Last week, in Parshat Tazria, we learned about an unusual spiritual disease called Tzara'at. In English it's called leprosy, but it isn't the same kind of leprosy that exists now. In this week's parsha, Metzora, we'll learn more about the cause of Tzara'at, and we'll also find out how it's possible for a house to get a disease?
If You Can't Say Anything Nice?
What makes people different than animals? Of all of HaShem's creatures, people are the only ones who were given the ability to speak. This is a gift that we must be careful to use wisely! Speech can be used for a good purpose, or, if we're not careful, it can be used to hurt other people.
When someone says something negative about another person - even though what he says is true - it's called speaking lashon hara. Lashon hara literally means "bad tongue," in other words, using your speech for a wrong purpose. A person who has Tzara'at is called a Metzora, which sounds like the Hebrew words motzi ra, meaning "bringing out the bad." Speaking badly of others was a common cause of Tzara'at. You can tell what kind of person someone really is by the words they use!
A Tale of Two Tongues
There is a story in the Midrash about the great Talmudic sage Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel that illustrates how important it is to watch your speech.
Rabbi Shimon was in the mood to test his faithful servant, Tavi (who was not Jewish), to see how smart he was.
"Tavi! Please run to the market and buy me the most wonderful delicacy to eat. I trust your judgment. Just make sure it's kosher!"
"Sure thing, Rabbi!" said Tavi, and he ran off to do as Rabbi Shimon had asked. A little while later, Tavi returned with a package of cow's tongue.
"Here you go, Rabbi! The finest delicacy in the whole market!"
"Thank you. Now, Tavi, would you please go back to the market and buy the most disgusting food you can find."
"Whatever you say, Rabbi!"
A short time later, Tavi was back with another package of . . . tongue!
"What's going on here?" asked Rabbi Shimon. "When I asked you to bring me a fine delicacy, you brought tongue. Then, when I asked you to bring me some kind of bad food, you also brought tongue!"
"Well, Rabbi," Tavi replied, "There are good and bad tongues. When a tongue is good, there is nothing better than it. And when a tongue is bad, there is nothing worse than it!"
Rabbi Shimon smiled. "Wise words, indeed, Tavi! I couldn't have said it better myself."
A Clean Bill of Health
In last week's parsha, we learned that if a person spoke lashon hara, he might first notice spots on his clothes, and then he might get spots on his skin. If a Kohein told him that he had Tzara'at, the Metzora would have to leave the camps where the rest of the Jews lived and sit by himself. By spending time alone, thinking about what he had done wrong, the person would hopefully come to do teshuva and change his ways so that the Tzara'at would go away.
If the Metzora noticed that his spots had disappeared, he called for a Kohein to come and examine him. If the Kohein pronounced him Tzara'at-free, he began a process of becoming pure again.
First, he brought two birds of the same species as a special korban (sacrifice). Then, he would get a shave and a haircut, and take a dip in a special pool called a mikvah.
After that, the person returned to his family and his friends. Imagine how happy he would be, and how grateful to be part of the community again! After what he had been through, never again would he be careless with his words.
Does the Doctor Make House Calls?
In this week's parsha, we learn another way that a person might get a warning that he needs to improve himself: his house could get Tzara'at!
That seems pretty strange, doesn't it? Why would HaShem give a person's house a disease?
There were several reasons.
It could be a punishment for someone who was a miser - someone who had been stingy with his house and his possessions. Perhaps he lived in a nice house, but he refused to allow guests to share or lend anything he had. If he was selfish and wouldn't give tzedakah or offer a meal or a room to people in need, HaShem might cause Tzara'at spots to appear on the walls of his house.
When spots appeared on the walls, a Kohein would first tell the family to remove all of their belongings from the house. All of the possessions the owner had so closely guarded and selfishly refused to share were now on display for all to see!
Then the Kohein would lock the house up, and the owner would have to stay out. If the spots didn't go away, or at least get smaller, the house would have to be destroyed. And so, the selfish person would lose the very home he had refused to share with others. He would learn an important lesson . . . the hard way.
Tzara'at on a house could also be a warning that if a person did not do teshuva, he would get Tzara'at on his skin next. This gave him a chance to think about things he may have done wrong and try to do better, so that he wouldn't have to get Tzara'at himself.
A Blessing in Disguise
When Moshe first told the Jews all about Tzara'at, they thought it sounded pretty scary. They didn't want to get spots on their skin, their clothes, or their houses! But Moshe explained to them that even though being sick with Tzara'at was not a pleasant thing to experience, it was actually a miracle from HaShem.
No one wants to get sick, but if you are sick, symptoms give you a clue that you are not well. If a person has a physical disease with no symptoms, he might get sicker without even realizing it. But if you know something is wrong, you can immediately begin taking steps to get well again - take medicine, eat healthier food, get more exercise, or whatever the doctor recommends.
That's what Moshe explained to the people: "We Jews are so lucky! HaShem gives us a warning when we are not on the right track with our behavior. We have the opportunity to change and improve, and raise ourselves to a higher spiritual level. By working on ourselves, we can become the best we can be!"
Nowadays, we don't have Tzara'at anymore. We are no longer on a high enough spiritual level to be able to benefit from it. But in the time of the Mishkan and the Beit HaMikdash, people took Tzara'at very seriously. They knew that its symptoms were a message from HaShem that it was time to make some changes, and they worked hard to correct their faults and become better people.
In next week's parsha, Acharei Mot, we'll learn more about the special service done by the Kohein Gadol, in the holiest place in the world, on the holiest day of the year and some more laws about keeping kosher.
