“Command the Children of Israel that they shall send from the camp every tzarua, every zav, and all impure by corpse.” (Bamidbar 5:2)
When Hashem’s Shechina descended upon the Mishkan, the entire area was uplifted with holiness. The Jews at that time were commanded to ensure their encampment remained holy and pure. Just as the Kohanim were assigned tasks to keep the Levi’im from coming in contact with the vessels of the Mishkan, the Jews were assigned the task of keeping out those whose halachic status didn’t befit the holiness of the camp.
There are Midrashic understandings that the specifically-afflicted individuals in the posuk correlate to certain sins, and it was up to all the Jewish People to stay away from these sins. The people afflicted had to be sent out of the camp as part of their rehabilitation, but it was not enough for the Kohanim or Levi’im, or even the policemen of the greater camp to enforce this. Rather, it was up to each individual to make sure they maintained an atmosphere of holiness.
While it might be tempting to look aside, and say, “Who am I to judge these people?” we are told that we are not allowed to look away. While we may correctly understand that it isn’t our place to judge them, we should nevertheless not be accepting and tolerant of improper behavior. Even if we are not participating in it, it affects us when others do. That is why Hashem commanded that all the Children of Israel be given this task.
That said, it is notable that the people sent out of the camp by the whole nation have something else in common. They are all people who are impure for a period of seven days. This means that when they are sent out, it is not permanently, and not with disdain. Rather, we are to recognize that sending them out of the camp is part of their purification and healing process. We don’t want to send them out because they will contaminate our camp, but because we want them to become pure and join the camp again soon.
The word ‘shlichus,’ sending out, connotes a mission. We send messengers to convey information, and we send people on missions with a task to complete. This is the type of sending we’re referring to, that we urge them to leave the camp and embark on the journey to full return. We don’t push them out, but push them to come back in. Of course, if they choose to remain as they are, we still make them leave the camp, because this is not an acceptable response.
Just as Aharon the Kohain would befriend sinners, and thereby cause them to want to be better, so are we supposed to find ways to encourage others to better themselves. The priority is not on shunning them and making them feel bad, but on ensuring they understand the importance and power of their own holiness, so that our entire nation can be united in purity.
A wise Torah scholar explained a verse in Mishlei, and also how to deal with difficult people, at the same time.
The posuk (9:7) says, “Do not reprove a scoffer lest he come to hate you. Reprove a wise man and he will love you.”
“This implies that you don’t even bother to reprove a scoffer. But it’s not true. When you reprove someone, don’t say, “You’re a scoffer!” He’ll just hate you. Instead, tell him, “You’re too smart for such behavior!” He will love you, and your words will have the desired effect. The point isn’t ‘who,’ but ‘how.’”
