbi Wein | Level: Beginner

 

We once again read about types of plagues and dermatological illnesses that create a climate of impunity and negativity. We are no longer privy to the identity and physical appearance of these plagues that are recorded for us in this week’s Torah reading. These plagues are or were unknown to us and they are certainly not the modern form of leprosy, which was the usual understanding of them for number of past centuries. In the absence of true understanding of these plagues and of the existence of the Temple, currently this subject matter is an esoteric one rather than theoretical.

 

Nevertheless, as the Torah is always multi-layered and to be understood on many different levels and planes, there are certainly lessons that we can derive from this week’s Torah reading that are relevant to our lives and society. All of us encounter plagues during our lifetime. They may be physical, mental, spiritual, financial, family associated or work related.

 

The Torah reading divides its litany of plagues into different categories. There are plagues that affect the physical body of the person, while there are others that manifest themselves in the clothing and/or in the structure of the home and residence where the person lives. Many of the commentators to the Torah have seen this division of the plagues that can afflict human beings as being categorized as personal, societal and familial.

 

These three areas of life – one’s own being and body, one’s society and community and one’s family are the areas of life and existence that are most vulnerable to plagues – or troubles. They are also those areas of life that can bring one the most satisfaction and sense of achievement. In the world of the Torah, what is most fragile and potentially impure is also what can be the greatest source of strength and holiness.

 

These three areas of life require constant vigilance and effort to remain healthy, productive and noble. The Torah bids us to care for ourselves. Our bodies and our health are not to be abused or taken for granted. We oftentimes sacrifice our physical well-being for transitory gain and imagined security. This type of attitude creates a plague within us that sooner or later will affect and injure us.

 

Part of the idea of the quarantine that the Torah describes for us in this week’s Torah reading is to give the individual an opportunity to analyze and think about one’s self and how to properly take care of one’s own physical well-being.

 

Next, no person should live in isolation. and belonging to and contributing to a community – synagogues, charitable organizations, study groups, etc. – becomes our clothing, so to speak – the external persona that we project. The great Choni Hamageil of Second Temple times said it well: “if there is no community, then there is only death.”

 

And finally, family obligations should trump all other imagined obligations. There is a responsibility of great magnitude in bringing children into this world. That responsibility for raising, guiding, caring and training one’s own family cannot be shunted off to schools, institutions, peer groups or others. To attempt to do so invites the appearance of plagues in one’s own home. So, we should always be on the lookout to avoid these types of plagues. that do exist and abound in our world.

 

Shabbat shalom

Rabbi Berel Wein

 The Stain is Noticeable

Parshas Tazria Metzorah

Posted on April 15, 2021 (5781) By Mordechai Dixler | Series: Lifeline | Level: Beginner

 

This week’s Torah portion describes a person infected with a Negah – a blemish, which might infect his skin, his clothing, or even the walls of his house. So it is immediately obvious that the “infection” the Torah is describing was a spiritual illness, not medical. A medical condition would not appear on both humans and walls, and would be treated by a medical doctor. The diagnosis of a Negah, on the other hand, was given by a Kohein, a member of the priestly class specially trained to recognize these blemishes.

 

What was the point of having a spiritual kind of leprosy? In G-d’s relationship with the Jewish people, how was it appropriate for them to be afflicted in this way?

 

The Talmud (Arachin 16a) attributes these blemishes to any one of seven causes: negative speech, murder, a false oath, forbidden sexual relations, arrogance, theft, and stinginess. G-d used these blemishes to communicate His objection to these negative activities, both to the infected individual and to those who observed his condition.

 

This disease did not affect everyone who committed these iniquities, and in our time this form of communication does not occur at all. The Negah is a powerful tool for change, and was therefore reserved for people and times of high spiritual caliber. We are simply not on the spiritual level to properly grow and change from having or seeing this illness.

 

But if the Negah no longer afflicts people, and has not for millennia, it begs the question — why are two portions of the Torah almost entirely devoted to the intricate details of how to recognize and treat a spiritual blemish that no longer exists? How is the Torah speaking to us in our generation, when so many words are devoted to a foreign affliction none of us have ever seen?

 

While we may not see these blemishes today, these Torah portions make one thing very clear — our actions always have real consequences. Sometimes we see those effects, but other times we don’t. We might say something to a neighbor that’s insensitive, and wishfully imagine that it didn’t really matter. However, just because they didn’t react to the comment doesn’t mean they didn’t hear it and weren’t hurt by it. They might forgive us for our insensitivity, or they might not, but the words hurt. In former times our treatment of other people might have been revealed to us and the public through a skin blemish or an ugly stain on our home. In our time the same actions can severely damage our souls, our relationships, and our homes — we just don’t always get to see it.

If these are the effects of our negative actions, Judaism teaches us that the consequences of our positive actions and spiritual achievements are many times more potent. By contrast to the Negah, these great spiritual deeds never had a physical manifestation. We do make unfortunate mistakes, but we can always replace them with positive actions to mend our relationships and correct our ways. The effects of our kind words and deeds is not always obvious, but G-d knows and He is keeping score. He is sure to reward us generously.