וְצִוָּה הַכֹּהֵן וְלָקַח וגו' שְׁ תֵּי צִפֳּרִ ים חַיּוֹת טְ הֹרוֹת וְעֵץ אֶרֶ ז וּשְׁ נִי תוֹלַעַת וְאֵזֹב (יד, ד)
And the kohen shall order, and the person to be purified shall take... two live pure birds, a cedar stick, a strip of crimson wool, and hyssop. (14:4)
Rashi writes that the cedar tree grows very straight and tall. Thus, he takes a piece of cedar wood to indicate that tzora’as afflicts a person as a result of haughtiness. What is the solution? For him to lower himself like crimson wool and the low hyssop plant.
In his youth, Rav Chaim Brisker zt”l studied under the tutelage of his father, the Bais Halevi zt”l, together with his friend, Rav Zalman Sender Kahane-Shapiro zt”l (who later served as Rov of Krinki, Poland). The Bais Halevi once asked him in jest, “My son, who knows how to learn better? You or your friend, Sender’l?”
Rav Chaim answered incisively, “It is impossible for me to answer this question. If I say that I know how to learn better than my friend, that would make me a baal gaivoh. But if I say that my friend knows how to learn better than me, that would make me a liar.”
His friend then quipped, “Now you are both!”
