Banishing with love

This shall be the law of the metzora... he shall be brought to the Kohen (Vayikra14:2)

Both the onset and the termination of the state of tzaraat are effected only by the proclamation of a Kohen. If suspect markings appear on a person, they are examined by an expert on the complex laws of tzaraat--usually, but not necessarily, a Kohen; but even after a diagnosis of tzaraat had been made, the state of ritual impurity does not take effect, and the metzora's banishment is not carried out, until a Kohen pronounces him "impure." This is why even after all physical signs of tzaraat have departed, the removal of the state of impurity and the metzora's re-admission into the community is achieved only by the Kohen's declaration.

The Kohen's function as a condemner and ostracizer runs contrary to his most basic nature and role. The Kohen is commanded by G‑d to "bless His people Israel with love"; our sages describe a "disciple of Aaron" as one who "loves peace, pursues peace, loves G‑d's creatures and brings them close to Torah." But this is precisely the reason that the Torah entrusts the Kohen with the task of condemning the metzora.

There is nothing more hateful to G‑d than division between His children. The metzora must be ostracized because, through his slander and tale-bearing, he is himself a source of divisiveness; nevertheless, the Torah is loath to separate him from the community. So it is not enough that the technical experts say that he is marked by tzaraat. It is only when the Kohen—whose very being shudders at the thought of banishing a member of the community—is convinced that there is no escaping a verdict of tzaraat that the metzora is separated from his people. And it is only when the one doing the banishing is suffused with loving concern for the banished person that the penalty will yield a positive result—the repentance and rehabilitation of the metzora.

(The Lubavitcher Rebbe)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mesirut Nefesh

The Gemara (Avodah Zarah 9.) teaches that the world will exist for six thousand years. The first two thousand years are called תהו (void) because there was no Torah in the world. The following two thousand years are called the years of Torah. The final two thousand years is the era of Moshiach because Moshiach will come then." The first two millennia of Torah began when Avraham Avinu was 52 years old. Why don’t the two thousand years start from the time Avraham recognized Hashem (which is at the age of 3, 40, or 48, as discussed above)? The Satmar Rebbe zt'l answered that when Avraham was 52, Nimrod threw him into the fiery furnace at Ur Kasdim because he refused to worship idols. The value of Torah is when it’s kept with mesirus nefesh. Avraham believed in Hashem earlier, but when he was 52 years old, he kept the Torah with mesirus nefesh. That’s the beginning of the two thousand years of Torah. During the Communist regime, it was difficult to find a mohel in Russia. One Russ
Read more

For God's own redemption, He must "grab hold of our hands and drag us from our places" back to our home

Rashi's commentary on Deuteronomy 30:3 includes the following: "The Divine Presence dwells with Israel in all the misery of their exile so that when they are redeemed, He ascribes redemption to Himself -- He shall return with them. Furthermore, the day of the ingathering of  the exiles is so important, yet so difficult, that it is as if He Himself must grab hold of their hands and drag them from their places." Ah yes, what a difficult time God has had dragging us to Eretz Yisrael.  We stubbornly refuse to  grant Him the redemption He so desperately wants for both us and for Him.
Read more

Igniting the spark

The Gemara (Succah 29.) says that the Jewish nation is compared to the moon. The Lubavitzer Rebbe zt'l noted that the moon is always there, only sometimes we don't see it. Similarly, the spark of a Yid is always present, only sometimes it is covered over, and we don't recognize it. But the holiness is there, his spark can be ignited, and then he will return with teshuvah sheleimah. (Torah Wellsprings, Lech Lecha 5783, Rabbi Elimelech Biderman shlita)
Read more