2021/5781
In this week’s Parshi’ot, Parashat Tazri’a and Parashat Metzora, the topic of Tzara’at is addressed. In Parashat Metzora it says, “Ki Tavo’u El Eretz Kena’an Asher Natan Lachem La’Achuzah VeNatati Nega Tzara’at BeVeit Eretz Achuzatchem,” “When you come to Israel that I am giving you as a possession and I will give Tzara’at on the houses of the land” (VaYikra 14:34). The entire concept of Tzara’at is very hard to understand. Hashem could punish the Jewish people in so many different ways, but he chooses to blemish one’s house or skin. Rashi addresses this and says that Tzara’at itself is not a punishment at all, it is actually a way in which Hashem rewards people (Rashi talks about a case where a man would find a blemish or discoloration on the wall of his house, have to knock it out, and discover treasure behind it). A Midrash in VaYikra Rabbah 17:6 agrees with Rashi’s view on Tzara’at and gives an explanation as to how the treasure behind the walls got there in the first place. The Midrash says that the whole time the Cana’anites were present in the desert, they tended to hide their treasures in the walls of their homes. As a result of the Tzara’at, someone would destroy the wall of their house and discover the Cana’anite’s riches behind it. Nonetheless, there is still a problem: There is still an abundance of other ways God could have notified the Jews that he was rewarding them. Why this one? The Ramban notes that the specific wording and language of the Pasuk indicates that Hashem is emphasizing that He is the one who is going to do this and that it is a direct reward or punishment from Him. Rav Avraham J. Twersky notes that this sign could’ve been presented in so many different ways, but Hashem specifically chose to do it this way because He wanted to show that some things can be blessings in disguise.
There is a famous story of a soldier who was in great debt to a Rabbi. He asked the Rabbi what he could do to repay him, but the Rabbi always said there was no need. After begging the Rabbi for a long time, the soldier got his wish. The Rabbi said to pick one law in Shulchan Aruch and to follow it. The soldier opened the Shulchan Aruch and read that he should put on his right shoe before his left shoe and then tie his left shoe before his right shoe. The soldier committed to doing this at all costs. A few years later, in a time of war, the soldier rushed to get onto a helicopter, but realized he had put on his left shoe before his right shoe. He stopped to take off his shoes and do everything in the correct order, causing him to miss the helicopter. He was devastated. He watched the helicopter fly off without him for about half a minute before it crashed and exploded. Rav Yehuda Amital ZT”L, the old Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Har Etzion and a concentration camp survivor who lost his parents and all his siblings in Auschwitz, said that when one observes events through the lens of faith, the fog is dispersed and things ultimately become clearer. One finally arrives at a sense of inner certainty and peace of mind. This obviously cannot be scientifically proven but nonetheless is extremely powerful and moving.