Hashem’s Look Provides Healing:
The Zohar Hakadosh (Tazria 49B) states that the “kohen” in this verse in Hashem. Sefer Mei Hashiloach explains that when Hashem looks into the soul of a Jew, he is immediately healed from all that ails him spiritually. This is because a “look from Hashem” always benefits a person.
וְיָצָא הַכֹּהֵן אֶל מִ חוּץ לַמַּחֲנֶה וְרָ אָה הַכֹּהֵן וְהִנֵּה נִרְ פָּא נֶגַע הַצָּרַ עַת וגו' (יד, ג)
And the kohen will go out of the camp and the kohen shall look, and behold, the spot of tzoraas has healed... (14:3)
וְצִוָּה הַכֹּהֵן וְלָקַח לַמִ ּטַּהֵר וגו' חַיּוֹת טְ הֹרוֹת וְעֵץ אֶרֶ ז וּשְ ׁנִי תוֹלַעַת וְאֵזֹב (יד, ד)
And the kohen shall order, and the person to be purified shall take... pure birds, a cedar stick, a strip of crimson wool, and hyssop. (14:4)
Atonement for Improper Modesty:
Rashi states: “How should he rectify himself to be healed? He should lower himself from his haughtiness like a worm (tolaas) and hyssop (grass).”
Rav Henoch of Alexander zy”a (Sefer Chashbah L’Tova) writes that the opposite is also true. If someone is lowly and downtrodden like grass, he should raise himself up because people sometimes have to do teshuva for undue humility. An example of this would be if a poor man asks for help raising money for his needs, and he is told, “Who am I to help you? Why would anyone give money because I asked them to?” On the other hand, this same person would become very upset if he felt disrespected, and he would forget his claim of “who am I?”
Thus, it is clear that humility is fake and should be discarded.
This is in accordance with Rav Zushe of Anipoli zy”a’s explanation of the verse (Tehillim 10:3): “Ki hillel rasha al taivos nafsho.” (A wicked man boasts about his heart’s desires.) He translates this pasuk to mean that a rasha boasts about being as modest as Hillel – the most humble of men – and justifies his sins by saying that he is a lowly man and cannot help himself. It is obvious that Hashem doesn’t want this form of false anavah, as He only desires genuine humility.
It is related that one year on Erev Yom Kippur, the Ropshitzer Rebbe zy”a saw a very rich man tearfully reciting Vidui and declaring loudly, “I am dust in this lifetime and certainly after my death.” The Rebbe was very impressed by the man’s humility. The next day, however, he was surprised to see that when the wealthy man given an Aliyah that he felt was not honorable enough for him, he began to yell at the Gabbai for not giving him a more desirable Aliyah. The Rebbe asked him, “What’s going on? Yesterday, I heard you say that you consider yourself to be like dust. What are you so upset about?”
The man replied, “Yes. In relation to Hashem, I am like dust. But in comparison to the Gabbai, I am not.”
True Humility:
The Sefas Emes asks: Why does the Torah only hint that a person must lower himself and be humble in order to be cured? Why doesn’t it say so explicitly?
He answers that it is not possible to reach a genuine state of humility unless a person really believes that he is lowly and unimportant and that he truly does not deserve anything and has no reason to be haughty. If it is hard for a person to feel humble, it is a sign that he really does think of himself as valuable and important and that his modesty is not genuine. Therefore, the Torah cannot explicitly command someone to be humble, as one cannot force himself to do this if he doesn’t really mean it. Someone who has to force himself to act humbly is not a true anav, so it would be impossible to command someone to do this. Instead, the Torah hints to the power of humility, as a lesson that one should feel that he is lowly and unimportant and, if one feels this way, he won’t have to fool himself in order to be humble.
A humorous story is said about a bochur who excelled in Torah and wisdom. When he reached marriageable age, he rejected every suggestion that was made to him, as he felt that they were all beneath his dignity. Finally, a wise man approached him and said, “Yes, it is true that you have many good qualities but there is one quality that you are missing. You are not a humble person. You still have to work on not being a baal gaivoh.”
The bochur accepted his rebuke and said that he would work on not being haughty. A short while later, the wise man suggested a shidduch for the boy. He thought that now that the bochur had committed to try to be humble, he would agree to the shidduch. To his surprise, he said, “I have added another good middah to my personality. I am now even bigger than before. Therefore, this shidduch is definitely not good enough for me.”
Shamed so as Not to Become Haughty:
Rav Zushe of Aniploi zy”a was extremely poor. When it came time to marry off his children, he had no money for wedding expenses. His Rebbe, the Magid of Mezheritzh zy”a, knew about his situation. When Rav Zushe came to spend time with him, the Magid handed him 300 rubles and told him to use it for his children’s weddings.
On his way home, Rav Zushe spent the night in a certain small town. That evening, he heard loud cries coming from one of the houses. He asked what the screaming was about and was told that an orphaned girl was supposed to get married that night but on the way to the chasuna, the girl’s widowed mother somehow lost the 300 rubles she was bringing with her to the groom as her daughter’s dowry. The groom now was refusing to marry her, and the mother was crying bitterly.
Rav Zushe went to the widow’s house and told her that he had found her money. He asked her identifying signs to prove it was hers. She gave him some simanim and he said that he had indeed found her money. He quickly ran to change his money into the denominations the widow had described and went back to her house to give it to her. By then, a crowd had gathered to prepare for the wedding, which was now back on.
However, when Rav Zushe gave back the many, he kept ahold of one 20 ruble note and said, “I will keep this as reward for my troubles.”
The widow was shocked and said that the entire sum belonged to her but Rav Zushe insisted that he deserved 20 rubles for his trouble. Unsurprisingly, everyone began yelling at him and insulting him for being so selfish. They called him a thief and other nasty names but he firmly refused to give back the last 20 rubles. Finally, the men dragged him to the Rov of the city, who ruled that he must return the 20 rubles.
Even after the p’sak was issued, Rav Zushe refused to let go of the 20 rubles note until a few men started hitting him and they grabbed the money out of his hand. They then threw him out of the city with much disgrace.
Not long thereafter, the Rov met the Magid of Mezheritch and told him what his student had done, expressing his outrage that Rav Zushe had wanted to steal 20 rubles from a widow. The Magid sternly told him, “You must ask him forgiveness. That was his own money. I know because I gave him that 300 rubles to marry of his children.”
The Rov went to Anipoli and asked Rav Zushe for mechilah for embarrassing him. Rav Zushe told him, “I never had any bad feelings towards you so I certainly wholeheartedly forgive you. All I ask is that you don’t tell the widow that the money I gave her was not hers.”
The next time Rav Zushe went to the Magid, he asked him to explain his conduct. Rav Zushe said, “I saw that I was receiving kavod for my mitzvah and thought that this might lead me to have haughty thoughts. Therefore, I did all I could to be shamed so that I would not come to gaivoh.”
Negaim Display Klal Yisroel’s Greatness:
The Alshich Haksdosh (Parshas Tazria) writes that the reason negaim only affect Jews and not non-Jews is because gentiles are inherently impure and, therefore, the impure actions and sins they do have no visible effect on them. Jews, however, are natural pure. Therefore, when they do impure actions, it was a noticeable effect.
He adds that this also explains why negaim only happened in olden times and are not seen today. The effects of impurity can only be seen when Jews are pure and untainted. In times when we are surrounded by impurity, the effects of impure actions cannot be seen.
We see from his words that the fact that we do not suffer from tzoraas today is not a positive thing. Rather, it is a sign that we are far from the level we should be on.
וְכִבֶּס הַמִ ּטַּהֵר אֶת בְ ּגָדָיו וגו' וְטָהֵר וְאַחַר יָבוֹא אֶל הַמַּחֲנֶה וְיָשַ ׁב מִ חוּץ לְאָהֳלוֹ שִ ׁבְעַת יָמִ ים (יד, ח)
And the man being purified shall wash his clothes...and after this, he may enter the camp, but he shall remain outside his tent for seven days. (14:8)
A Haughty Man is Not Even Accepted by His Family:
Rav Shmelke of Nikolsberg zy”a explained that a metzorah is obligated to remain outside his tent for seven days because, as Rashi says, tzoraas is a punishment for haughtiness. Since this person was a baal gaavah, he cannot live with his family members as even they cannot stand to be near him. Therefore, he must remain out of the house until he fixes his ways.
Negaim Prove That Everything is From Hashem:
The Chida zt”l (Sefer Chomas Anach) asks why it is necessary to mention that the nega is in “the land of your nachalah””. Why can’t it simply say that it is in a house? Additionally, why is it mentioned that the house is in “Eretz Canaan”?
He answers that the main cause of negaim is stinginess. If a person uses his house only for himself and not as a means to host others and provide for them, which is the main reason Hashem gave him a house in the first place.
He thus explains that the word “Canaan” symbolizes “hachnaah” (self-annulment). The pasuk is saying that one should be humble and realize that Hashem gave him his house in Eretz Yisroel as part of the “nachalah” that He bestowed upon us. Therefore, one should not be stingy and refuse to share his house with others, as it is not truly his. Rather, it is Hashem land that He allows you to live. If one fails to recognize this and thinks his house is his alone, he will be struck with a nega.
כִּי תָבֹאוּ אֶל אֶרֶ ץ כְּנַעַן אֲשֶ ׁר אֲנִי נֹתֵן לָכֶם לַאֲחֻזָּה וגו' בְ ּבֵית אֶרֶ ץ אֲחֻזַּתְ כֶם (יד לד)
When you come to the land of Canaan, which I am giving you as a possession... upon a house in the land of your possession. (14:34)
The Poor Man’s Hishtadlus:
The Gemara at the beginning of Maseches Shabbos says “ha’ani chayav”, the poor man is liable. (The Gemara is speaking about the prohibition to carry on Shabbos from a public domain to a private domain. It refers to a man standing outside, in a public area, as an “ani”, and says that if he carries from a private domain to the public domain that he is in, he is liable to be punished.)
A badchan once lightheartedly said to the Magid of Zlotchov zy”a, “The ani works so hard but he barely has enough to feed his family on Shabbos, while a rich man can feed his family easily. Yet, when he comes to shul to learn Maseches Shabbos, he sees that the Gemara says that he is chayav. Why should he this poor man be chayav?”
The Magid replied that he would give an answer to this question on Shabbos. At his tish that week, the Magid said that he had asked this question to the Mesivta D’Rakia, and they answered that the reason the ani is chayav is because he stretched out his hand and did hishtadlus.
Trusting in Hashem to Not Abandon Us:
Regarding one’s obligation to trust in Hashem to help him, it is related that a fire once broke out in the city of Beshinkowitz. The house of Rav Shmuel Minkus zt”l, one of the leading Mashpi’im of Lubavitch, was one of those that burned to the ground. His family was unharmed but his house was completely destroyed.
The next day, Rav Shmuel went to the site the fire and gazed at the wreckage. He then raised his voice and declared, “Boruch atah Hashem Elokeinu Melech ha’olam...”
Everyone thought he was making the bracha of “dayan ha’emes” but, instead, he concluded with the words: “shelo asani goy.”
Rav Shmuel saw that everyone was puzzled by what he had done so he explained, “Imagine if I would be a goy, chas v’shalom. If that were the case, my idols would also have burned in the fire. But since I am a Yid, my G-d, Hashem Yisborach, lives eternally and I know that He will never abandon me.”
זֹאת הַתּוֹרָ ה לְכָל נֶגַע הַצָּרַ עַת וגו' וְלַסַּפַּחַת וְלַבֶּהָרֶ ת (יד נד)
This is the law for every negah of tzoraas... For a safachas and for a baheres... (14:54)
לְהוֹרֹת בְ ּיוֹם הַטָּמֵא וּבְיוֹם הַטָּהֹר וגו' (יד, נז)
To render decisions regarding the day of tamei and the day tahor... (14:57)
Torah Heals Negaim:
The Gemara says (Eruvin 54A): “If one’s head hurts, he should immerse himself in Torah.” The pasuk (Mishlei 4:22) also says that Torah heals all flesh.
Sefer Degel Machaneh Efraim explains that the cause of all sickness is a lack of respect for Torah. If one immerses himself in Torah study, the Torah will atone for his sin and heal him. In this way, he explains the pasuk (Vayikroh 7:37): “This is the Torah of Olah, Minchah and Chatas” – this Torah atones for all the things that the korbanos of Olah, Minchah and Chatas atone for.
This is also the meaning of this verse. This Torah takes cares of every negah. It heals every affliction of the skin. Torah atones for a person’s sins, and, therefore, heals him from all health problems and sicknesses.
One Who Knows He Has Sinned Can Immediately Learn:
Sefer Divrei Shmuel explains that the word “l’horos” can mean “to learn”. Accordingly, the pasuk is saying that both the person who is tamei and the person who is tahor can learn Torah.
The pasuk in Tehillim (50:16) does say that Hashem says to a rasha, “Why do you speak about My laws?” This indicates that He does not want wicked men to learn Torah. However, if one knows that he is tamei and he wants to become tahor, he is given permission to learn.
He adds that since the impure man is allowed to learn, he should learn with joy, knowing that he soon will become tahor and he will be able to learn in purity once more.
