The Torah specifies that the color of the lesions that indicate a possible outbreak of tzara’at is white, which is a symbol of purity and innocence. This indicates that the appearance of the symptoms of tzara’at is in fact a manifestation of sublime levels of spiritual energy (“lights”). Whenever such sublime “lights” well up, overflowing their accompanying media of transmission (“vessels”), the result is a supra-natural manifestation of Divine energy, which must be managed carefully in order to avoid possibly detrimental repercussions.
In terms of human experience, the symptoms of tzara’at result from an upwelling of holy rapture (ratzo) that is not mitigated by a concomitant sense of humble devotion to our Divine mission (shov). We have seen this phenomenon before, in the unauthorized incense offering of Aaron’s sons Nadav and Avihu, which is possibly why the Torah discusses the laws of tzara’at immediately after the account of their offering, even before continuing with its narrative of the events of that day.
If the individual upon whose body, clothes, or house the symptoms of tzara’at appear does properly manage his Divine rapture, taking care to balance it with humble devotion to God’s will, he will not be pronounced defiled; his symptoms are indications of exceptional holiness rather than of defilement. Only if he persists in his “antisocial” behavior of preferring to bask in God’s presence rather than elevating the world in order to make it into God’s home is he pronounced defiled, necessarily requiring purification.
