WHEN YOU ENTER THE LAND OF CANAAN THAT I GIVE YOU AS A POSSESSION, AND I INFLICT AN AFFLICTION OF TSARAAT UPON A HOUSE IN THE LAND YOU POSSESS, THE OWNER OF THE HOUSE SHALL COME AND TELL THE PRIEST, SAYING: "SOMETHING LIKE AN AFFLICTION HAS APPEARED UPON MY HOUSE."

 (Vayikra 14:33-34)

 

 

AFFLICTIONS ON THE HOUSE - A RESULT OF POSSESIVENESS AND USE OF FORCE

What I consider to be the most correct understanding of this is that the main cause [of afflictions of the house] is selfishness, as our Rabbis of blessed memory learned (Arachin 16) from the passage "and he shall come, he who has the house" - he who used the house only for himself, not letting others benefit from it, for because of this God gave him for possession a house full of all good things, to test him whether he will let others benefit from his house. "For the silver and the gold are mine - said the Lord" (Haggai 2:8), and when man gives to others, he is not giving of his own, but he gives from the Lord's table, therefore it says "when you enter the land of Canaan that I give you as a possession" for "for not with their sword did they inherit the land, and their arm did not save" (Psalms 44:4), but rather "the right arm of God is raised on high" to give them the inheritance of nations and there is no place for the selfish to say "my strength and the power of my hand made me all this wealth", for it is He who gives you the strength and the inheritance, and therefore, it is right that you should give from what is His to the poor of His people, and if you do not heed His word and you shall be one of those selfish persons who attribute their possessions to themselves, then: "I will inflict an affliction of tsaraat upon a house in the land you possess" meaning: upon that place which you attribute to yourselves, as though you possess it with the strength of your hands, therefore it continues to state "the owner of the house shall come" - he who set aside the house for himself, that is to say, with his strength and the power of his arm he built his house, or "you possess" - referring to one who set aside the house for himself, and lets no one else derive any benefit from it.

(Kli Yakar, Vayikra 14:34)

 

 

"THIS SHALL BE THE RITUAL FOR A LEPER AT THE TIME THAT HE IS TO BE CLEANSED - HE IS TO BE BROUGHT TO THE PRIEST"

 

THE CLEANSING OF THE LEPER AND THE CLEANSING OF THE PRIEST

Eliezer Shwartz

The series of parshiot which begins with the command to erect a Mishkan (Parashat Teruma) emphasizes not only the building of the Mishkan itself, but also the preparation of the priests - their sanctification for their duty in the Mishkan. Their primary responsibility is the offering of sacrifices, the first subject of the book of Vayikra.

 It appears that, aside from the Mishkan duties, their most important extra-Mishkan responsibility is that of diagnosing the affliction of tzaraat, and the cleansing of the metsora.

We are unable to identify tzaraat. The Biblical description indicates that it is clearly not the leprosy which we recognize today. Perhaps it was some disease which has disappeared, but the extensive detailing with which the Torah describes the tzaraat indicates a concrete - and perhaps prevalent - illness of that period. The doctor who diagnosed and treated the affliction was the priest (see "Shabbat Shalom", issue number 130). When "...the priest sees that the leper has been healed of his tzaraat" the ceremony of cleansing begins.

The cleansing of the metsora is divided into two stages: in the first stage, the priest cleanses him with "two live clean birds, cedar wood, scarlet of the worm, and hyssop"; following this day of cleansing, the (former) metsora sits outside his tent for seven days.

Ibn Ezra comments on the use of cedar wood and hyssop on the day of cleansing of the metsora:

"The cedar tree and the hyssop - the largest and the smallest among the flora... the metsora and the afflicted house and the impurity of the dead are similar, and they are like the Pesach in Egypt." (Ibn Ezra, Vayikra 14:6)

In the chapter relating to the red heifer (used in the ritual of purifying one who came into contact with the dead) it is written:

"The priest shall take cedar wood, hyssop, and scarlet of the worm, and throw them into the fire consuming the cow." (Bemidbar 19:6)

Regarding the Pesach it is written:

"Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and apply some of the blood that is in the basin to the lintel and to the two doorposts." (Shemot 12:22)

Ibn Ezra does not elaborate on the significance of this parallelism.

The second stage of the the metsora's cleansing takes place following his seven days of his dwelling outside his tent. At the end of these days, i.e., on the eighth day, an additional ceremony is carried out - this time before the entrance to the Tent of Appointment. As part of the cleansing ritual, an asham (guilt offering) lamb is slaughtered: "Then the priest is to take some of the blood of the asham and the priest is to place it on the ridge of the right ear of the one being purified, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the thumb-toe of his right foot" (14:14). This special ceremony takes place only on one other occasion, at the anointment of Aharon and his sons to priesthood in the Mishkan. The beginning of the days of miluim (appointment to the Mishkan service) was marked by the offering of sacrifices, and Moshe is commanded "You are to slay the ram, you are to take some of its blood and you are to put it on the ridge of Aharon's ear and on the ridge of the right ear of Aharon's sons, and on the thumb of their right hands and on the thumb-toe of their right feet..." (Shemot 29:20)

It seems that these two ceremonies are intentionally linked by the Torah; the miluim ceremony is repeated in the Book of Vayikra, in Parashat Tsav, where the detailed execution of the command is described: "...and he slew it. Moshe took some of the blood on the ridge of their right ear, on the thumb of their right hand, and on the thumb-toe of their right foot..." (Vayikra 8:23).

This ceremony took place of the first day of miluim, and was concluded on the eighth day with Aharon's offering his sacrifices "for on this day, the Lord will appear to you." The sons of Aharon bring close that alien fire which leads to their death.  

Comparison of the two ceremonies - appointment of the priests and cleansing of metsoraim - reveals more points of similarity:

 · The time frames: The priest preparing for his Mishkan duty and the metsora preparing for return to his home both require eight days.

 · The sacrifices required by both and the purification of the body as the change in status approaches are - as pointed out above - similar.

                                                                                               

 

The similarity between the priest's sanctification for Mishkan service and the cleansing of the metsora and his preparation for return to life in the encampment does not appear to be coincidental; I have not, however, found in the commentaries any reference it. (Any contributions by readers on this similarity will be greatly appreciated).

Execution of the laws of the metsora is dependent upon the priest. In the words of the Sefer Hachinuch: "And this cleansing [of the metsora] is in force wherever and whenever there is to be found a priest well-versed in afflictions".  

Regarding the mitzva of the shaving of the metsora on the seventh day, the author of the Sefer Hachinuch quotes the words of the Rambam "Three are commanded to shave, the nazirite, and metsora, and the Levites; the Levites require shaving like the metsora, and thus is was in the desert... and it is in force wherever and whenever there are great sages competent to rule in matters of tsaraat." (Sefer Hachinuch 173, 174). 

Thus we see that is no metsora and there is no tsaraat unless there is a qualified Cohen to deal with the matter. It may also be said that a Cohen is not qualified for his position if he is not cognizant of - and concerned with - the tsaraat affliction. Tsaraat in the Bible is an example, not only of physical afflictions; it is an ailment which is punishment for sin. Chazal read metzora as an acronym for "motsie shem ra" - one who gives a bad name, who defames; tsaraat is the punishment inflicted for defamation. 

Chazal noted a number of examples in the Torah: the punishment of Miriam and the punishment of Moshe; Miriam, who spoke "about the Kushite woman," and Moshe, who said about the Children of Israel "They will not believe me, nor will they listen to my voice" are punished with tsaraat for 'bad mouthing'. In these two examples there is more that defamation - there is also scorn of others and pride; Miram and Aharon said: "Is it only, solely through Moshe that God speaks? Is it not also through us that He speaks?" We see pride and the desire for authority.

Another example of a tsaraat punishment is to be found in the Book of Kings. Naaman, courageous commander of the Aramean army was afflicted with tsaraat, and came to Elisha to be cured. Elisha cleanses him in the waters of the Jordan; he refuses to accept monetary remuneration or any other benefit from Naaman. Gehazi, Elisha's servant, however, runs after Naaman, and with wile manages to receive from him money and clothing. When Elisha hears of this, he tells Gehazi: "Naaman's tsaraat will stick to you and to your seed forever, and he left him, metsora as snow' (II Kings 5:27). In this case, tsaraat is a reaction to economic corruption, exploitation of the man's status in order to obtain favors.

It can be said, then, that tsaraat is the priest's red light, a reminder of sin of which he must be constantly aware. Therefore the metsora concludes his cleansing before the Tent of Appointment, as is written, "Then the cleansing priest shall stand the person to be cleansed... before the Lord at the entrance to the Tent of Appointment" (14:11)

Perhaps this may provide another clue to the nature of that 'alien fire' which led to the death of Nadav and Avihu.

Pride, scorn of the other, and corruption are stumbling blocks on which public leaders are prone to stumble. The Torah wanted to tell us that the kohanim, even as they enter the Mishkan, must be careful. This message holds true for all persons with authority; they must always see before them the tsaraat "lest he and his seed be forever infected by it", and, in the words of the Netziv in his commentary "Haamek Davar (Vayikra 4:22) "When a leader sins' - it is known that the explanation is that his leadership position makes him liable to sin... for the meaning of 'When a leader sins' - it is his high position in particular which causes him to sin."

Dr. Eliezer Schwartz is a physician.

 

 

 

ALEF-TAF AND BET-SHIN

Thoughts About Independence 5762

 

The Hebrew calendar contains devices which enables us to use the days of Pesach to predict the day of the week upon which each of the year's festivals will fall. The code is Aleph-Taf, i.e., the first and lest letters of the Hebrew alphabet - Alef and Taf - are paired; so the second and the penultimate letter, Bet and Shin, etc. The first day (Aleph) of Pesach will be the day on which Tisha (begins with the letter Taf) B'Av will fall; Shavuot (begins with letter Shin) falls on the second day of Pesach, and so on.

Prior to the establishment of the State, the seventh day of Pesach remained "an orphan". Since Yom Haatzmauth - Israel Independence Day - was declared on the fifth day of Iyar, the chain of pairs has been complete, i.e., Yom Haatzmauth - Independence Day, always fall on the seventh day of Pesach (the letter 'Ayin', beginning letter of Azmauth, is the seventh before the last letter of the alphabet). Furthermore, on Yom Haatzmauth it is customary to recite for Haftara "This same day at Nob He shall stand", which is read on the eighth day of Pesach outside of Israel.  

Can we discern a connection between the Festival of Pesach and Yom Haatzmauth, beyond the Aleph-Taf Bet-Shin code and the common Haftara? 

This question lies at the foundation of our relation - as religious Zionists - to the State of Israel. We know the long-running controversy within religious Zionism regarding the recitation of Hallel on Yom Haatzmauth or Atzmauth night; beyond Halakhic aspects, the different customs express the religious significance ascribed to this day.

 The position of the extreme ultra-Orthodox, represented in Israel by the Eida Hareidit and throughout the world by the Satmar hassidim, regards the State of Israel as a negative phenomenon, mother of all sin. A less extreme ultra-Orthodox position sees no religious value whatever in the State or in its establishment.

 In the religious Zionist community, we have the term "the beginning of the flowering of our redemption." This phrase is understood by large sectors of religious Zionists as "the beginning of the Geula"; in these circles there is a feeling that everything which has befallen us since the establishment of the State is part of the Geula plan, and therefore Yom Haatzmauth and Yom Yerushalayim are, in every sense of the word, "religious" holidays, on which special prayers are said.

 Those who believe that we are currently in a process of geula must, in order not damage their faith, explain every phenomenon which ostensibly does not bring us closer to geula as a test, as part of the "pangs of Messiah" - similar to the theologically interesting theories of the Satmar Rebbi about the success of Satan in the Six Day War.

There is possible, however, a spiritual approach of religious Zionism which entertains no pretensions to interpretation of historical events in theological terms; whoever is not "behind the [Heavenly] curtain" cannot know with certainty what is the place of the State of Israel in the process of the redemption of the Jewish nation and of the entire world. People chose the religious and moral significance which they attach to historical events; the events themselves, as Y. Leibowitz pointed out, are "indifferent" in terms of values.

 A connection between the final days of Peach to Yom Haatzmauth may take two forms:

 · The seventh day of Pesach is the day of "The Crossing of the Reed Sea", therefore it is customary to read the Song of the Sea; we recite the incomplete Hallel because (among other reasons) "the works of My hands are drowning in the sea, and you sing praises?" Perhaps this teaches that even though our independence was bound up with necessary suffering of another people, we cannot be oblivious to that suffering - just as we are sensitive to the plight of the Egyptians who drowned in the sea.

 · It may be that in a certain respect, Yom Haatzmauth is the eighth day of Pesach. There is reference to the future geula via the Haftara in Isaiah (Chaps. 10-11). The vision of geula in these chapters speaks of "a shoot shall grow out of the stump of Jesse" who will head a kingdom of justice with wisdom and counsel, in a world of peace, a world in which the land shall be filled with devotion to the Lord.

These two motifs of Yom Haatsmauth, bound up strongly to the redemption from Egypt, can provide contemporary Israeli society with relevant religious meaning to Yom Haatzmauth, with no need for activist messianic interpretation, and, in the remarks of my teacher, Prof. Dov Rappel, of Kibbutz Yavneh, on "the beginning of the flowering of our redemption" (in his book "Pitchei Shearim", p. 213):

"...With independence we moved into our own domain, we gained freedom of choice. We are not dependent upon the decisions of others, and the process of geula can process until its culmination, if so we desire.

Geula is not one of the 613 mitzvoth; the Halakhic significance of geula is political independence - the possibility of observance of those mitzvoth which require sovereignty and territory in Eretz Yisrael. "The beginning of geula" is the possibility of observing the mitzvoth by virtue of the sovereignty granted us. The geula itself is the actual observance of the mitzvoth."

May we merit to observe and maintain our independence in a just society, in peace and tranquillity.

Pinchas Leiser - Editor

 

 

 

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