AS FOR THE

PERSON WITH A TZARAAT (Although

traditionally translated as 'leprosy', tzaraat is now understood as a

kind of skin disease, not as serious as true leprosy. In the Bible, it was,

however, often taken as a sign from God of wrongdoing on the part of the

victim. – (Everett Fox The Five Books Of Moses)) AFFECTION, HIS CLOTHES

SHALL BE RENT, HIS HEAD SHALL BE LEFT BARE, AND HE SHALL COVER OVER HIS UPPER

LIP; AND HE SHALL CALL OUT, "UNCLEAN! UNCLEAN!" HE SHALL BE UNCLEAN

AS LONG AS THE DISEASE IS ON HIM. BEING UNCLEAN, HE SHALL DWELL APART; HIS

DWELLING SHALL BE OUTSIDE THE CAMP.

(Vayikra, Chap. 13)

Why did the Torah decree that the metsora receive the punishment

"he shall dwell apart; his dwelling shall be

outside the camp?"

[With his slander and

tale-bearing] he divided between man and wife, between man and his fellow,

therefore the Torah said: "He shall dwell apart."

 (Bavli, Arachin 16b)

Rabbi Zecharia, son-in-law of Rabbi Levi, said: The Merciful One does

not afflict humans first.

From where do we learn this? From Job. "The oxen were plowing…

Sabeans attacked them… God's

fire fell from heaven… Only later, "He took a

potsherd to scratch himself."

And so it was with Machlon and Kilion; first their horses and camels

died, and then he died – "Elimelech, Naomi's husband died", and then they died, as is

written, "Then those two also died" and only afterwards

did she die.

And so with afflictions which come upon men; in the beginning it begins

with one's home. If he repents, the afflicted stones shall be removed. If he

does not repent, the house must be torn down. Afterwards it begins to afflict

his clothing. If he repents, the garment must be torn. Should he not repent,

the garment must be burned. After it begins to afflict the person's body. If he

repents, fine; if not – "he shall dwell apart, outside the camp of

his settlement." And so it was with Egypt; first the measure of

justice struck at Egyptian property. Only later "And He struck every

firstborn in Egypt."

 (Yalkut

Shimoni, Parashat Bo, 247-186)

WHY WAS GEHAZI AFFLICTED

WITH TZARAAT?

Gila

Wachman

Most of Parashat "Tazria"

deals with the affliction of tsaraat in all its variations, methods

of diagnosis and of treatment. It is logical, then, that the Haphtarah chosen

for this parasha be the story of the tsaraat of Naaman, Chief of the

Army of Aram, and his healing by the prophet Elisha (II Kings, Chap. 5).

The second part of the story, which is read

in the synagogue, describes how Gehazi, Elisha's servant, deviously extracts a

fee from Naaman. For this he is punished in a severe and symbolic manner;

Naaman's tzaraat afflicts him and his descendants for all time.

Who Is Gehazi?

Gehazi is first mentioned in the story of the

resurrection of the son of the Shunamite woman (II of Parashat Kings, Chap. 4;

haphtarah Vayera). He mounts the stage

of history without any introduction – we know not who he is, where he is from,

how he became Elisha's companion. Elisha gives him his staff and ordains him to

be his replacement. Gehazi fails in his mission; he does not bring the child

back to life. This story presents Gehazi as a stolid and coarse character, a

kind of negative and ludicrous version of the "lad" or of the

"assistant" which often appears alongside Biblical paradigms, such as

Eliezer, servant of Avraham, or Yehoshua, servant of Moshe. He has a tendency

to tattle, and intervenes in the intimate life of the Shunamite. He is not

portrayed as a sinner, but as a worthless fellow with odious attributes.

In the Naaman story, Gehazi acts as an

independent character, plotting and avaricious. He side-steps Elisha's

authority, and attempts to cunningly pocket a healer's fee from Naaman: "My

changes of clothing" (verse 22).

Later he tries to avoid exposure, and lies to his master: "Your

servant went neither here nor there" (verse 25). But Elisha

exposes his offense, and punishes him with hereditary tzaraat.

Chazal, as usual, are not content with the

Biblical account; they develop and explain the perverse character of Gehazi. It

appears that the tzaraat with which he was afflicted led Chazal to

attribute to him additional sins, even such that are not Biblically associated

with him.

One of the interesting and expansive sources

dealing with this character is found in the Talmud Bavli (Sota 47a). The subject under discussion is that

of the leader's responsibility to his community, and, en passant, the

following Barayta is quoted:

"Our Rabbis taught: Always, the left [hand]

should repel, but the right [hand] should pull close – unlike Elisha who pushed

away Gehazi with both his hands, and unlike Yehoshua ben Perachyah who pushed

away Jesus with both hands." (The latter clause was censored out of

printed editions of the Talmud).

This Barayta speaks in praise of tolerance and

deprecates rigid attitude (characterized by Elisha and Yehoshua ben Perachya)

towards rebellious students. (The connection between a sage from the period of

the "Couples" and Jesus is, of course, an anachronism). The parallel

between Gehazi and Jesus brings Elisha's servant close to the status of a

student who denies his rabbi's teaching, and incites others to take the path of

wickedness. As we shall later see, these sins are attributed to him directly.

Following this Barayta, the Talmud asks:

"When did Elisha reject Gehazi? As it is

written, 'And Naaman said, please take talents, and he pleaded with him, and

he took' and it is

written 'Then he [Elisha] said to him, 'Did not my heart go along when a man got down from his chariot to

and vineyards, sheep and oxen, and male and female slaves?' But

did he indeed take all these things? He took silver and clothing! Said Rabbi

Yitzchak: At the time, Elisha was studying the subject of 'the eight creeping

creatures' [whose cadavers cause ritual impurity]. He said to him, wicked one,

has the time come to take the reward for eight sheratzim? 'Surely,

as he left his presence, he was snow-white with tzaraat."

This elaboration of the Biblical narrative

describes Gehazi as being a rebellious student. The prophet Elisha is his

rabbi, who sits and studies Torah – or more explicitly – the chapter of

"Eight Sheratzim" of Tractate Shabbat. No doubt this

chapter is mentioned here because of the number eight, as per the number of

items enumerated in the text (clothing, olive trees, vineyards, etc.). Elisha's

accusatory reaction seems to combine two sins: one is the sin referred to in

the plain reading, i.e., avarice. The second is the sin of distancing himself,

of not sitting and learning with his teacher, and is therefore undeserving of

"the reward for [those who study] "Eight Sheratzim."

Further on in the discussion, the Talmud

describes a later encounter of the prophet with his disciple, a meeting not

recorded in the Bible:

"And Elisha went to Damascus" (II Kings, 8:7). Why did he go?

Rabbi Yochanan said he went to help him repent – but he did not repent. He said

to him: Return. He replied: This I learned from you – anyone who sins and

causes others to sin is denied repentance."

According to this Talmudic embellishment,

Gehazi left his rabbi after becoming a metzora, and moved to Damascus.

In the short and penetrating dialogue before us (which might remind the reader

of the famous exchange between Rabbi Meir and his apostate mentor, Elisha ben Abuya),

the prophet does attempt to "pull close [his ex-servant] with his right

hand" But he discovers that the damage is irreversible.

Following Gehazi's confession of having

sinned and led others to sin, the Talmud tries to clarify the nature of his

sin:

"What did he do? Some say that he hung a

magnet for the "Sin of Yarovam" [the golden calf Yarovam had set up

as an object of worship] and suspended [the calf] between Heaven and Earth

engraved a [divine] name in [the calf's] mouth, and [as a result] it would

declare: "I am the Lord your God" and "You shall not

recognize the gods of others in my presence." Others say that

he drove the Rabbis away from [Elisha's] presence, as is written: "The

before you is too cramped for us." This implies that until now,

when Gehazi was Elisha's attendant, it was not cramped there."

The Talmud suggests three possible sins; two

are related to the golden calves which Yoravam fashioned (this connects to the

phrase "sinned and caused others to sin" which originally

describes Yoravam), and the third – that of driving away the disciples of the

prophet from their teacher, Elisha. The first two sins which, in the Bible, are

not mentioned in relation to Gehazi, portray Gehazi as a kind of "Yarovam

II", who divides the nation and establishes a ritual of idolatry; he

possesses magical abilities which he exploits for evil purposes. The third sin

is essentially different, and it is derived through expounding adjacency of

events. The Naaman story is followed immediately by the story of the floating

ax (II Kings 6), which opens with the

disciples of the prophets complaining that the place is too cramped. This

proximity of passages lead Chazal to conclude that only now, after Gehazi had

departed, does it become obvious that there was great demand to study in

Elisha's bet midrash, and that the place was too small to accommodate

all the students; from this we derive that until now, Gehazi had prevented them

from entering (see an interesting parallel in the Yerushalmi, Sandhedrin10:2)

Chazal attributed many other and varied sins

to Gehazi, including stinginess, pride, licentiousness, denial of resurrection,

swearing falsely, desecration of the Name, slander, driving away scholars, and

disrespect for his teacher. These sins derive, no doubt, from Gehazi's

affliction of tsaraat, and from the way Chazal interpret the affliction

of tsaraat. The sin most widely associated with this punishment is lashon

hara – slander; the name of the illness is customarily seen as an

acronym: metzora – motsi shem ra'. The midrashim relating to Gehazi hint at yet another

acronym: tsaraat – tsarut ayin (meanness).

It appears that most of these midrashic

sources have their basis in the tradition which is first expressed in the

Mishna Sanhedrin, Chapter 10, in which Gehazi is counted among one of the four

persons who have no portion in the world to come (along with Bil'am, Doeg, and

Achitophel). In the footsteps of this Mishneh, the midrashim embellish Gehazi's

image, holding him guilty on serious charges related to belief and the

principles of Judaism (denial of resurrection, desecration of the Name,

swearing falsely, idolatry). Chazal exploit Gehazi's image in order to describe

someone of their own time and place; a student who abandoned his study for

"evil culture." The responsibility for Gehazi's sins, however, (and

his subsequent tsaraat) is laid – by the Barayta – also at the feet of

his teacher, who was not wise enough to bring him closer to the straight path.

Gila Wachman teaches literature and Oral

Law at the Masorati High School in Yerushalayim.

The Saving of Life Takes Precedence of

Shabbat and All Mitzvoth of the Torah

Rabbi Yishmael and Rabbi Akiva

and Rabbi El'azar ben Azaria were walking along the way; Levi the Sadar (Rashi

admits ignorance of the term sadar. Suggestions made by Jastrow include

"arranger" or "editor", and "net-maker".)

Rabbi Yishmael son of Rabbi El'azar ben Azaria

were following them.

The following question was

raised: What is the source for the rule that the saving of life takes

precedence over Shabbat?

Rabbi Yishmael answered: (Shemot 22) "If the thief shall be found

tunneling (under the wall)" One cannot be certain whether this

intruder is coming to steal or coming to kill, and bloodshed defiles the land

and causes the Shechina to depart from Israel – yet one is permitted to

save his life by killing the intruder. Logic certainly dictates that for the

saving of life one may violate the Shabbat!

Rabbi Akiva answered: (Shemot 21) "When a man schemes against another

death" – "from My altar", not "from above

My altar".

Rabba bar Channa said

in the name of Rabbi Yochanan: They taught this last ruling with regard to

killing the slayer; but in order to keep one alive, even "from above My

altar". And this one [the intruder], about whom we are in doubt as to his

intentions – and Temple service takes precedence over Shabbat – then certainly

saving of life takes precedence over Shabbat.

Replied Rabbi El'azar: If

circumcision, which affects one of 248 members of the human body, takes

precedence over Shabbat, then certainly something which affects the entire body

takes precedence over Shabbat. Rabbi Yossi, son of Rabbi Yehuda, says: (Shemot 31) "Nevertheless you must keep my

Shabbatot" – One might think this means that Shabbat takes

precedence over everything – the word "Ach" ('nevertheless')

comes to indicate exception.

Rabbi Yonathan ben Yosef says: (Shemot 31) "For it is sacred for you"

– it is in your hands; you are not in its hands.

Rabbi Shim'on ben Menasya said:

(Shemot 31) "And the Children of Israel shall keep the Shabbat"

– Violate for it [for the sake of saving of life] one Shabbat so that you

will be able to observe many Shabbatot.

Said Rabbi Yehuda in the name of

Shmuel: Had I been present [at that discussion] I would have said: My

explanation is superior to yours, (Vayikra 18) "And you shall live through them" – not that you shall die through them."

                                                                                                                                                 (Bavli, Yoma 85a-b)

"And the priest shall examine the affection"

A person may see all affections, but not his own

affection, nor the affections of his relatives.

 (Mishna Negaim, 2:5)

On the contrary, let our hearts see the fine qualities of our friends,

not their deficiencies.

(From the supplication of

Rebbi Elimelech of Lizhensk, author of "Noam Elimelech", recited

before prayer.)

"Something like a plague have I seen upon my house."

Even if he is a scholar, and knows for certain that it is a plague, he may

not make a definite determination, saying: "I have seen a plague",

but rather "Something like a plague have I seen."

 (From

Rashi's commentary, following the Mishna Negaim")

Cedar and Hyssop – Arrogance and Humility

Since affliction comes because

of arrogance, what is the cure? Let him lower himself from his haughtiness,

like a worm and hyssop."

 (Rashi)

The Rebbi from Gur, author of the

"Sefat Emet" used to say: Why was it necessary also to bring the

cedar tree, which signifies pride? If the main intention is that the sinner

lower himself like the hyssop, is it not sufficient that he bring the hyssop

alone?

But, when the penitent repents

and examines his sins, he reaches dejection and deep shame because of his

previous pride. He is mortified and embarrassed by the haughtiness attendant

upon his sin. It follows that his earlier pride now helps him attain humility.

Therefore it is right that the cedar be part of the cure.

(S'fat Emet, as quoted in

"Maayana Shel Torah")

Lowliness and submission do not

mean that the body be bent and stooped, but that there be inside him a broken

spirit even when the body stands erect, as the Baal Shem Tov explained: "Let

every erect body bow down before you" – bowing down before you,

even with an erect posture."

When one lowers himself like a

hyssop – but the humility is counterfeit, this kind of humble person is in need

of atonement.

 (Chidushei HaReem)

Editorial Board: Pinchas

Klein

Translation: Kadish Goldberg

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