The Torah in Parshas Tazria introduces the subject of tzara’as by speaking of an אדם, a person, who has a discol- oration on עור בשרו – “the skin of his flesh.” The Sefas Emes finds it significant that the Torah refers to the individual here specifically with the term אדם and that it specifies that the affliction appears not simply on בשרו, the person’s flesh, but on עור בשרו – “the skin of his flesh.” This pasuk, the Sefas Emes explains, brings us back to the story of Adam Ha’ris- hon, of his banishment from Gan Eden. After he and Chava partook of the forbidden fruit, they suddenly felt ashamed by not wearing clothing, so G-d made כתנות עור, leather garments, for them to wear. The word עור, the Sefas Emes writes, is related to the word עוור – “blind.” The garments made for Adam and Chava after their sin signify the state of “blindness” in which human beings live ever since that tragic event. Before Adam and Chava’s sin, there was a clear un- derstanding of the difference between right and wrong, be- tween what is good for us and what isn’t. Temptation existed externally, as represented by the snake, a different creature that lured man to sin. Internally, however, Adam and Chava lived with clarity. After the sin, we live with “coverings” that “blind” us. We now struggle to see the difference between right and wrong; temptation makes sin and vice seem at- tractive and alluring, blinding us to their evil.
However, the Sefas Emes writes, this covering is po- rous. There are small holes through which light can enter to give us clarity, to resolve the confusion, to show us what is right and what is wrong. Even in our condition of “blindness,” the darkness is not complete. We have sources of light, of guidance, that clarify for us what is right and what is wrong. The Torah here warns that a נגע, a spiritual affliction, occurs when it seals עור בשרו, blocking the “perforations” in the “covering” that allow the light to enter. A person is plagued when the holes are sealed, when the “blindness” becomes complete, and he can no longer distinguish between right and wrong.
The takeaway from this deep insight of the Sefas Emes is that we must always ensure to keep the “perforations” open, to allow the light of clarity and truth into our lives. Ever since Adam and Chava’s sin in Gan Eden, we live in dark- ness, in confusion, blinded by temptation. This is the strug- gle that every person must go through each day of their life. In order to successfully wage this battle, we must allow the light in, to remain open to receiving guidance and instruc- tion. We need to learn and expose ourselves to those who can instruct us and show us where we need to go. If we close ourselves off to guidance, if we do not pursue knowl- edge or inspiration, then we thrust ourselves into total dark- ness, we become completely “blinded,” and will then, G-d forbid, experience נגעים, spiritual maladies, which can be very difficult to cure.
RABBI EFREM GOLDBERG
