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

 

Have A Good Look

Parshas Tazria Metzorah

Posted on April 9, 2013 (5773) By Rabbi Yochanan Zweig | Series: Rabbi Zweig on the Parsha | Level: Beginner

Outstanding

“and the Kohein shall place at the middle part of the ear of the man being purified”(14:25)

This week’s parsha records the purification process that the metzora, an individual with a skin malady, undergoes to permit him to regain entry into society. The tzora’as malady from which the metzora suffers is a result of “loshon harah”, the slanderous conversation in which the metzorah has engaged; hence the name metzora from the term “motzi rah” – “one who brings forth evil”.¹ After the metzora is separated for seven days, the Kohein takes blood from the guilt-offering brought by the metzora and dabs it on his right ear, thumb and big toe as part of the final purification process.² This process is found on only one other occasion, the inauguration of the Kohein. Why does the Kohein, who is the most noble and elevated member of Klal Yisroel, undergo the same process as the individual who has just been ousted from society as a result of his odious behavior?

The Talmud records that the primordial serpent walked upright and was the original king of all beasts. After instigating Chava to sin, the serpent was cursed by the loss of its limbs and the inability to savor its food. The serpent, which is also the symbol of loshon horah, proclaimed that just as he is unable to enjoy his food, there is no satisfaction in speaking loshon harah, “mah yisron l’baal halashon”³ – “There is no benefit gained from the speaking of loshon harah.” The Talmud relates that while a minority of people are susceptible to the desires of promiscuity, a majority are tempted by theft. However, everyone is susceptible to the sin of loshon harah. Generally, man is motivated by gratification, which explains the temptation for promiscuity and theft. Why is every man susceptible to the sin of loshon horah if there is no gratification in this transgression?

Every person has a deep yearning to sense self-worth. Secular society promotes competition as the forum in which to gauge our worth; we sense our self-worth vis-à-vis our contemporaries. Unfortunately this manner of gauging ourselves is fraught with great dangers. We are never truly encouraged to fully develop our own potential and individuality for success is achieved by besting others, not by challenging ourselves to be all that we can be. Furthermore, instead of applying ourselves and developing our talents we sometimes choose the path of least resistance. We elevate ourselves by stepping upon others. By putting others down we delude ourselves into believing that we are better than them. However, instead of feeling accomplished, we are left feeling empty and unproductive. The greater a person’s potential, the greater the void that is left when he is unfulfilled. For this reason the greatest cynics and ba’alei loshon horah who are capable of making the most insulting remarks are usually the most talented individuals who take the easy way out and attempt to feel accomplished by belittling others instead of making the effort to develop themselves in a positive manner.

It is this desire to feel self-worth that fuels a person to speak loshon harah. Every individual is affected because everyone has the need to feel fulfilled. The Kohein is the individual who embodies self-accomplishment. Having developed his potential, one stands out in society. The inaugural process that he undergoes highlights the fact that he is an outstanding individual. The message to the metzora is that one too can be an outstanding individual and it need not be for his negativity. Rather, he should emulate the Kohein and develop his potential so that he too will be elevated for his positive accomplishments

1.Arachin 16a
2.Shemos 29:20
3.Taanis 8a

Guard Yourself

Parshas Tazria Metzorah

Posted on April 13, 2010 (5770) By Rabbi Berel Wein | Series: Rabbi Wein | Level: Beginner

The laws of plagues, purity and impurity are purely chukim – laws that defy our limited rational capabilities to understand. But this is perhaps the very message that the Torah wishes us to learn and internalize. Much of life is not rational and does not fit into our accustomed schedules and plans. And even the most hardened secularist and/or rationalist must admit that much of life is inexplicable.

Weird things happen to all of us. There are forces in the world, dreams, inspirations, as well as strangers that suddenly appear that are present in our lives and are real to us though we have no idea how or why they influence us.

The whole subject of purity and impurity occupies great sections of the Torah. In the real but purely spiritual world of the Torah, purity and impurity are sensations that are real and can be felt and experienced. The rabbis decreed that the “land of the nations” meaning the part of the world that is not within the biblical boundaries, carries with it automatic impurity.

The air of the Land of Israel is purity in itself. The rabbis said that the air of the Land of Israel is one of wisdom and knowledge. It is its purity that leads to its atmosphere of true wisdom and knowledge. We are all aware that in cases of illness, G-d forbid, the medical treatment for the patient is oftentimes the inhalation of pure oxygen. In the world of the spirit, pure oxygen is the air of the Land of Israel.

There are plagues that descend upon individuals. There are other plagues that infest a human being’s clothing. And, there are plagues that can infect one’s home and dwelling. Thus no part of human existence, that is exempt or immune from the possibility of plagues and impurity.

Many of the family laws of the Jewish home are constructed on the basis of injecting purity into the relationship and into the family and home. There are no medical or physical rationales existing to these laws that are readily justifiable to the rational thinker. But the existence and observance of those laws is unquestionably what has preserved the Jewish home and family structure throughout the millennia.

It is the unseen and intangible that truly carries us through life and its vicissitudes. And that is why the Torah devotes so much space and teachings to such a seemingly esoteric subject. Someone who is shrouded in impurity and whose life is dominated by the plagues that exist all around, will find life unrewarding and depressing.

It is the latent purity and holiness within us that gives us a feeling of nobility and satisfaction in our lives. So, our task in life is to guard ourselves from the plagues that surround us, from the impurities that infiltrate the very core of our being, and to try and breathe the pure air of holiness that the Torah attempts to pump into our very beings.

Shabat shalom,
Rabbi Berel Wein