עשה לך רב וה סתלק מן הספק
Accept a Rav upon yourself and remove yourself from uncertainty
:ןֵהֹּּכַה־לֶא אָב
ּוהְו םָדָאְּב הֶיְהִּת יִּּכ ת
ַעַרָצ עַגֶנ(יג:ט)
If a tzaraas affliction will be in a person, he shall be brought to the Kohen. (13:9)
Throughout the parsha we see two designations that cause the impurity of tzaraas; 1. Negah 2. Tzaraas. We can say by way of mussar that the name ‘tzaraas’ is the real name, since we see that the one who is contaminated is called ‘metzora’ which is the same root as ‘tzaraas’. The name ‘negah’ is from the root ‘negios’, and refers to the causes of tzaraas, the contaminations that cause a person to sin.
Based on this we can say that the Torah is hinting to us that negios that bring one to tzaraas, ki sihiye b’adam – that will be in a person – since they are found by the person, vehuva el hakohen – he shall be brought to the Kohen – therefore, he must associate with the tzaddik, since the tzaddik is called a ‘Kohen’ since he serves Hashem. Any desire that is aroused in him he should tell the tzaddik and the tzaddik will teach him if this is the will that is against the will of the Creator, or if it is a good desire that is appropriate to bring to fruition. Through this he will distance from sin and tzaraas that comes on its heels.
The person must determine the way he wants to conduct himself, since it is very easy to veer from the truth. For even if he wants to do what he is obligated to do, his yetzer can twist his thoughts to the point he says that which is prohibited is actually permissible, for the yetzer has the power to prove to the person that a sin is a mitzvah, and a mitzvah is a sin.
The Baal Shem Tov explained the teaching of Chazal in the way of avodah (Shabbos 75a), ‘Why is the shochet liable? Rav said because of dyeing!’ Meaning, this ‘shochet’ is the ‘yetzer hara’, and it is called a ‘shochet’ because it is also the ‘malach hamavess’ – ‘angel of death’ that kills the person. As Chazal have said (Bava Basra 16a), ‘At first, it ‘descends and lures’ the person and causes him to sin, and then it ‘ascends and incites’ with its accusations, and by doing this, it ’takes permission to kill and takes his soul’. And the Gemara asks, ‘This ‘shochet’, why is he liable?’ That is, why is he liable to death? Chazal said (Succah 52a), ‘that in the future HaKadosh Baruch Hu will bring the yetzer hara and slaughter it before the tzaddikim and before rishaim [wicked]’, but really, why do they punish it with death? Do not let it enter your mind that the reason is because it tempted the person to rebel against the Kingdom of Heaven, as this was what it was appointed to do, and they do not punish one who fulfills the will of his Creator. For this Rav replies, ‘Because of dyeing!’, meaning, they do not punish him for the very incitement, but rather, for the way it incited. HaKadosh Baruch Hu only commanded it to tempt the person to sin, but this was not enough for him, and he went to the trouble to dye the sin in the guise of a mitzvah. This brought the person to sin almost as if it was not his fault, since as long as he knows these are negative desires, he is able to cope with them and overpower them. However, if it adds on to it by telling him that if he does not follow his will he will be sinning, this is beyond the powers of the person, and for this it is appropriate to slaughter it.
However, as we have pointed out and said, that the coloring brings the person to sin ‘almost’ as if it was not his fault, but it is not possible to exempt him completely, since there is still a complaint against the person.
From the outset, the advice to him is to accept upon himself a Rav who would be able to ascertain all his doubts, and since he did not do this, he is guilty of his sin, and he must give a reckoning for this.
In light of what was said, we can say that this is why there are three categories of negaim [afflictions], in the body, in the garment, and in the house. There are three matters that need to be asked of a Rav, first of all, we must determine the nature of the desires to see if they are based on halacha, that is, will these desires that he chases nullify his obligations or will they bring him to the prohibited. ‘Afflictions of the body’ hint to this, since they bring the body to that which is prohibited.
Additionally, there are desires that if one chases them will cause him to change his customs, and even these must be presented to a Rav, and the person should not think that there is no point to the customs, rather, minhag Yisrael – the custom of Israel – is also Torah, and sometimes they are more needed than the actual Torah. There are many minhagim that bring one to keep the entire Torah. ‘Afflictions of the garment’ come to teach regarding these doubts. The garments that Bnei Yisrael are accustomed to were passed down from generation to generation, among them are garments whose stitching teach pure and sublime things and wearing them are categorized as ‘minhag’. Therefore, when the person’s desire arises to change his clothing, he must seek advice from a great person, maybe the desire is to change the minhag, which might then cause him to stray from the essence of the Torah chalilah, as we see several times in Chazal, that in the merit of the Jewish levush [clothes, Israel had the strength to withstand Egypt.
Additionally, we need to be a ‘chacham’ and seek advice from a Rav even if the desires are not dependent on the laws of the Torah and not on minhagim. ‘Afflictions of the houses’ come to teach for these. Sometimes a desire arises within us to live in a neighborhood or in an apartment in a neighborhood that is not that spiritual. It is possible that this will negatively influence our children who have received pure training, and it is not possible for us to know how far these things will reach. Even though there is no prohibition in this choice, nevertheless, we are obligated to consult with a great person whose abundance of knowledge can assess if it is permissible to fulfill this desire. This negah [affliction] teaches this general rule, for all the negios that are categorized as ‘reshus’ [optional], and all require us to be wise to see the future.
I remember how several decades ago the Gaon, Rebbe Chaim Kreisworth bought a house in the ‘Zichron Moshe’ neighborhood, and after waiting just a few days, he sold the house, and went to live in Ramos. Since I was close with him, I asked him to explain his actions, what did he see with this, to sell a house a few days after buying it? He answered me that within a few days he wondered about the nature of one of the neighbors, and he saw that this neighbor was not on his spiritual level, and therefore, it was worth it to him to go to the trouble of selling the house and buying another so that he would not have to be around the influence of the neighbor which was not to his liking. Rebbe Chaim taught me with this that it is worth keeping the teaching of Nitai the Arbeili (Avos 1:7) ‘distance from a bad neighbor’, even if it involves much bother, body and soul.
