FROM THIS WEEK’S TORAH PORTION – M’TZORA:

(Adapted from an article by the Temple Institute)

The Torah readings of Thazria-Metzora are, perhaps, the most obscure and difficult parashoth in the entire Torah. They are often read together, which may be a kindness for all of us struggling to gain some insight into what is being discussed. The subject matter, by and large, is an ailment called tzara’at. It can afflict our skin, our garments and the stones of our houses. Each variant of this illness requires a different treatment. But what is consistent is that it is a kohein, a Temple priest, who is charged with both diagnosing the disease in the victim’s flesh, garments, or house, prescribing and overseeing the proper treatment.

We do know three things about tzara’at: it is not one of the infamous diseases endemic to Egypt, for Elohim has already assured Israel, instructing them, “If you hearken to the voice of YHWH, your Elohim, and you do what is proper in His eyes, and you listen closely to His commandments and observe all His statutes, all the sicknesses that I have visited upon Egypt I will not visit upon you, for I, YHWH, heal you.” It is not a type of leprosy, although this is the usual English translation of tzara’at. Finally, it is a psychosomatic, or, more specifically, a “spiritu-somatic” illness, as attested to by the fact that a kohein tends to the afflicted and the cure that he prescribes involves both an immersion into a mikvah and the performance of very specific offerings.

If this was, indeed, the case, then what was the spiritual cause of the tzara’at, and why did it only begin to afflict the Israelites now? The ancient sages have long pondered this first question. Based on certain verses in Torah, they have concluded, or at least, speculated, that tzara’at of the flesh was brought on by a bout of lashon hara. Lashon hara, literally, “evil tongue,” is none other than gossip, slander or libel, or just plain talking about others. The two scenarios which strongly suggest this are YHWH’s swiftly striking Miriam with tzara’at just after she and Aharon spoke ill of their brother Moshe, “With him I speak mouth to mouth; in a vision and not in riddles, and he beholds the image of YHWH. So why were you not afraid to speak against My servant Moshe? The wrath of YHWH flared against them and He left. The cloud departed from above the Tent, and behold, Miriam was afflicted with tzara’at, as white as snow. Then Aharon turned to Miriam and behold, she was afflicted with tzara’at.” The other proof text involves Moshe, himself, when he seemingly cast doubt as to YHWH’s ability to redeem Israel from Egypt. YHWH, in the form of a sign for Israel, afflicted Moshe with tzara’at: “And YHWH said further to him, “Now put your hand into your bosom,” and he put his hand into his bosom, and he took it out, and behold, his hand was leprous like snow.”

If this is the case, then what is the correlation between lashon hara and tzara’at? Why does this particular illness afflict a speaker of gossip? When a person speaks ill of another, whether it is with malice, or whether it is simply out of carelessness, they are, knowingly or not, saying things that could lead to the ostracization from society of the person they are talking about. The Torah takes such abuse of our heaven sent gift of language very seriously. Lashon hara is akin to murder. It can easily tear a person’s life apart and it can even lead to death, by inciting anger, leading to homicide, or by leading one, out of despair, to take one’s own life, or by causing one to simple languish away in isolation as their life force slowly fades. If a person who has spoken ill of another is swiftly afflicted with unsightly tzara’at, requiring his or her own isolation and separation from society, by virtue of being sent to dwell temporarily outside of the Israelite encampment, then the fate that their words may have caused another, has been visited on themselves, instead. They have been isolated from social intercourse, and everyone knows why. Fortunately, there is a cure, as we have discussed above, and the metzora’s (a person afflicted with tzara’at), return to a good standing within the congregation, is guaranteed. And no doubt the inclination to speak lashon hara again has been significantly diminished.

If this is truly the case, then why now? Why is this the first time this “spiritu-somatic” disease has surfaced? With the recent inauguration of the Tabernacle and the entering of YHWH’s Presence, His kavod, or “glory” into the Tabernacle so that He now dwells amongst His people, a new metaphysical reality exists within the Israelite encampment. A new light has entered into creation, and things which just yesterday were hidden, are visible today. One such thing just might be how speaking ill of others actually maligns our own appearance to others. Things we could “get away with,” before, no longer go unnoticed.

In truth, we know so little about tzara’at, at least with any certainty. The illness seems to have passed from the earth within generations after Israel entered the land. But our sages understanding of the cause of tzara’at remains powerfully relevant to this very day. A plague of lashon hara has broken out in our time, affecting the entire world. How many lives have been destroyed? How many lives have been lost? Imagine if people spreading gossip and speaking slander couldn’t hide behind anonymous social media accounts and made up names and avatars. Or if spreading ill will toward others wasn’t so easy as typing poison laden words onto a keyboard or touch pad and pressing “send” or “post” or “tweet.” Imagine if the online purveyor of ill will were to be swiftly overcome by a pus dripping discoloration of his or her flesh? One might be more likely to press “delete” in the future.

Ironically, (or not), many, many people today are languishing away in unhappy isolation. The very technology that has made spreading lashon hara so easy and so irreversible, has also placed so many souls in prisons of isolation, loneliness and depression. Perhaps the self-inflicted wounds of speaking lashon hara are just as present today as they were in the wilderness. Perhaps we need only to open our eyes, and more importantly, open our hearts, in order to see and own up to our violations of the tongue that YHWH placed in our mouths. From the moment Elohim created man, He saw that loneliness and isolation was not good. “It is not good that man is alone.” Let’s do Elohim, and ourselves, a great favor. let’s speak words that bring us together, and keep clear of words that drive us apart. “Who is the man who desires life, who loves days to see goodness? Guard your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceitfully. Shun evil and do good, seek peace and pursue it.”