In learning about the laws of tzara’as, we find posukim which are a pelah, a wonderment.
Torah relates in our Parsha; “If the tzara’as will erupt on the skin, and … will cover the entire skin of the afflicted from his head to his feet, wherever the eyes of the Kohen can see — the Kohen shall look, and behold! — the affliction has covered his entire flesh, then
he shall declare the affliction to be pure; having turned completely white, it is pure. On the day healthy skin appears …, it (the affliction) shall be contaminated.” (Sefer Vayikra, Perek 13, posukim 12 – 14)
This citing and others in our Parshiyot teach us that it is the Kohen who makes the call, who gives the diagnosis; ta’amei or tohar. But why the Kohen? Why not a great Talmud Chacham? Why does it have to be a Kohen?
The answer would seem to lie in the contrast between what loshen hora is and what the Kohen represents to the B’nai Yisrael as exemplified by Birkat Kohanim.
In Yehuda Nachshoni’s “Studies in the Weekly Parsha” (pages 726-727), one of his citings; R’ Simchah Bunim of P’shischa states that “loshen hora … utilizes man’s animalistic instinct only for evil purposes, simply to destroy and tear apart, just as a wild animal.”
He then cites the S’fas Emes in our Parsha Metzora;
“In everything, there is a mixture of evil and good. And so with man. In general, good overcomes the evil, for there is more good. But one must be careful not to exclude evil from the community… ‘Guard your tongue from from evil and your lips from speaking deceit … seek peace and pursue it,’ which means that (the evil) is to be engulfed by the common good, as indicated in the act of taharah of metzora ,,,’ The emphasis is to return to the source and to cleave to the root, and when one is within the common good he can be rectified.”
This is contrasted with the words of the third and final section of Birkat Kohanim (Artscroll Mesorah Series Bircas Kohanim, pages 80-81); “V’Yaseim L’cha Shalom” — “and may He grant you peace.”
Artscroll cites a S’forno which “interprets this as the blessing of the World to Come.” The S’forno continues that “One may have prosperity, health, food and drink — but if there is no peace it is all worthless. Therefore the blessings are sealed with the gift of peace.”
Finally, Rabbi Zelig Pliskin in “Growth Through Torah” (page 253) cites the Rabbi of Alexander who cites as the reason why the Metzora is sent to Aharon, the Kohen; “One of the traits of Aharon was that he did everything he could to make peace between people.” The Sefer relates how Aharon “exaggerated and told untruths in order to bring about peaceful relationships between people.” When people quarreled, he would tell each side how highly thought of they were to the other. “When someone was told that the other person was speaking positively about him, he automatically felt positive about the other person and this greatly improved their relationship.”
May it be in this year and beyond, that our brethren; the refugee families from Gush Katif and the Shomron (may they soon be restored to new homes and neighborhoods, Bati Knesset, Yeshivot in Gush Katif and the Shomron and only happiness and success for all time), as well as our dear brother, Jonathan Pollard (may he soon know freedom and long life in Eretz Yisrael) be central in our thoughts, prayers, chassadim and actions. May this abominable period of history called hitnatkut be as a bad dream.
May we be zocha in this coming year to take giant steps toward fulfilling Hashem’s blueprint of B’nai Yisrael as a Unique people — an Am Segula, not to be reckoned with as with “the nations” and may we be zocha the Moshiach, the Ge’ula Shlaima, “Yom Hashem V’Kol HaGoyim”, the Ultimate Redemption, bim hay v’yameinu — speedily, in our time”, — Achshav, Chik Chuk, Miyad, Etmol!!!
Good Shabbos!
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Moshe Burt, an Oleh, is a commentator on news and events in Israel and Founder and Director of the Sefer Torah Recycling Network. He lives in Ramat Beit Shemesh.