WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN LEADERS
AVROHOM YAAKOV
This week we commence the discussion of the Tsora’as plague, skin lesions that render a person ritually impure.
“When a man shall have in the skin of his flesh a swelling, a scab, or bright spot, and it be in the skin of his flesh the plague of tżora ̔as; then he shall be brought to Aharon the priest, or to one of his sons the priests: (13:2)
Rashi, citing the Midrash, observes that the requirement that a Kohen must be the one that pronounces a person to be afflicted and impure or not, is a Torah decree.
The Maharal in Gur Aryeh understands Rashi’s comment since there is no logic for the Kohen being the one to make the pronouncement. The Kohen is involved aspects relating to the Beis HaMikdash so why is he needed here? Must be a Torah decree, meaning beyond our logic.
Chizkuni asks, “Are then all priests experts by birth? The system works as follows: When the problem of tzoraas arises, an expert who has studied the subject is consulted. The priest accepts the superior knowledge of this expert, and makes his ruling based on what he has been told by the expert who has examined the afflicted person. It is irrelevant whether the priest is truly familiar or not with the symptoms the Torah has taught us.”
Despite the fact that this is Torah decree, commentators try to explain the reason why Kohanim are required to make the pronouncement.
Kli Yakar suggests that Kohanim possess three characteristics that stand in opposition to the Tsoraas plague:
- Tsoraas is caused by lashon horah – tale bearing that causes and escalates arguments. Therefore, the person is healed by Aharon the Kohen, who was the paragon of peace, for Aharon was “a lover of peace who pursued peace”.
- Similarly, the affliction is promulgated by the sin of haughtiness of spirit which is rectified by Aharon, who was extremely humble.
- Also, Aharon did not have the negative character trait of lust for money, since the kohanim did not have an inheritance in the Land and only had what they were given from “Hashem’s Table” [the Divine Service in the Beis HaMikdash]. Therefore, they perfected the trait of being satisfied with little and were not at all close to the trait of miserliness, in which one’s entire goal is to amass huge sums of money.
In short, the Kohen’s actions and attitudes provide the afflicted with the solution to his malady.
R' Meir Simcha HaKohen of Dvinsk has a different view.
The Tsoraas plague is catchy leading to the people having to be quarantined. When it comes to be separated from other people, Kohanim practice such a separation to retain their level of purity. Thus, they were in the best position to judge if someone needed to be quarantined.
WHEN SEEKING guidance in life or in dealing with a challenge, people tend to either seek out someone who is empathetic to their situation, or they look for someone with answers.
By sending the tzora’as afflicted to the Kohen, the Torah is telling us that you need to find someone who can fill both roles – someone who has had to deal with the same (or similar) issues, as well as a person who has the solution like the Kohen who lives a life that precludes the mistakes that cause Tsora’as.
