1) Who Brings the Metzorah to the Kohen?
In this week’s parsha it says that if one has tzoraas: והובא אל אהרן הכהן או לאחד מבניו הכהנים – “He should be brought in front of Aharon HaKohen, or one of his sons who are also Kohanim” (13:2). From the pasuk it seems that the metzorah should be brought to the Kohen even against his will, as the pasuk should have said, ובא אל הכהן – “He should come to the Kohen”, from the fact it says, והובא אל אהרן הכהן, it sounds like he is brought even against his will.
The truth is, the Ibn Ezra writes: “He shall be brought – Whether he wants to go or not, if one sees on him one of the signs of tzoraas we force him to go.”
Who Is Obligated to Bring Him?
From the Ibn Ezra it seems, that anyone who sees on the metzorah a sign of tzoraas has an obligation to take him to the Kohen.
The Pirush HaRosh in Negoim (3:2) writes: Beis Din force the metzorah to go to the Kohen.
The Ramban (13:1) writes: “When the Kohanim find him tomei they force him to be locked up and to undergo the process of become pure again”. It’s not clear from the Ramban if the Kohanim force the metzorah to come to them, or just that once the metzorah comes on his own accord, then they force him to be locked up (see Kli Chemdah ois 4).
It’s interesting to note that in the poskim we find no mention of this halachah that the metzorah is brought to the kohen against his will.
The Obligation to Bring the Metzorah to the Kohen is Because of Harchokas Nezikin [Removing Dangerous Items]
The Pardes Yosef explains: “It seems to me, tzoraas is a contagious disease, and just like one is obligated to remove dangerous items from his home in order that they don’t cause harm to anyone else like we find in Bava Kama (15b), ‘One shouldn’t bring up a bad dog’ and we even excommunicate someone until he gets rid of it. See the Rambam 11:4 Hilchos Rotzeach, who says it’s a mitzvas aseh to remove the dog, and if one doesn’t, he violates a mitzvas aseh. The Gemara in Shabbos (42a) even says that be are matir a shevus deshvus [double derabonon] to remove a dangerous item from one’s property on Shabbos. Here as well, everyone is obligated to remove the dangerous metzorah who has a contagious disease. We can also say, that this is the explanation of the Ibn Ezra which says that Beis Din can force him – We can also say, that since negoim are very dangerous, one can take the law into his own hands, like we find in Choshen Mishpot (siman 4), and Sanhedrin 16a, that when it comes to dangerous animals such as a wolf, the first one to kill it is worthy in Shomayim, and Rashi explains, he’s done a righteous act.”
Based on this, the obligation to bring a metzorah to the Kohen is because of harchokas nezikin, which is something which is generally spoken about in the poskim and doesn’t need a special mention by tzoraas.
Can One Force His Neighbour Who Speaks Lashon Horah to Move?
Once we are talking about harchokas nezikin caused by a metzorah, lets discuss an interesting halachic shailah to do with this topic:
Reuven and Shimon both lived in an apartment block, where the wall between the two houses was rather thin and there was just one wall. Reuven noticed that his neighbour Shimon often violates the issur of lashon horah, rachmonah litzlon. Reuven approached his neighbour and told him off, and explained to him the severity of the issur. However, it fell on death ears... Shimon isn’t stopping. Reuven then summoned Shimon to Beis Din asking that he be told to move to a new apartment!
Does Reuven have anything to stand on?
The Mishnah in Negoim (12:6) says: If one has tzoraas on the walls of his house – and now he must destroy the wall, if the wall is a joint wall, we say “woe to a wicked person, and woe to his neighbour”. And the metzorah and his neighbour are both obligated to knock down the wall and rebuild it. (The Tiferes Yisroel ois 56 says, if building a new wall costs money, they both must pay for it.)
Therefore, Reuven argued that Shimon must move due to harchokas nezikin, as if Shimon the baal lashon horah doesn’t move – he is likely to bring tzoraas on his wall which is shared with Reuven, and then it will need to be broken, and together Reuven and Shimon will need to pay for a new wall.
Calling a Neighbour Who is Mechalel Shabbos to a Din Torah Due to Harchokas Nezikin
The idea of calling a neighbour to a din Torah and asking him to move to a new apartment as he is a baal aveirah and is likely to cause damage is not a new thing. There is a fascinating story with R’ Shimshon the father of R’ Meshulam Igra, this story appears In Toldos Chayov Shel Rabbi Meshulam, known as “Garam HaMaalos” (Perek 1, he’orah 1):
There was Yid who lived in the neighbourhood of R’ Shimshon, this Yid owned a tavern, and he never kept Shabbos. He would allow himself to sell wine on Shabbos and would take money from any buyers. His neighbour R’ Shimshon approached him and told him off many times, however, it always fell on deaf ears. When R’ Shimshon saw it wasn’t helping he summoned him to Beis Din. When the neighbour heard he had been summoned to Beis Din by his neighbour R’ Shimshon he was very surprized. He wasn’t aware of any monetary disputes between them. He quickly went to R’ Shimshon’s house to find out what was going on, so he could prepare for the din Torah.
R' Shimshon told him: Chazal say, “When chillul Shabbos is rampant, fire is frequent”, therefore, I demand from you that either you keep Shabbos, or move, as I am scared of a fire breaking out in this neighbourhood due to your chillul Shabbos and losing my house. When the neighbour heard this, he got very embarrassed of R’ Shimshon and the Beis Din, and he reassured them that from now on he will keep Shabbos, and this is what he did.
[I saw an interesting story the opposite way round, where the mechalel Shabbos moved on his own accord. There was a Yid who lived in Netivot, and he wasn’t so religious. He was looking for a job for a long time and couldn’t find anything. One day, a new neighbour moved in downstairs, this was none other than the well-known tzaddik R’ Yisroel Avuchatzerah, the Baba Sali who had just moved from Morocco to Eretz Yisroel. A week later, the upstairs neighbour knocked on the Babi Sali’s door an informed him that he was moving.
He explained: I found a new well-paying job with a well-established company, however, they need me to work on Shabbos, I had to agree as it was a question of pikuach nefesh ... however, I wasn’t prepared to work on Shabbos when I know the neighbour under me is such a holy tzadik – it’s simply to embarrassing. Therefore, I have no choice but to move! Rachmonah litzlon.] (Pikudecha Dorashti)
2) The Chasam Sofer on Lashon Horah and Merits
The Chasam Sofer (Droshos, Vol. 1, drosha for 7th of Adar, pg. 170b) writes: There is a kabolah from the rishonim, that if one speaks loshan horah about a friend, the mitzvos of the speaker get credited to the one the loshan horah was spoken about, and the sins of the one spoken about go to the gossiper. This is found in Chovas HaLevavos. However, Chazal say that the meil atones for lashon horah, the meil which makes a noise (due to bells on the bottom) comes and atones for an aveirah created with noise (i.e. loshan horah). When one receives atonement for his loshan horah, then he gets his mitzvos back, and he is full like a pomegranate with mitzvos once again.
The Sefer Marchei Lev (Vol. 1, pg. 154b) also writes: The Chovas HaLevavos is specifically talking about a baal loshan horah who stays stuck in his ways, if, however, he has regret and he tries to appease his friend and he is appeased, then he doesn’t lose his merits. In that case, they also don’t give him the aveiros of his friend.
The Ben Ish Chai (Derush 3, to Shabbos Teshuvah pg. 42) writes: Since during the Yomim Noraim each person asks forgiveness from his friend and Klal Yisroel forgive each other. It comes out, that if during the year one took the merits of another, now they get returned. Therefore, in these days we say, “write us in the Book of Merit”, meaning, write our merits which were taken away from us during the year when we spoke loshan horah in the Book of Merits, as now that we have done teshuvah they belong to us once again.
The Pardes Yosef explains based on the above the pasuk, זאת תהיה תורת המצורע ביום טהרתו, in this week’s parsha as follows: Since one who speaks loshan horah loses his merit of Torah and mitzvos, the pasuk is saying, when is the Torah of a metzorah considered his Torah; ביום טהרתו, on the day he becomes pure and does teshuvah, however, before this, his Torah and mitzvos belong to the person he spoke loshan horah about.
3) Why Sprinkle Blood on the Metzorah’s Ear, Thumb, and Toe?
In this week’s parsha it says: “The Kohen shall take blood from the korban osham and the Kohen shall place it on the middle part of the ear of the right ear of the person being purified and on the thumb of his right hand and the big toe of his right foot” (Vayikra 14:14).
The Meshech Chochmah (14:51) explains: The reason the Kohen sprinkles on the metzorah’s hand is because tzora’as comes as punishment for loshan horah and leitzonus, about which the Gemara in Kesubos (5b) says: The fingers of a person are like pegs, so that if he hears something incorrect, he can place his fingers into his ears and not listen. Since the metzorah didn’t use his fingers correctly, we sprinkle blood on them.
The Achronim add: This is also why we sprinkle blood on his toe, as the Torah refers to one who speaks loshan horah as לא תלך רכיל, a peddler. Rashi explains: Just like a peddler goes around selling his wares, one who speaks loshan horah goes around spreading loshan horah. Since we see walking around is related to the aveirah of loshan horah, he needs to have blood sprinkled on his toe.
Some say: We sprinkle blood on his toe, as he should have run away using his toes when he heard the loshan horah being spoken, and he didn’t, therefore, we sprinkle blood on it. Similarly, we sprinkle blood on his ears as he should have blocked them, and he didn’t.
The Gemara in Kesubos (5b) says: What is the reason the fingers of a person are like pegs? So that if one hears something incorrect, he can place his fingers in his ears and avoid listening. The Gemara then says: The academy of R’ Yishmoel taught: Why is the entire ear hard, and the lobe soft? So that if one hears something incorrect, he can bend his lobe into his ear.
The question is: Why do we need two guards, surely one is enough?
i) The Maharal (Nesivos Olam, Netziv HaTznius, Perek 2) answers:
It’s not fitting to place one’s finger in his ear as placing fingers into the ears can make one go deaf; therefore, one should first fold his earlobe into the ear, and then place on top of it the finger.
R’ Yosef Engel in Gilyonei HaShas (Shabbos 108b) is very bothered with this answer, as only before washing ones hands in the morning is it forbidden to put ones fingers into his ear, but not the rest of the time, and from the Maharal it seems that it’s always forbidden to place one’s finger inside his ear, and doing so can cause one to go death, this is a big chiddush.
The Madanay Asher suggests: Perhaps what the Maharal means is, perhaps someone will hear something he shouldn’t be hearing immediately in the morning when he wakes up, and he won’t have yet washed his hands and so he can’t place his fingers in his ears – in such a case one should fold the earlobe into his ear and then place his finger on top.
ii) The Chasam Sofer (Kesubos 5b) writes:
The pasuk, ויתד תהי' לך על אזניך, is next to the pasuk, והיה מחנך קדוש ולא יראה בך ערות דבר ושב מאחריך (Devorim 23:14-15), and we learn from here that one shouldn’t mention the name of Hashem with an unclean body. When one sticks his fingers in his ears his fingers get dirty from the discharge inside his ears, and then one can’t daven or think in Torah. To avoid this...
