This complex tale of white spiritual ailments tells us that holiness and G‑dliness are synonymous with red, raging, passionate life. So, if you’re not getting excited, something is amiss.
Everyone gets animated and excited about something. Some people are into sports, avidly following their team and screaming with excitement when they win the superbowl. Others get excited about money, while still others are passionate about art, boring everyone around them with long discourses about the beauty of this painting and the finesse of that sculpture. Everyone has something they’re excited about.
So, if your sports passion is red hot, but your Judaism is pale white, that’s a tzaraat problem. If you get excited discussing politics with your friends, but you’re dragging your feet to shul, or dreading a Shabbat meal with your family, then your Judaism is “pale” and it runs the risk of sputtering and dying out.
The message of the tzaraat is that real life is the spiritual life of your soul and her connection to G‑d. That’s something worth getting excited about. So don’t let the Yankees get all your red-hot passion; leave some of that for your Judaism as well.
This essay is based on Ma’or Vashemesh, Vayikra 13:2.
