Parsha Perspectives for Today (Tazria-Metzora, 5781) - Go Out to the People

Good morning Boca welcome back to Parsha Perspectives for today. Make sure we're recording here. Welcome back to Parsha Perspectives for today. Our opportunity to examine that week's Torah portion. You know, each Parsha is not a coincidence we read it that week. Everything is by design. Everything is orchestrated from above and the lessons contained within each Parsha are timely for what is going on in the world that week, what is going on in our lives. I want to thank our generous sponsors for the year. Dear friends Becky and Avi Katz and family loving memory of Becky's father David Grossman. Leilui Nishmas Dovid ben Menachem Manish. This morning's Parsha Shiur is also sponsored in particular by the Agus and Fox families. Two families I've known for a long time and well wonderful friends. Commemorating the upcoming sixth Yahrzeit of a very special man, Dr. Saul Agus, Gershon ben Chaim Shmuel ben Yitzchak ben Yechiel. It's a neshama should have an aliyah. Thank you to the Agus and Fox families. If you'd like to sponsor a future Parsha class or any class, please email lee l e e at brsonline.org. Lee l e e at brsonline.org. Okay, this week we have the privilege and pleasure of studying two Parshas. This week we will be reading Tazria and Metzora. If you love the topic of tzaraas, you get not a single but a double helping of the sigya of the story of the lessons of the laws of tzaraas of spiritual leprosy. We begin Tazria page 608 in the ArtScroll Stone Chumash. The Torah tells us "Vayedaber Hashem el Moshe lemor, dabber el benei Yisrael lemor isha ki sazria veyalda zachar. Vetama shivas yamim kimeni nidda devosa titma." We talk about a woman who conceives. Isha ki sazria veyalda zachar. And she gives birth to a baby boy. So the law is that she is considered impure for seven days. On the eighth day of Shemini Yimol besar orlaso. The eighth day we know is the baby's bris on the eighth day. Ish akisazria, if a woman becomes pregnant, we poskim learn from here the halacha, the chazal derive from here ish akisazria, that if a woman becomes uh pregnant, kisazria means in a normal v'yolda, she gives birth in a normal natural sense. If the baby comes out C-section, cesarean section, that's not called v'yolda zachar. That's a surgical procedure to remove the baby rather than a natural birth of the baby. And therefore, when is it b'yom hashmini yimol b'sar orlaso? When is it on the eighth day that one does a bris and it supersedes the laws of Shabbos? If the eighth day falls out on Shabbos, that the bris overrides, supersedes Shabbos, even though implicit included in a bris is a violation of Shabbos, that's if it's a natural birth. That's if v'yolda zachar, if it's natural. However, C-section, it's not natural. It's obviously still a birth. We're grateful for the blessing, but that would not supersede the laws of Shabbos. The question is, kisazria. What about on the other side? What about not the way the baby comes out, but the way the baby is conceived? Let's say it's not kisazria naturally, but let's say it's through the miracle of science, for which we are so grateful, a supernatural conception, what we call IVF, IUI. What would be the halacha? So, Rav Moshe Weiss, Rav Vorabin, Rav Moshe Feinstein has a teshuvah, others talk about perhaps a baby born through IVF whose bris scheduled on Shabbos also would not supersede Shabbos. Just like v'yolda has to be v'yolda naturally and not through any other means, perhaps kisazria has to be a conception which is natural and not through any other means, a fascinating halachic discussion. But, ub'yom hashmini on the eighth day yimol b'sar orlaso, so the baby's bris takes place on the eighth day. The Gemara in Niddah tells us on daf lamed alef amud beis, ub'yom hashmini yivneh ma'amar tolam min lo shmona. Why is the baby's birth on the bris on the eighth day? If we assume that in fact, indeed, the baby was born with extra skin, with a tag, like the tailor who crafts a suit, who leaves the final stitching, the final thread, the pocket to be opened by the consumer, by the customer. The Ribono shel Olam, the Almighty, enabled conception, gestation, the development of this beautiful child, but he leaves on a little skin, he leaves on the tag, and we are invited to be his partner to cut it off, which is the essence of bris. We spoke about this back in safer Shmos, in the notion of the two dam. We just spoke about this on Pesach. The idea of the dam milah and the dam Pesach both include blood bidamayecha chayi, with the two bloods, the blood of milah and the blood of Pesach. What do they have in common? In both, God invites us to be his partner. Kodesh Boruchu does Why didn't he just create man mahul gemal? If Kodesh Boruchu wants men to not have a foreskin, it's very simple. He's the omnipotent, infinite, almighty. He's the all-powerful, all-controlling, all-knowing. Simply make human men, make human beings be born without a foreskin. Why does he require us to do it? An intervention on a child, which ostensibly seems uh cruel, lacks compassion. Why didn't he just make us born that way? And the answer is, much like the geulah, the redemption of Pesach, we can't sit back and be passive spectators. We got to get in the game. Hashem wants us to be a partner. He wants us to be involved. We don't simply watch as observers. So, similarly, when it comes to the uh notion of a bris milah, Hashem says, "You're not born finished. You're not born complete." But rather, if you go back to the midrash, na'aseh Adam b'tzalmeinu. Go back to the creation of the world when Hashem uses the plural, na'aseh Adam. He doesn't say e'eseh, I will make man. He says, "Let us make man." And Rashi famously says he consulted the angels, even though he didn't need to, he's the infinite, omnipotent one, because he taught us an important lesson. No matter how great someone is, we should consult those around us. We should not act like a dictator. We should not act arrogantly like we have all the answers, but we work in committee and consultation. We are enriched when we ask others. And that I say, "Let us make men." But the Ramban quotes a Medrash, the "Na'aseh" means Hashem was turning to man himself, to us. And he said, "You're not a finished product. You don't come out complete. You are not done. Be my partner. Live your life in a way in which you are growing, developing, evolving, improving. Live your life in a way that you are still creating and recreating yourself on a regular basis. It's never too late. Today is Rosh Chodesh Iyar. Every Rosh Chodesh, each and every day, every new week, every Sunday is a Yom Rishon. It is the first day, the beginning of the week. We constantly are invited to be his partner, and we constantly are invited to create and recreate ourselves on a regular basis. We're not done. We're not complete. It's not over. That is the notion of a Bris Milah. So, the question then begs itself, "Why the eighth day?" wonders the Gemara Niddah. So, why not the first day? Baby's born, pong, they come out crying. Well, they're crying already. Quick, grab the scalpel. Quick, grab the mug and the shield. Cut off the foreskin. Baby comes out screaming, crying, baruch Hashem, a sign and indication of healthy lungs, and uh that's a good sign. So, while they're crying already, cut off the foreskin. Cut off the Orlah then. Why do we wait till the eighth day to have to revisit pain and revisit the tears and the crying of the baby again? So, the Gemara answers, "Shelo yihiyu kulam smeichin v'aviv v'imo atsum." So, that everyone around is not happy. Everyone's getting bagels and lox and cream cheese. Everyone's getting a different fancy and almost station and some hash browns. Everyone's excited to be at the Bris, but the mother and the father themselves are somewhat down. Now, why would they be depressed and down? So, there's a lot of interpretations. Some assume because if it were before the eighth day, then she would be a Niddah. The husband and wife would not be able to show affection, to have intimacy, to express love to one another, and therefore they would be saddened by that. Everybody else would be happy, but they would be within that first week when she still had the status of Niddah, they would be sad. Therefore, we wait till the eighth day where technically, biblically, after 7 days Niddah is over, we today are strict to treat each Niddah like a Zavah, and we require 7 clean days, which a woman who's given birth does not get by the eighth day, but in biblical law and in biblical times, by the eighth day she should not be a Niddah. Therefore, she'd be happy. That's the reason of the Gemara. However, many other reasons are offered as well. The Rambam The Rambam in his Moreh Nevukhim, in Chelek Gimel Perek Mem Tes, the Rambam in his Guide to the Perplexed gives himself another answer, and he says The reason to simply understand why is the bris on the eighth day Cuz when a baby is born, when a newborn enters this world, they are still transitioning, they are still emerging, they're still exiting the womb. They are still reentering or entering the world and adjusting to this new environment, to the air and the oxygen, to a new form of nourishment, and it takes 7 days to adjust. Says the Rambam, this is not a uniquely human attribute or quality. Animals as well. For the first week you will see animals and human beings, they will be inseparable from their mother. Why? Because it's Keilo, it is as if they're still in the womb. It's as if they're still attached by the umbilical cord. Today, you know, they could be teenagers or in their early 20s and they're still attached as if with an umbilical cord. But anyway, at least for 7 days, at least in the first week, they act as if they're still attached by an umbilical cord, as if they're still connected. So, the bris is only on the eighth day, writes the Rambam, because that's when the child begins to form some level of an independent identity. Still not changing their own diapers, still need to be fed, still waking up in the middle of the night, but at least they are beginning to enter this world and understand they are in a different environment. They are no longer in utero. So, if the drug understands and is a stomach, the Rambam more than is saying the baby is not strong enough. The baby is not ready to endure the bris until the eighth day, until they have adjusted to their new habitat. But still, why eight days? And the because that becomes the universal mark. Animals, it takes until the eighth day to develop some independent identity. And therefore, the Rambam, human beings as well. The possuk says shor o kesev o ez keva leiv yishvu sam tachas imo. If all these animals, an ox or a sheep or a goat is born, seven days it lives under its mother. La korban isha lashem, it's only eligible to be offered as a sacrifice on the eighth day and on the first week it's not. Kodesh Baruch who said, "This animal should not be brought or offered to me until the animal has lived through a Shabbos." Because you cannot go a week, obviously, without encountering a Shabbos. The ain milah belo or And therefore, the reason the bris is on the eighth day, the measure says is because this baby is not ready to enter the covenant of Avram. The baby is not ready to enter the covenant with Hashem, to enter the bris, until the baby's experienced a Shabbos. It's part of the origin of a shalom zachar as well. Most of our measures the measures adds So, the measure further says or be it's like teaches, a human being is likened to the animal. The animal cannot be offered or brought close as a carbon until first experiencing a Shabbos, the human being cannot be brought close or enter the covenant of a bris until experiencing a Shabbos. So, the question that was still why? Why is it that you need to experience Shabbos? What is it about Shabbos? So, based on this Rov Jook suggests, now we can further understand better understand what the Rambam was talking about Moreh Nevukhim. Why the eighth day? That baby will be stronger on the eighth day. What will make the baby stronger on the eighth day than the previous seven? The fact that the baby's experienced a Shabbos. This is why we're here. Shabbos is tachlis l'maaseh bereishis. We don't live through Shabbos to rest up and rejuvenate in order to get back to the rest of the week. We live through the week in order to arrive at Shabbos. Shabbos is not a break and a rest so we have what it takes to get back to work because work is the tachlis is the goal. No, it's the opposite. Shabbos is the goal to disconnect and reconnect to what matters. To be able to spend time with ourselves, with other people, with Hashem. Shabbos in which we reinvent who we are, we're at peace with nature around us. That's tachlis l'maaseh bereishis. That's why we're here, that's what life's all about. That's what gives us strength, it gives us courage, it gives us fortitude, it gives us faith. It helps us remember creation, zecher l'ma'an Hashem Bereishis and zecher l'tzeit Mitzrayim. It liberates us and it sets us free and therefore, for a baby to have the strength, for the baby to have the koach, yischazeik kocho, for the baby to have the koach to endure, not to survive, but to be able to recover from a bris, the baby is the strongest only after they have encountered, only after they have engaged, only after they have celebrated a Shabbos. So, the reason we wait the eight days not just so the blood can clot, not just so the baby's strong enough, the lungs have developed, we wait till the eighth day because the neshama needs to develop. And what strengthens or completes a neshama? Experiencing a Shabbos. And that's why specifically the eighth day. Now, the Sefer HaChinuch, the mitzvah of milah, which is the second mitzvah, Sefer HaChinuch mitzvah beis, the mitzvah of milah, Sefer HaChinuch writes, "Mishorshei mitzvah zu, at the core, at the root of this mitzvah," small letters, need the glasses, "because God wants us to be distinguished and distinguishable not just in our behavior and our actions, but in our very essence, in our body. For the body to have a mark, to have a tag, to have a distinguishing label, just like our soul is different either according to some because we are created differently, according to others because of the mitzvahs that we do, our conduct and our behavior is what distinguishes our soul, but our lifestyle and our soul is different, similarly, our body should be Our uniform is different. Why specifically on this body part? Why specifically here? If you're going to make an oath, you're going to make a sign, a symbol, you're going to create a uniform for the Jew, for the male Jew, distinguishing from their non-Jewish counterpart, why there? And the answer is this is a body part, this is the organ that based on presents the ambition and the aspiration for kedusha, for holiness. How many great people, smart people, genius people, talented people, accomplished people, because they could not control their urge, their appetite, their temptation, their desire, it controlled them, absolutely sabotaged their success, their life, their reputation. Kedusha, sanctity, is in the most base, mundane activities of our lives. Nowhere represented as Freud, a Jew, understood the id, the ego, the desire, the temptation, it drives man. And here I don't mean humanity, I mean man, the gender in particular, which is why this mitzvah is specifically given to him, because he is affected disproportionately by it. And therefore, this specifically that organ in which we make the statement through the bris that we enter a covenant, we make a pledge, we make a promise that the most mundane, the most animalistic, the most base desire and drive, we will control it, it won't control us. We will elevate the experience through marriage, through intimacy, through procreation, we will not be lowered by it to create a corrupt, morally corrupt, decadent, licentious, lascivious society. And therefore, it is specifically that organ that is chosen for the sign, a sign not for others, but for ourselves. The story of David Hamelech, who in the mikvah, when he was naked and bereft of all other mitzvahs, looked down and remembered he still had one, one connected to his body, a sign for us to remember the responsibility of discipline, dignity, self-control, the responsibility that we live for holiness, not happiness or pleasure, the responsibility that kedusha is achieved. Where for the Rambam is 14 books Yad Hazaka, and one of them is called kedusha. One of the 14 volumes in the way the Rambam, Maimonides, categorizes Jewish law is kedusha is holiness. And what appears there, the laws of Machalos Asuros, the laws of how we diet and eat, and Hilchos Bia, the laws of interpersonal intimacy relations. Why are they in kedusha? Because kedusha is not about Yom Kippur, Shabbos, a kumsitz, spirituality. Rather, kedusha, holiness, is found in the laws of intimacy and the laws of eating, the most base animal drives. That's where we find kedusha. So, the Mevo b'Sefer HaChinuch says Rav Druck, "She'ikar shamitzvos Mitzvos bein Adam l'Makom v'ein Adam l'Chaveiro b'Guf u'v'Mamon u'v'Nefesh u'v'Olam." The mission, the drive is to distinguish us. And t'chunas hayechud she'yesh l'Am Yisrael she'menavdelam min sh'ar umos. So, now here, listen to this insight of Rav Druck, fantastic. The Gemara in Yevamos says the following. Gemara Yevamos daf ayin tes, I want a lot I want to cover, so I'm going to share this with you outside. Besides which, I'm reading way too fast, and my father would criticize me. So, I'll just tell it to you outside. The Gemara Yevamos daf ayin tes tells us that there are three simanim, there are three distinguishing signs of a Jew. The Jewish nation, the Jewish people, we have three signs, three behaviors that if you see it in us and among us, you know that it is a Jew. And what are they? We are rachmanim, baishanim, and gomlei chassadim. Rachmanim, we have compassion. Rachmanim, we show rachmanus, we have compassion. Someone's suffering, someone's struggling, we have compassion. Baishanim, we have a sense of shame. Not a debilitating negative shame, but a healthy dose of shame. A shame which is the nerve ending of the soul, that we blush when there's something worth blushing about, that we are ashamed when there is behavior or a thought or speech or we've done something that we should be ashamed of. And thirdly, gomlei chassadim, that we are kind in action, that we volunteer, that we do, that we give. And the Gemara quotes three pesukim pesukim that show that we have these things. And therefore Gemara concludes in Yevamot, "Kol she yesh b'Shloshah Simanim Halalu, Ra'ui Ledavek B'Umatzu." If you show these three character traits, if one displays these three qualities, they deserve to be attached to these to the Jewish people. That's who we are, that's what we're made of, that's how we should be recognized, identified, thought of, admired, spoken about. That should be the reputation of a Jew. We are Rachmanim, we're kind and compassionate. We are Baishanim, we have a sense of shame. We have moral clarity. And we are Gomlei Hasadim, we're givers and we're doers. So therefore asks Rav Druck, "I don't understand. Lo Ra'ui Zeh Yesh L'Hakshos Kushya Atzumah V'Nora." If those are the three distinguishing characteristics of who we are, how in the world do we take a child on the eighth day, a newborn baby, who has no autonomy, who has no voice to protest, who has no ability to say, "I don't want surgery without anesthesia. I don't want to be naked and exposed in front of the entire community to watch me have a surgery with no anesthesia. I don't want to be naked from the waist down sitting on my grandfather's lap crying my eyes out. It's embarrassing, it's humiliating, and it's painful." Everything we're doing to this child directly violates what should be the three distinguishing characteristics of who we're supposed to be and what we're supposed to be made of. What happened to Busha? And now we have a naked baby exposing the most private part. What happened to Rachmanim, kind and compassionate? And now we're causing and now we're causing pain. What's going on? What's going on over here? So says Rav Druck, "Anina M'Ora Miza Yisod Nifla." You see from the fact that we have a sacred mitzvah, one of the most important mitzvahs, a mitzvah that defines a baby's relationship to be being a full-fledged member of the Jewish people, not to being a Jew, but to being a full-fledged member. There are some mitzvahs that don't go against our nature, that don't go against our grain. There are mitzvahs that are natural for us to do. We're happy to do them. They're pleasurable, they're easy, they're satisfying, they're fulfilling, and they're wonderful. But do you know which are the highest level mitzvahs? Do you know which mean the most to Hashem? The ones that go against our nature. The ones in which we're asked to violate what comes naturally, because nevertheless, we are committed and devoted to fulfill the will of Hashem. You see this with R' Frand, doesn't but you see this with the Avos. Each of the Avos are tested. They emerge who they are because they're willing to do not only what comes naturally as a strength, but they're willing to listen to Hashem when he says jump, they say how high, even for the things that violate everything they believe in. Avraham is the Ish Chesed. Avraham is a man of loving kindness, and he's charged with a mission, go and sacrifice your son. Yaakov is an Ish Emes. He's a man of truth, and he's told go and deceive and lie to your father. Makes no sense unless you understand that how do you know whether you're being honest, how do you know whether you're being kind, how do you know whether you're keeping Shabbos? Because in fact, you're devoted and dedicated to God, or maybe you're devoted and dedicated to yourself. Maybe your natural inclination is to be honest. Maybe your natural instinct is to be kind. Maybe you love disconnecting from technology and hopping in Luft after a full belly of a delicious cholent. How do you ever know when it's for God? The answer is when we observe, when we perform the mitzvahs he asks us to do that are not consistent with what we want, what we believe, what comes easily or naturally, when we go against our grain. That's when we reveal and reflect on all that we do that it's all for Hashem. So specifically, how does a baby enter the covenant? How do they do the bris of milah? Not through by shalom with chassadim and rachamim. But dafka specifically through an act which is a violation of all three. And now we can understand its greatness. Milah is so great that there are 13 covenants that were sealed through it. 13. We have only two positive commandments. But the one who abstains refrains from fulfilling it is violating the prohibited with kores. This is how we sanctify. This is how we elevate. This is how we prove who we are and what we're made of. This is how we distinguish ourselves and therefore it is so valuable, so meaningful to Hashem. Even so much so that we go against our own grain. Okay, moving right along. There's a lot more to say about the notion of conception and the consequences and the carbonos that were offered after the fact we spoke about previous years, the two birds that the yoledes that the woman has given birth brings and why the two birds and their sense of loyalty to one another. A lot more you can listen to previous years. We continue perek pasuk at the bottom of page 608 and we move on now to what what is the bulk of the rest of parshas Tazria and Metzora, the story of the laws of tzaraas. God spoke to Moshe and his brother Aaron saying "Adam If a person will have on their skin his flesh or some kind of lesion some kind of spiritual skin melody where does it happen by a on the skin of the flesh the negative it is a negative it is a blemish it is it's a spiritual melody it's not a dermatological disease but who is brought to the coin or or to one of his sons will come back to later a phenomenal inside of the tone of schlichter on why this person is brought to the coin and the coin goes out to them the role of the coin will come to that later but I want to focus here on the word the or first of all why Adam why Adam Adam we have a lot of words for person we have each we have a lot of words I can describe a person why specifically here is it Adam so there are a lot of offer a lot of explanations offered Adam because when did we become an Adam when God breathed life into us and when he breathed life into us what distinguished distinguished us from the animal kingdom English translates for God breathed life into us he made us an animated living dynamic being he made us different he made us superior to animals and what made us superior to animals what made us better or different what made us different was the power of speech he gave us the power of speech when we utilize our power of speech to its fullest we are in Adam in Adam we have potential we are godly and God like we are in conversation with God and those around us we use the power of speech to construct to build and to lift up but if we fail and why does come lashon hara saras is the result of gossip of lashon hara saras is the result of abusing that power of speech forfeiting corrupting that power of speech and therefore the use of the word Adam is a reminder for the original purpose of speech, and we have violated it. We have let it go. But, I want to focus not on the word Adam. We've talked about that also in the past. I want to focus on the word or. If a person has a tzaraas where on their skin, on their skin. Listen to this insight of the Sfas Emes. Magnificent insight of the Sfas Emes on our parsha. And I want to read to you this Sfas Emes insight, the great Gerer Rebbe. Sfas Emes says, "Adam ki yavo or bisaro. Ki acharei cheit Adam, kasuv vayyas kutnos or." After man fails, God deposits man and woman in the Garden of Eden, and says, "Enjoy. Esst gesunt. Unlimited schmorg great buffet. You don't have to work, and you'll never die, and you have no pain in childbirth. So, go and enjoy. Enjoy my magnificent world. Protect it, safeguard it, keep it, and go and enjoy it. Just one thing. Don't touch. Don't eat. Don't eat from the one thing." And what happens, of course, they can't help it, and they go and get there. And after they sin, they're expelled from the Garden of Eden. They find themselves on the outs. They're kicked out of Gan Eden. All of a sudden, Adam notices and says to Chava, "Hey, Chava, did you feel that breeze?" All of a sudden, they realize they're naked. They're unclothed. And what happens, God fashions for them leather clothing, a covering of leather. "V'hu shanita lahem mesach v'hester kol davar." He makes for them a mask. He makes for them a covering. "Sh'hu mimishcha d'guya." The or, and what is that covering made out of? Or. Skin. Leather. "B'hu milashon iver. Ayin, vav, reish is the same root of the word iver, which means a blind person. Sh'acharei cheit, einu yachol l'hakir ha'or mitach ha'choshech. Rak ba'avoda v'yegia l'hasir mesach hamavdil." What happens? In Gan Eden, there was no covering. In Gan Eden, there was no barrier. In Gan Eden, the human being Adam and Hava were able to feel and see and perceive and live and be vessels of the light. They felt godliness. They were in touch with the divine, with the infinite. They were connected with it. But then they made a mistake. And now the yetzer hara, poor judgment, the world of temptation was not external to them, represented and reflected by the nachash, the snake, but rather it became absorbed in them. This became an inner struggle that humanity, that all of us confront and face daily, of whether we're going to express our animal instinct or our godly soul. And therefore we now live with, instead of being revealed, now there is a covering. There is an or. But that covering also makes us blind. We live in blindness. We struggle to know which are the right choices and to make the right choices. Von Negoyim Boim Rock Me Koach Or HaZeh. The blemishes, says the Sfas Emes, the negoyim of our life, a nega means a blemish. A nega means the negative consequence of poor choice and behavior. Why does the nega come? That result, that consequence, that accountability, that nega comes because of the or. We have this barrier where we don't see the light. We don't feel it. We don't make the right choices. Viadu Ki Yesh Orin HaKovim Dakim, says the Hilchos Sfas Emes, this covering, this cloak, this skin, this hide, it has holes. Ki Bechol Mokom HaKlipos Nikuda Ganuza Gam Kein. Whenever you have a shell, a barrier, a klipa, a covering, it's perforated. There are holes where the light can come in. Raksha Yedei Avonus Distam HaChalonus HaBoyim HaNegoyim. So what's a nega? The nega is the covering of the hole. So we're living life. Once we were expelled from Gan Eden, listen carefully my friends, this is very deep. Sfas Emes says that when we left Gan Eden, and now we struggle to see, to perceive, to feel, to live the light. We have a covering. We're living with a world of hiddenness. God is not revealed, but God is hidden. There's a covering, there's a cloak, there's a barrier, but there is a there are holes that cloak, that covering, that or, that skin, there are it's perforated. There are holes where the light can come through. Unless we make mistakes and live a life in which there is a nega, there is a blemish or a covering that blocks the hole. So now no light can come through. Why? Because on the or, on the ever, on the blind, we are living as if we are blind. covers it up. It closes it up. It seals it off. So the goal, the purpose of the nega is to heal us. And that's why one suffers from a lesion, a blemish, a spiritual skin disease. You don't go to the doctor. You don't make an appointment with a dermatologist. Where do you go? Who do you see? A cohen. I understand why the solution is the cohen. I understand why to heal, to recover, you need to go to the cohen. Aaron is, after all, the paradigm, the quintessential example rodeph shalom. He knew how to live the light. He knew how to pursue peace and promote peace, teach Torah, live Torah. But why go to the cohen to diagnose the problem? I understand you go to the cohen to get the recovery, to heal. But why to diagnose? V'al tov ayin y'vorach. Rak kanasha nega r'fuah hu. Because the answer is the diagnosing of the problem is the solution. Diagnosing the challenge, realizing you've made a poor decision, bad judgment, realizing that you're living a life that you're blocking the hole and you're blocking the light that is in itself part of the solution, part of the solution. Sfas Emes, we don't have more time, but the Sfas Emes goes on to continue to describe all the process of tzaraas, the diagnosis, as well as the process of rehabilitation and healing, all reflects the spiritual malady of poor choices that block the holes of the or of the light, but it's not a coincidence here that it's Adam to ye'be'or bisaro. It's not that Adam ki ye'be'or bisaro. It's not when you have a nega on your flesh, because this is not skin deep, it's not something dermatological. It's rather where is the nega really appearing? Be'or bisaro, says the Sfas Emes. The use of the word Adam should remind you of Adam HaRishon. Be'or should remind you what happened when he was expelled, exiled from Gan Eden, and when he now began a world of struggle. Be'or, either we are blind, we have blind spots. We are blind to our weaknesses, and we are blind to our temptation, and we are blind to our mistakes, and nevertheless we have access to the light unless we block it off with a nega, and the answer is to attach ourself to spiritual guides, to attach ourselves to the kohen who can help us find our way out. The Heiliger Rebbe, Rebbe Elimelech of Lizhensk, points on this pasuk, Adam ki ye'be'or bisaro, we we identify three different things. Se'es, sapachas, or baheres. Those are the three types of blemishes. And of course Chazal explain what the different how we translate them are. Se'es is a whiteness, a natural wool. Baheres is the color of snow. Sapachas is some new category, a subdivision. What exactly they look like, the discolorations, it needs the expertise of the of the kohen. But the Heiliger Rebbe Elimelech of Lizhensk, the great Noam Elimelech, says that these three words, shlosha dvarim yesh maknin et Adam el alus v'el isalus ba'avodas Hashem. There are three things that block us from elevating. Three things that block us from being the best version of ourselves. Three behaviors that block us from being the best of who we can be and from elevating as high as we can go. And what are they? He says they're hinted to, they're alluded to in these three words, the three descriptions we have. Who is the nasi? The president. The nasi is the prince. A nasi is a position of distinction, of prominence, of honor, of glory. Says comes from arrogance. The arrogant person thinks they have arrived, they are complete, they are superior, they are better. The arrogant person ain't no old man in the middle of the womb. They have no one from whom to learn. They think that they are entirely and utterly in control and therefore strikes them. It's as simple as a little says, a little blemish, a little blister, a little says because of hisness. The first spiritual malady, the first mistake that will result in the physical in the physical manifestation says hisness when we are arrogant, when we see ourselves as superior, when we think we're in a position of prominence. Number two, says. The word says comes from His Khabrus LaKhavera. His Khabrus means attaching to bad friends, to bad people, to a bad Khabra. As the Mishna says, that if you attach yourself to poor influences, negative peer pressure, we are the product of our surroundings and therefore the says reminds us that as noble as we want to be, as great as our aspiration and ambition, when we hang out with negative influence, then they compromise us, they corrupt us. And therefore, the second type of malady that reflects what was a poor choice spiritually is the sapachas. And lastly, thirdly, says the Heiliger Reb Noam the Heiliger Reb Noam Elimelech Elimelech of Lizhensk, baheres. What is baheres? The word bahir means to see, to see clearly. Kasha adam adam la atzmo ki akol kvar barur u'vahir. Person who says, "I have all the answers. It's all clear to me. I understand everything. I know, I understand, I have all the answers. Everything comes simple." So, these three middos, these three character flaws lead to skin flaws and blemishes. Nega beor bisaro. And what's the answer? What is the antidote? V'huva el Aharon haKohen. Bring to Aharon, so that we can correct and repair this ace, sapachas, and baheres. Correct and repair the histaklus, histapchus, and an attitude of being bahir, that you have all the answers and you have clarity on everything. So, why am I sharing this with you? Beautiful insight of Reb Elimelech, but because as we learn Tazria Metzora, you might say, "It's so strange. It's so unfamiliar. It's so unrelatable. What does it have to do with us? And what does it have to do with our world?" And the answer is, only absolutely everything. We still suffer from these same character traits and flaws. We still suffer from these same mistakes. And while it might not manifest itself on our skin and in the same procedure, there nevertheless is so much to learn from both the diagnosis as well as the response and the way out. Now, what happens? Hafach lavan. What happens hafach lavan? Perek Yud Gimmel, Pasuk Gimmel. We've barely started. What are we going to do over here? We're in trouble. If it turns white, v'ra'ah kohen es hanega beor habasar, the kohen examines the blemish on the skin of the flesh this say negah and the hair in the blemish turns white. And the appearance the hue of the blemish is deeper than the skin negative it's a sign that it's a cohen and the cohen sees and the cohen diagnoses and declares him to may. Says Rashi to may also the cohen diagnoses the cohen says you are impure. Rashi says how does the cohen complete this diagnosis? What in the exam tells the cohen that the individual is in fact to may and why does Rashi describe it as what what's means this is something we learn from the text that doesn't necessarily have a logical explanation. It's something that we learn that we derive from the text itself. So wonders and is a we're still in this year going through on it he says does this sound normal? Does this sound what you'd expect? That if it's white the cohen knows to tell the person the patient that they are to may that they are impure. Is that the role of white? Normally isn't it exactly the opposite again for the sake of time I'll tell it to you outside. Isn't it normally that possible that tells us we know the sign the symbol of holiness of purity of cleanliness of repair of atonement is white. That's the sign when something turns white we wear the white kitel a chasan a bride wears a white gown at the Pesach seder we wear white on Yom Kippur we wear white it's the sign of chuva white is the sign of purity, of repentance, of repair. In the base of mikdash, the ribbon, the tasha knee would turn from red to white if the people were forgiven. So, white is always a sign of purity. White is a sign of repair and of of improvement. Why here is it the opposite? I would think that if the hair is white, then the patient should be tahor, pure. Why is it that the hair is white? It's the opposite. They are impure. That is the question that Rav Druck wonders. A very compelling question. And maybe that's why Rashi says sakasev. It goes against what I would think, and therefore it's illogical. It's only sakasev. I have to derive it and deduce it from the pasuk, but otherwise it wouldn't make sense to me. However, Rav Druck wants to offer another suggestion. The tells us that one of the reasons that tsaraas is visited upon a person, one of the reason that they are struck with this malady, is tsaraas ayin. When a person is jealous of another, when a person can't forgive another, when a person can't be happy for somebody, is stingy with the joy or success of the other person, and therefore they're cruel, and therefore they are unkind. The tells us, not coincidentally, that how is it What happens when someone embarrasses someone else publicly? When someone humiliates the other person, how do we describe that? If you embarrass someone else publicly, it is as if you spilled their blood. Why? Because when a person is embarrassed, first the blood rushes to the face, and then the blood drains. And when the blood drains, a person is pale as a white sheet. So, perhaps says Rav Druck, that's why this individual who struck with tzaraat was unkind, was cruel, didn't respect relationships with others, didn't know how to navigate socially, thought that they were better. They were unkind, they were cruel, they embarrassed others. And because they turned caused others to turn white, therefore when the hair in their nega turns white, that is a sign of their impurity. That is the suggestion of Rav Druck. Perek Gimel pasuk mem hey, moving right along. ArtScroll page 616. V'atzaru asher bo nega bigadav ufruman varosho yifaroa vi'asafam yateh vitamei tamei yikra. Chapter 13 verse 45. The person with tzaraat in whom there is an affliction, his garment shall be torn, you have to tear keriah, the hair of the head shall be unshorn, you allow the hair to grow long, no haircuts, and cloak himself up to his lips, and he is to call out vitamei tamei yikra. What is this notion of he is to call out tamei tamei yikra? He is to warn people, Rashi tells us. What is tamei? Mashmi'a shehu tamei vi'yifrosh mimenu. The individual, part of their rehabilitation is they have to call out, "I'm impure, I'm tamei." They're warning, they're cautioning others, "Stay away. It's contagious. You could become contaminated." And therefore this individual has to wear kilu a scarlet letter. They warn people, "Stay away, I could contaminate you." However, the Gemara Mo'ed Katan daf fei tells us something else, and it's a very very important lesson. Gemara Mo'ed Katan says the reason this individual calls out and proclaims tamei tamei yikra, the reason they call out and say I am tamei for other people to hear and know is so that other people will daven for them. You know, there's a big debate or dilemma that people have. Someone's going through a hard time, God forbid somebody's been diagnosed with an illness. God forbid, someone's going through a crisis. God forbid, someone's going through a painful thing. And often there can be a dilemma. Should I keep this to myself? Is the more noble and righteous thing to suffer in silence? Do I keep this to myself and not burden others? Not ask for help from others? Or no, maybe the more people who know, the more will daven for me. And the more people doing mitzvahs davening for me, the greater the merits on my behalf, the better I will be. So here the Gemara Makkot daf hey weighs in weighs in based on our pasuk, "Vetamei tamei yikra." The individuals in crisis, the individuals who have been diagnosed with tzara'as, they tell everyone about it. Why? Because that way others can daven on their behalf. And so you see the Gemara Chazal take a position that if you're going through a difficult time, I'm not telling you you have to post it on social media, not telling you you have to violate your own privacy, and leave your comfort zone to tell the world. But there's also nothing wrong with not keeping it a secret. Because when you share it with others and they can daven and do things on your behalf, there are more people and there are more merits being earned for you. And then God says, "You know, my interaction and my decision for this individual doesn't just impact them. It impacts all the people who are advocating for them. And therefore it changes the scales. It changes the the decision. And therefore it is a merit for the person." So the Gemara concludes, "Tamei tamei yikra." From here, that don't be shy or reluctant or hesitant to tell others what you're going through cuz they can daven for you and that will be a great merit. But the Shulchan Aruch Rabbi Yishaya Halevi Horowitz learns something different from here. Based on the Rambam, the Rambam in Hilchos Issurei Bi'ah in the 19th chapter, the Rambam writes, "If you see two families who are fighting, if you see two families who aren't getting along, then you need to know choshen lies in money they may not actually be Jewish. You cannot necessarily rely on the cashes. You know, somebody moves to town. They start coming to show and they say I'm Jewish. We don't say prove it. We don't say we need to see your we don't say you need to prove right the the assumption of the presumption the burden is not on a person to prove their Jewishness. Why is that? The Rambam says because call Because if people are living a Jewish lifestyle, if they come and they tell us they're Jewish, we are entitled to believe them. We assume they're telling the truth and we are allowed to marry the hot killer. The Rambam says the exception is if they're contentious. If they fight, if they're hypercritical of others. If a person is not living with the Jewish character traits we spoke of But if you're contentious and you're always engaged in conflict and if you're sitting in judgment and you're cruel and unkind and dismissive and judgmental of others then says the Rambam that might negate the assumption that you are kosher because you're displaying very unkosher characteristics. Says the Sabbath this tool What is the tool? What is the the um blemish What is it that takes away the tool? If a person is hypercritical of others What says the this is alluded to in our book tell me tell me you cry tell me tell me you cry You know who calls other people tell me a tell me themselves tell me know tell me tell me tell me you cry Someone who points to others and says impure impure chrome not firm enough not smart enough not pretty enough not whatever enough. You know who says that? You know who does that? You know who says tell me tell me you cry the person who themselves is tell me the points to the condition that I am call a postel be more postel Anyone who disqualifies someone else, anyone who sits in judgement of someone else, "Kol ha posel" is usually "b'mummo posel." With their own blemish, with their own shortcoming. The hyper super critical person, "Kol ha posel," usually the person who is calling out someone else is revealing a lot about themselves. And says the Shulchan Aruch, you see this in our parsha, in our pasuk, "Tamei." Person who calls out "Tamei," "Oh, that person is impure," "Tamei Yikra." They themselves are often or usually the impure person. Okay, that is Tazria. We move over now to Parshas Metzora, the second of our parshas. Page 620, perek yud daled, pasuk bet. "Vayedaber Hashem el Moshe lemor," God spoke to Moshe, "Zos tias Toras Hametzora beyom taharaso v'huva el HaKohen." This is the law of the metzora on the day of his purification, he is brought to the Kohen. And I don't want to share with you "Zos Toras Hametzora," a great insight of Rav Druck. A great insight of Rav Druck. I'm skipping some great insights of Rav Druck. We don't have time for them all. They're wonderful. The Maggid of Vayikra says the following. "Amar Rabbi Shimon bar Levi, chamesh toros kesuvos b'metzora." In Parshas Metzora, we have the word "Torah" five times. "Zos Toras Negai Tzara'as, Zos tias Toras Hametzora, Zos Toras Asher Bo Negai Tzara'as, Zos ha Torah lechol Negai Tzara'as, Zos Toras ha Tzara'as." You see five times. "L'lamedcha shekol omer lashon hara over al chamisha chumshi Torah." Whoever gossips and slanders and violates the gift of the power of speech, they are in violation of the Torah. Rav Druck wonders, why not just say, "Whoever uses the gift and the power of speech to slander and to gossip is in violation of the whole Torah?" Why do you have to spell it out of "Chamisha Chumshi Torah," of the five books of the Torah, of the five volumes of Torah. Why not just say that if you gossip and slander, then you're not really living Torah. Then you violate all of Torah. Why does it specifically have to say you're violating Khumishah Khumishah Torah? That is the question of Rav Druck on the Medrash. And his answer is His answer is fantastic. His answer is because the idea that if you gossip and slander, you're violating Torah doesn't just mean you're violating Halakha. It doesn't mean you're violating Torah law or Torah values. It means you are actually violating the Khumish itself. What does that mean you're violating the Khumish? It means from each of the five books of the Khumish, you should have learned a law and a lesson of not slandering or gossiping. But you didn't. If you go ahead and you slander, if you go ahead and you gossip, then you violated the Khumish because you didn't learn the law that you could have seen. You failed to learn the lesson that is a that is jumping off of the pages of each of the five books of Torah. So quickly, where do you see it in Breishit? You see it in Breishit when it comes to the snake, the power of speech. Vayehi lanachash ramas she'al Yisrael. The the tepish nasa shel nachash. In the book of Breishit, you have Yosef and the brothers gossip, slander, negative speech. In the book of Shmot, you have Dasan and Aviram. They speak lashon hara about Moshe and Rabbenu. And then you have Par'o listens to lashon hara. In Sefer Vayikra, you have the parshas we're reading now, Tazria and Metzora, all about the laws of lashon hara and the consequence of bad diet you shave, the sense of being alone. In Sefer Bamidbar, you have the story of the Meraglim and what we're meant to learn from the Meraglim that you can't even speak lashon hara about the land of Israel. Miriam who speaks lashon hara about her brother. In the book of Devarim, we have the parsha of Motzi Shem Ra, a man who falsely accuses the woman he married of having practiced infidelity during their betrothal, during their engagement. We have in Sifra Ahar Rabim Rashi explains Ara is a mesaper lashon hara. So I'm sure you can come up with even more examples and this is a great exercise for your Shabbos table. Tell this dvar Torah and ask everyone to think of every example they can think of, every lesson we can learn about lashon hara from each of the five books of the Torah. So I love this insight of of Druck that when the Medrash says that if you speak lashon hara, you're violating Chamisha Chumash Torah, it doesn't mean you're violating Torah. That's also true, but it could have said you're violating Torah. That's not what it means. What it means is you're violating Chamisha Chumash Torah, it means that you're violating the very lesson we could have learned from each of the volumes of the of the Torah. Zos tihih Torah tzara'as beyom taharaso, this is the law of the metzora on the day they become pure. V'hu va, el hakohen, they are brought to the kohen. I want to tell you the insight of Rabbi Soloveitchik and then of the Tolner Rebbe and that may be all we have time for today even though I had so much more to tell you. Says Rabbi Soloveitchik in the Rav Chumash, V'hetza hakohen el mikutz lamachaneh v'ra'ah hakohen. The kohen is the key person. The kohen is both the diagnostician and the kohen is also the one who will offer the treatment. The kohen is key. Writes the Rav, "When we explore this parsha, we find a peculiar phenomenon. The kohen here assumes the role diagnostician and nurse. Only the kohen has the right to pronounce the sick person clean or unclean. This is a task that a kohen would not normally be expected to perform given the lengths he must have go to to avoid impurity. We're going to read in the beginning of parshas Emor, Emor el ha kohanim gedolim u'ketanim, the kohen, both the mature kohanim as well as the minor kohanim, all have a special responsibility and obligation to avoid becoming tamei. They're not allowed to become impure. So, wouldn't you think that the cohen specifically who has to be who has to preserve their sense of purity, why would they be the one going outside to visit the one who is impure? Why is this job assigned to the cohen? Furthermore, there are many forms of impurity in the Torah. Anyone with the required knowledge can come up with the purification. Take anybody else. Take a Yisrael. Take a Yisrael who's not obligated to protect and preserve their purity. Let them learn what they're to look for and then let them go out and be the guy an obstetrician and nurse. Yet, tzaraas is assigned only to the cohen. And the question is why? Says Rabbi Soloveitchik, let us analyze the situation of the metzora and the treatment of leprosy in the biblical times. The phobia related to leprosy in olden times is similar to the phobia of modern malignancy. The greatest fear was the fear of discovery. One took sick and the outward symptoms caused others to suspect he had leprosy. Immediately, the sick man lost his human dignity. He became isolated from the community. People were afraid to associate with him or even greet him. He was often killed or at the very least driven out of town. From time to time, he was offered a meager supply of food thrown to him like food is thrown to a dog. He was treated harshly for the sin of having contracted disease. That is the way the leper was treated. What is the Jewish approach? The first thing the Torah commands is to bring the cohen. The leper was thus instantly removed from mob psychosis. The cohen diagnosed and pronounced the tumah as tzaraas, but the leper was not subsequently cut off from society. He was in communication with the cohen as one of the heads of the community. In fact, the metzora could request being seen by the cohen gadol himself. A man who was not permitted to attend the funeral of his own closest relatives. Yet, if summoned, the cohen gadol had to go to the leper. The Torah legislated to prevent the loss of human dignity. The cohen went with the leper outside the camp to demonstrate that he was his friend. The leper was isolated from everyone except the leaders of the camp of Israel who must do everything possible to heal him and to bring him back to society. The coin assured the man, you are needed. You will get well. You will return to society. The coin acts for the needs of the people. The message of parshas metzora writes of Soloveitchik is that even someone who holds the exalted office of Kohuna must not abandon his fellow Jew. He must have compassion for everyone, even someone as dangerously ill as the leper. Not only the coin, but the prophet as well is charged with the role of being a friend. Prophet had to deliver the word of God, but was also charged with the mission of helping individual man, of being a nursing father to the people of Israel. Moshe himself said for the people come to me to seek God. Compassion is the essential attribute of spiritual leader of Klal Yisrael. What a beautiful insight of the role of the coin, understanding it in the context of history and so on. The Tolem Rebbe says similarly, he says that the coin who spends his life in the sacred domain of the Beis Hamikdash dealing with carbonos is the one the Torah commands to lower himself and to get involved in all the matters related to tzaraas. The Torah emphasizes this point by instructing that when a person has v'huva el Aharon HaKohen o el achad mibanav HaKohanim, when you have this discoloration, when you discover this malady, then you are brought to Aharon. Rather than simply require the person to come to the coin, the Torah requires him to come to Aharon or one of his sons, emphasizing that the greatest Kohanim are the ones who have to descend from their lofty heights of sanctity to work with the metzora, who's fallen to the lowest depths of impurity. And what's more, in the beginning of the process, the the individual approaches the coin, but by the end, the metzora is forced to live outside the city. That's part of the rehabilitation. Michutz Lamachaneh Badad, they have to live alone, isolated by themselves. They have to know what it was like the way they made others feel. And now, the yotzei Kohanim michutz Lamachaneh, the coin has to leave the Beis Hamikdash, leave a place of purity and holiness, and go out to a leper camp. Go out to where the sick person who's stricken with the severest form of impurity is. The Torah not only requires the coin to leave the sacred serene environments of the miktash to work with the metzora, but the Torah requires that the coin has to do so joyfully. Posuk says V'ra'a Kohen v'hinei nirpa negah tzara'as min hatzaru'a. And the Psiktos D'Rav Chisda in a different context in Parshas Balak comments that when you study the word v'hinei, the word v'hinei connotes joy. And we learn from here that the Kohen has to feel such a level of closeness to the metzora, such an affection that he experiences a genuine joy over the fact that the individual with tzara'as is cured. So, he's leaving his office. He's leaving the security of the Beis Hamikdash. He's leaving the environment of holiness and sanctity, and he has to go out to where the leper is. And he has to do so joyfully, not begrudgingly, but happily. So, says the Tzemach Tzedek, what do you see from here? The situation of tzara'as is when the Kohen's love for every Jew is most manifest. The love doesn't come to the fore during normal times, when everything's going smoothly, when the Kohen has the luxury of sitting in the glory of the Beis Hamikdash. But rather, it's michutz l'machaneh. You know, there are individuals in our time. There are people who feel spiritually or physically michutz l'machaneh. They feel rejected or distanced from the Jewish community. And that is the time when the Jewish leaders need to not wipe their hands. But that's when Jewish leaders need to get involved the most. And whether it's an agunah who feels abandoned, or whether it's someone who so-called is off the derech or exploring their own derech, who feels there's no room in the Orthodox community. Our responsibility and our roles as leaders as the Kohanim of a community is to go michutz l'machaneh v'hinei and to do so with joy, and to do so with tremendous and powerful love. Tremendous and powerful love. That is the responsibility. These are the moments where the love most shine the brightest. And that's what the tone of the Rebbe concludes. He says, "Although today we don't have Mitzrayim we have many lost souls, and we have to try to go bring them back, invite them in, make space where they're comfortable, heal them, and make them feel ready and healthy to rejoin. And the way to do that is our willingness to go to Machaneh. You can't just stay in the ivory tower of the Beis Medrash. You can't stay in the ivory tower of the shul, but we have to be willing to go out and to find them wherever they are." What a powerful message, what a powerful partial perspective for our time. There was so much more to say, but Baruch Hashem, we will read Tazria-Metzora again next year and pick it up from there. Thank you again to our sponsors. If you'd like to sponsor, again you're encouraged. Email [email protected], [email protected]. Please take a moment to subscribe to our YouTube channel. You'll be notified in real time every time we learn. Tonight behind the Bima, we're going behind the Bima with a very special prominent guest. Very excited, very much looking forward. Bob Kraft, the owner owner of the New England Patriots. Great supporter of Israel, great baal tzedakah. Tonight 9:00 p.m. Join us then. Until next time, stay happy, stay healthy, and stay