Rabbi Pinches Friedman
Parshas Sazria - Metzora 5785
Translation by Dr. Baruch Fox
Next Shabbas kodesh, we will read from the Torah the two parshiyos Sazria and Metzora; this is the usual practice in a non-leap year. Both of them relate to the subject of afflictions. Regarding the tumah associated with afflictions, it states in parshas Sazria (Vayikra 13, 1): "וידבר ה' אל משה ואל אהרן לאמר, אדם כי יהיה בעור בשרו שאת או ספחת או בהרת והיה בעור בשרו לנגע צרעת והובא אל אהרן הכהן או אל אחד מבניו הכהנים". Hashem spoke to Moshe and Aharon, saying: If a person will have on the skin of his flesh a “se’eit,” or a “sapAchas,” or a “baheret,” and it will become a “tzara’as” affliction on the skin of his flesh, he shall be brought to Aharon HaKohen or to one of his sons the kohanim. Whereas parshas Metzora teaches us the purification process for these afflictions (ibid. 14, 1): "וידבר ה' אל משה לאמר, זאת תהיה תורת המצורע ביום טהרתו והובא אל הכהן"—Hashem spoke to Moshe, saying: This shall be the law of the “metzora” on the day of his purification; he shall be brought to the kohen.
In reality, since the churban of the Beis HaMikdash, the tumah of skin-afflictions has no practical significance. Here is a statement found in the Midrash Lekach Tov (Sazria): "אמר רבי יוחנן מיום שחרב בית המקדש אין טהרה ממת ואין טומאה ממצורע"—Rabbi Yochanan teaches us that corpse-tumah and “tzara’as” do not exist today; hence, the purification process—“taharah”—is not practiced. Nevertheless, these are mitzvos taught by the Torah, and every Jew must strive to understand the message and lesson they are meant to convey. In other words, what is the spiritual significance of “tzara’as” lesions affecting human-beings? And what is the spiritual process required to purify ourselves of them?
לא הפך הנגע את עינו
Failure to Move the “Ayin” to Transform Nega into Oneg
To begin to shed some light on the subject, let us refer to a passuk in parshas Sazria (ibid. 13, 55): "וראה הכהן אחרי הוכבס את הנגע והנה לא הפך הנגע את עינו והנגע לא פשה טמא הוא".—the kohen shall examine it after the affliction has been washed, and behold, the affliction has not changed its color, and the affliction has not spread, it is impure. Translated literally, the passuk says that “the נג"ע did not change its “ayin.” What does this mean? In the sefer Shem Ephraim (Sazria), the brilliant Rabbi Ephraim Zalman Margaliot, ztz”l, presents a fascinating “remez” in the name of the divine kabbalist Rabbi Yitzchak Isaac of Koritz, zy”a, the author of Bris Kehunas Olam, based on the teaching in Sefer Yetzirah (2, 4): "אין בטובה למעלה מענג ואין ברעה למטה מנגע"—there is nothing good superior to “oneg” and there is nothing bad inferior to “nega.”
Let us explain. The words נג"ע and ענ"ג are combinations of the same letters; they are anagrams. Now, if a person serves Hashem, it is an “oneg”—ענ"ג; this is the proper, correct form of pleasure. If he sins, however, deriving pleasure improperly, these letters are rearranged to form the acronym נג"ע. Then, it is incumbent upon the sinner to perform teshuvah in order to transform the letters of נג"ע back into the auspicious anagram ענ"ג.
Note that the difference between the two anagrams is the position of the letter “ayin.” In the word ״נגע״, the “ayin” appears at the end of the word; in the word ״ענג״, the “ayin” appears at the beginning of the word. This then is the allusion inherent in the passuk: "וראה הכהן אחרי הכבס את הנגע"—the kohen will examine the affliction after the sinner has performed teshuvah to cleanse himself of the affliction; "והנה לא הפך הנגע את עינו"—and if he finds that the position of the “ayin” has not changed; it remains at the end of the word ״נגע״ ; it has not moved to the beginning of the word; this is a clear-cut sign that he is still tamei—"טמא הוא"—he has yet to perform proper teshuvah. This is the gist of his sacred remarks.
It is now incumbent upon us to scrutinize these remarks more closely. They imply that the difference between נג"ע and ענ"ג—suffering an affliction versus experiencing pleasure—depends on the letter “ayin.” Why must the letter “ayin” be located specifically at the beginning of the word to form ענ"ג rather than at the end of the word forming the inauspicious anagram נג"ע, chas v’shalom?
Creation Was Designed to Benefit Its Creatures by Delighting in Hashem through the Joy of Torah
We will begin by presenting a practical approach to the matter. Our sacred sefarim emphasize the fact that HKB”H created the world in order to benefit its creatures and do good for them. The source for this notion is found in the writings of the Arizal (Eitz Chaim, Sha’ar HaKelalim, Chapter 1): When HKB”H decided to create the universe, He did so with the intent of benefitting His creatures and for them to recognize His greatness.
To comprehend the nature of this benefit, we need only examine the opening passuk of the Torah (Bereishis 1, 1): "בראשית ברא אלקים את השמים ואת הארץ"—in the beginning (Bereishis), G-d created the heavens and the earth. Rashi comments: "בראשית ברא, אין המקרא הזה אומר אלא דרשני, כמו שדרשוהו רבותינו ז"ל, בשביל התורה שנקראת (משלי ח-כב) ראשית דרכו, ובשביל ישראל שנקראו (ירמיה ב-ג) ראשית תבואתו". Rashi is telling us that this passuk cannot be taken literally; it is linguistically incorrect; it begs to be expounded. Therefore, our Rabbis of blessed memory expound the verse as teaching us that the world was created for the sake of two (the gematria of the letter “beis”) “Reishis”s—for the sake of the Torah and for the sake of Yisrael, both of whom are referred to by this term.
Now, the Torah is the only genuine good in creation, as we are taught in the Mishnah (Avos 6, 3): "ואין טוב אלא תורה, שנאמר כי לקח טוב נתתי לכם תורתי אל תעזובו"—and only Torah is truly “tov,” as it states (Mishlei 4, 2): “For I have given you a good teaching (‘lekach tov’), do not forsake My Torah.” This statement implies that if a person’s life lacks Torah, he has nothing of value.
Let us introduce the marvelous comments of the Ohr HaChaim hakadosh related to the passuk (Devarim 26, 11): "ושמחת בכל הטוב אשר נתן לך ה' אלקיך"—you shall rejoice with all the goodness that Hashem, your G-d, has given you. This is a command to rejoice and enjoy the study of Torah. He views the phrase ״בכל הטוב״ as a reference to the Torah, in keeping with the statement: “There is no “tov” (true good) other than the Torah.” He writes: If people would sense the sweetness and pleasing quality of the Torah, they would pursue it fanatically; a world full of silver and gold would be meaningless in their eyes, because the Torah encompasses all the good in the world.
So, when our illustrious teacher, the Arizal, says that “G-d created the world to benefit His creatures and for them to recognize His greatness,” he meant that they should be privileged to study Torah and acquire its wisdom. It was for this express purpose that HKB”H created the world, as per Rashi’s comment: "בראשית ברא אלקים"—for the sake of the Torah, which is called “the beginning of His way.” For, it is through the study of Torah and its wisdom that we come to recognize the greatness of HKB”H.
To Be Saved from the Yetzer HaRa One Must Eat and Drink L’shem Shamayim
In this manner, we will proceed to explain the significance of the letter “ayin,” which determines the difference between the anagrams נג"ע and ענ"ג. As mentioned, this is alluded to by the passuk: "לא הפך הנגע את עינו"—which literally means that the lesion did not switch its “ayin.” We will refer to the Gemara (Kiddushin 30b): HKB”H said to Yisrael, “My son, I created the yetzer hara, and I have created Torah as its antidote. If you engage in Torah-study, you will not be delivered into its hand.”
Indeed, while a man is studying Torah, he is afforded protection from the yetzer hara; however, he must also perform functions related to his physical existence in Olam HaZeh, such as eating and drinking. What protects him from the yetzer hara at those times? Clearly, it is advisable that he should perform those functions with Hashem in mind, as well. As we are taught in the Mishnah (Avos 2, 12): "וכל מעשיך יהיו לשם שמים"—let all your deeds be for the sake of Heaven. Thus, even worldly functions will be considered like Torah-study and service of Hashem. This is expressed in the Shulchan Aruch as follows (O.C. 231, 1): Whatever a person derives pleasure from in Olam HaZeh, he should not do so for his own pleasure but rather for the service of the blessed Creator . . . Even optional matters, such as eating, drinking, walking, sitting, rising, talking, and all bodily needs, they should all be for the sake of serving your Creator or for something related to His service. The michaber concludes: And whoever behaves this way is serving his Creator at all times. Along these lines, the Tur writes: It turns out that whoever possesses these qualities (behavior) serves Hashem throughout his life—even when he is sitting, rising, walking, engaged in his business activities, and even when he is eating and drinking.
Accordingly, if a person performs optional activities also l’shem shamayim, so that he will have the strength and energy to study Torah, it is considered as if he is studying Torah and serving Hashem nonstop, without interruption. As a result, he is constantly protected against the yetzer hara, in keeping with HKB”H’s guarantee: “I created the yetzer hara, and I have created Torah as its antidote. If you engage in Torah-study, you will not be delivered into its hand.”
The ”Ayin” of Oneg Represents the Seventy Aspects of Torah
We can now shed some light on the significance of the letter “ayin,” which should ideally be located at the beginning of the word ענ"ג. Let us introduce an exposition in the Midrash (Bamidbar Rabbah 13, 16) related to the donations of the princes for the inauguration of the mizbeiach (Bamidbar 7, 13): “Seventy shekels in the sacred shekel”—Why did the basin weigh this amount? Just as the numerical value of "יין" is seventy, similarly, there are seventy faces (approaches) to the Torah.
This then is the significance of the letter “ayin,” whose gematria is seventy, corresponding to the seventy ways in which the Torah can be elucidated. If a person eats and drinks with the exalted purpose of gaining strength to study Torah, this illustrates that the letter “ayin” is primary in his mind. Even before he begins to eat and drink, he has in mind that he will do so l’shem shamayim—to enable himself to study Torah with greater focus and energy. Seeing as the letter “ayin” is first and foremost in his mind, it is also the first letter of the anagram ענ"ג, since he is fulfilling the wishes of the blessed Creator, Who created the world to benefit his creations, and prevent the yetzer hara from prevailing over them.
Notwithstanding, if the letter “ayin”—representing the seventy facets of the Torah—is located primarily at the end of the anagram, this indicates that the Torah is not this man’s primary concern. His primary desire is to eat and drink to satisfy his body’s cravings; clearly, his intent is not l’shem shamayim. As such, the word ענ"ג is transformed into its anagram נג"ע.
This is the lesson taught by the Mishnah in Sefer Yetzirah: There is nothing good superior to “oneg” and there is nothing bad inferior to “nega.” For, when a person studies Torah, described as “tov”: There is nothing good superior to “oneg”—since he is fulfilling the purpose of creation, and he is rendering the yetzer hara powerless and ineffective. Conversely, if, chas v’shalom, a person opts to pursue the meaningless pleasures of Olam HaZeh instead of the pleasures associated with Torah-study: There is nothing bad inferior to “nega”—since the ענ"ג has been transformed into its anagram נג"ע, and the yetzer hara has gained control over him, since he lacks the protection of the Torah.
