IF

HEAD.

(Vayikra

13:40-44)

"If A Man Loses The Hair He Is A Man With Tzaraat, He Is

Tamei"

The principle of 'measure

for measure' is in operation. Afflictions of the house come because of

stinginess and tsarut ayin (Jastrow defines tsarut ayin as

narrow-mindedness, selfishness, envy.),

etc. If the affliction is upon the head, it most certainly must house faulty

intelligence and alien information. Therefore the tzaraat affects his

bald spot, the place when thought and intelligence reside. If his sin has to do

with the qualities and powers of the soul or with actions, – as they said

(Arachin 16a), 'There are seven reasons why afflictions appear' – then the sin

is not distinctive from the aspect of the powers of intelligence, which make

man unique. Such is not the case if one sins with his powers of intelligence;

then the affliction is upon his head. He sins with that faculty which is unique

to man alone, which is not found in any other living creature, therefore

Scripture twice emphasizes "a man".

 (Meshech Chochma, Vayikra 13:40-44)

THE AFFLICTION AND THE ILLNESS

Rafael Posner

Jewish

liturgy differentiates between 'nega' (plague) and machalah (illness): "May The Holy

One, Blessed Be He, protect him and save him from all trouble

distress, from all

affliction and illness" (Shacharit for Shabbat). This prayer reflects passages from the

Bible, which refer to the two concepts: "Or if an enemy oppresses them

in any of the settlements of the land. In any plague and in any disease" (I Kings 8:37). Plague and disease are part of those

miseries which afflict man's body and soul. We shall attempt to investigate why

the Bible had to differentiate between the two.

Disease

is familiar from the Torah: "He said, 'If you will heed the Lord your God

will not impose upon you, for I the Lord am your healer.'" (Shemot 15:26). (To what was the Torah referring when it

mentioned 'diseases'? The Talmud (Bava Metsia 107b) distinguishes between choli – sickness,

which also appears in the Torah ("also every sickness and every blow

that is not written in the document of Instruction" – Devarim 28:61) – and machalah – (also translated as

'sickness'). Rabbi Chanina claims that the word "choli" refers to cold – to a chill which causes body disturbances.

Rabbi Yossi bar Chanina understands choli as "nasal excretion"

or as "excretion from the ear". An excess of such secretions

indicates body disorder. Further on, the Talmud explains that "illness is

bile", in other words, harm caused by problems in the digestive system. If

we assume that Greek medicine influenced Chazal's understanding of physiology,

the gall distinguishes between the four fluids of the body (blood, white bile,

phlegm, and black bile). When their balance changes, illnesses attack the body

(Rashi explains the phlegm theory in Tractate Sotah 5a). The Talmud also plays

with the word machalah, "it sickens the whole human frame".

The Talmud points out that the gematriya of 'machalah' is 83, "corresponding to the 83 illnesses which depend

on the gall"; in other words, the word 'machalah' is a general term for many illnesses. In Tractate Sanhedrin

(101a) the

Sages expound upon the passage "all

I the Lord am your healer"

– "If you

hearken, yes, hearken to the voice of the Lord your God" – If you hearken, I will not impose [sickness], but if you do

not hearken, I will impose [sickness]." Here, sickness appears as a

punishment for our behavior, but the Talmud also attributes illness to natural

causes. "A piece of bread in the morning and a kiton of water

counteract illness" (Bava Kama 92b), i.e., proper eating habits can prevent

or cure sickness. (Rabbi Yoseph Hayyim of Baghdad, author of "Ben

Yehoyada", notes the linguistic connection between machalah, lechem, and

melach – illness, bread, and salt – which underlines eating habits). The

Talmud adds illness that attacks man not only to punish, but also to awaken

him. The word machalah is also very akin to mechilah –

forgiveness. Illness can be a stimulus to self-examination and to service of

the Creator. "Said Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba, A sick person does not recuperate

before all his sins are forgiven" (Nedarim 41a). Sickness strikes in varied ways

(weather, wounds, evil eye, etc.); this is not the proper place for

elaboration. But these ways – unlike the nega (affliction) – are

part of the natural order.

The

Torah describes three kinds of negaim which focus on one's skin, his

clothing, and his home. In Parashat Tazria it is written: ""Any human being – when there is on the

body an affliction of tzaraat…" (Vayikra

13:2). The Torah ties the nega

to tzaraat. The tzaraat causes impurity (tum'ah), and there are those who consider tzaraat to be

contagious. It is the tum'ah of the tzaraat, which is

infectious; the nega itself is not contagious. In our parasha, one

who suffers from tzaraat is termed a "metsora" – "This is to be the Instruction for the

metsora" (Vayikra 14:2). By using this term, the Torah emphasizes

the responsibility of the carrier of the nega; the metsora is one

who brings the nega upon himself because of his misbehavior. The Talmud

details the causes of tzaraat: Rabbi Yochanan said, Negaim are

visited upon man for seven reasons, for slander, for bloodshed, for swearing

falsely, for illicit sexual relations, for arrogance, for robbery, and for

meanness" (Arachin 16a). A midrash (Bemidbar Rabba, Parasha 7:5) lists eleven causes of tzaraat, all

in the realm of 'between man and his fellow man.' Maharal emphasizes that the

connection between all these sins is that they "touch upon something which

deviates from the proper order" (Chidushei Agadot,

Part 4, p. 140, Tractate Arachin).

The

Talmud stresses that the most serious sin that results in tzaraat is lashon

ha-ra – slander, tale-bearing. "Whoever speaks lashon ha-ra

sins against heaven and earth"; the sin is between man and his fellow,

between man and the Omniscient. Why is this wrongdoing considered so serious?

Because it is so difficult to avoid it, it is so prevalent. If Moshe, Aharon,

and Miriam were guilty of this sin, it must be very difficult not to fall into

the trap.

The

Tanchuma (10:10) grades the negaim. The nega begins with one's

home. If he repents, well and good; if not, it affects his garment. If he still

does not repent, the nega reaches his flesh. If the negaim do not

come naturally, they are sent from Heaven, as per the passage in Shemot (12:1-10),

"Miram and

has tzaraat like snow". The nega is actually a special

sign that the Creator sends man as a warning. It is said of our father, Yaakov,

struggling with the angel "He touched [Hebrew – "va-yiga" – from the same root as "nega"] the socket of his thigh" (Bereishit 35:25). Rabeinu Bahayey asks why God

"touched" Yaakov's thigh". His explanation is the

touch/affliction resulted from "the sins of marrying two sisters during

their lifetimes." Because Yaakov had married two sister, Leah and Rachel,

he was punished, afflicted in the sinew that is on the socket of the thigh.

This sinew symbolizes forgetfulness, as is explained in the Talmud, "Why

is it called 'gid ha-nasheh (the sinew which leaves)"? – Because it moves from its place" (Hullin

91a). In the case of Leah

and Rachel, Yaakov forgot his 'place' – "the Place" – "HaMakkom"

being one of God's appellations.

The

Holy One, Blessed Be He, afflicts man. Not all negaim impose impurity,

as we read: "Between judgment and judgment, between stroke (nega)

and stroke" (Devarim17:8).

The Talmud explains:

"Between an impure nega and a clean nega" (Niddah 19a). Some negaim are unclean, and the

priest must declare the afflicted to be impure – "When the priest looks

at it he is to declare him 'tamei' (Vayikra 13:3), and some are clean.

When

an illness befalls man, if it comes to warn him or to punish him and cause him

to repent, the nega is a divine touch, The Holy One, Blessed Be He,

coming closer to man. Unlike the machalah, which can be

life-threatening, the nega does not kill. At worst, the nega makes

the person impure, distances him from the Mishkan and the camp of Israel so

that – in solitude – he be able to find his Creator within himself.

"For

where should an afflicted person flee?

If not to his soul"

(Miron Isaacson, Bitul Haguf HaNashi, p.

77)

Dr. Rafael Rosner is a Semio-analyst, head of the

Semio-Analysis Institute in Tel Aviv

Afflictions Of homes In

The Land

"I place an

affliction of tzaraat on a house in the land of your holding" – What is the sin

of the land, that it should be punished? Rather, because of man's sins is the

land punished, as is written (Psalms 107) "Fruitful

land into a salt marsh because of the wickedness of its inhabitants" – Why from the

wickedness? So that people see and learn. Similarly,

(Isaiah 26)

"… for when Your judgments are wrought on earth, the inhabitants of the

world learn righteousness."

Why do

affliction come to the world? For the sake of the people, so that they see and

say: He who sins is afflicted, and he who does not sin is not afflicted. Why

are trees and stones afflicted – so that their owners see and repent.

                                                                                            (Tanchuma,

Metzora, 4)

The Purification of the

Metzora

The priest is to command that they take

of the worm and hyssop (Vayikra 14:4). "Wood

of cedar": Because

hyssop": What is the cure?

He must lower himself from his haughtiness as [to the level

of] the worm and the hyssop.

 (Rashi, Vayikra 14:4)

The character of the most

unsociable being as represented by the tzippor dror – [literally, a free

bird. Commonly translated as 'sparrow'], which refuses to accept authority, is

presented here in contrast to what is demanded for re-entrance into the social

life of the community. This is the contrast of the animals of the "field" to the humans of the "city".

The demand which is made as the condition for the re-entry into the social life

of the community "And he shall slaughter the bird", is energetic subjection of the

wild untrammeled animal life under the sharp control of the morally strong

human will.                  

(From

Rabbi S. R. Hirsch's commenatory on the Book of Vayikra, quoted by Prof.

Nechama Leibowitz z'l in "New Studies in the Book of Vayikra", p.

162)

Shabbat

"HaGadol" – the Task of the Prophet Eliyahu in the Future

"Lo, I will send the prophet Eliyahu to

I come, I do not strike the whole land with utter destruction.

 (Malachi Chap.3)

Said

The Holy One, Blessed Be He, in this world I sent a messenger before them and

he would destroy the nations of the world, but in the world to come, I will

send you the prophet Eliyahu – may he be well remembered – as is written "I

day of the Lord."

 (Yalkut Shimoni, Mishpatim 247-359)

Said

Rabbi Yehoshua: Through Raban Yochanan ben Zakkai, who heard from his teacher

and his teacher from his teacher, I received a ruling given to Moshe at Sinai,

to the effect that Eliyahu will not come to make impure and to cleanse, to

distance and to bring close, but rather to distance those [disqualified

families who gained acceptance by force, and to bring close [those families]

which were unjustly disqualified by force. In Transjordan the [legitimate}

family of Beit Tsarifah was forcefully disqualified by Ben Zion; another family

cases which Eliyahu will come to make pure and to cleanse, to distance and to

bring close.

Rabbi

Shim'on said: To bring close, but not to distance.

The

Sages said: Neither to distance nor to bring close, but to make peace in the world, as is

written: "I will send the prophet Eliyahu… . He shall reconcile

parents with children and children with their parents."

 (Mishna Eduyot 8:7)

Editorial

Board: Pinchas Leiser

(Editor), Miriam Fine (Coordinator), Itzhak Frankenthal and Dr. Menachem Klein

Translation: Kadish Goldberg

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