Parashas Metzora 5774

    “And I (G-d) will put an affliction of tzora’as in a house in the land that you possess” (Vayikra 14:34). Ramban says that the expression “and I (G-d) will put the affliction” is used to indicate that the “tzora’as” of houses is not a natural occurrence, but is specifically “placed” there by G-d to indicate that His presence has departed because of their actions (see Ramban on 13:47). Although this applies to the “tzora’as” of materials as well, there was no need to indicate this there as well, since, as I discussed last week (https://rabbidmk.wordpress.com/2014/03/28/parashas-tazriya-5774/), first G-d afflicts the sinner’s house and then He afflicts his garments. The expression “that I will put” can therefore apply to both houses and garments (since both do not naturally occur), stated before the former because He puts “tzora’as” there first.

    If each of the three kinds of “tzora’as” (on structures, on materials and on people’s skin) only occur in succession, i.e. only if the sinner does not repent after his house gets “tzora’as” does his garment get “tzora’as,” and only if he still doesn’t repent will his skin become afflicted, it must have been the same sin that caused all three (or at least started the process, with his not repenting adding “sin upon sin”). However, when the Talmud (Arachin 16a) lists several different sins for which “tzora’as” is a punishment, Maharsha explains that each type of “tzora’as” (including each of the different types of skin “tzora’as”) corresponds to a different sin, and included in attributing different types of “tzora’as” for different sins is the “tzora’as” that afflicts houses and garments. If some sins correspond to the “tzora’as” of a structure, others to that of material, and still others to the different variations of skin “tzora’as,” there must not be a progression from house to garment to skin because of just one sin. Did the same sin, and not repenting for it, bring all three categories of “tzora’as,” as the Midrashic sources (Tosefta Nega’im 6:6, Vayikra Rabbah 17:4, Tanchuma Tazriya 10/14 and Metzora 4/12, Midrash HaGadol Vayikra 14:32) indicate, or were the different types of “tzora’as” the result of having committed different sins, as Maharsha (and the sources he cites) indicate?

    A closer look at some of Midrashic sources (e.g. Tanchuma on Parashas Metzora) provides a specific context for the progression of the “tzora’as” from structures to materials to the human body: “When Israel sinned, [G-d] wanted to exile them before the other nations were exiled, but that would have been too degrading. What did He do [instead]? He brought the wicked Sancherev on all the [other] nations and exiled them so that Israel would see that [He] exiled the nations that were amongst them (i.e. in the same area) and repent. [G-d wanted that they should] see the complete judgment that [He] does with the nations of the world, [so that] maybe they will [learn from it] and repent. Since they did not repent they were immediately exiled.” The Midrash then goes into the specifics of buildings being stricken, then, if there was no repentance, materials being stricken, and then, if there was still no repentance, the body being stricken. Was the exile of other nations first by Sancherev mentioned as an example of G-d trying to teach us a lesson by striking others (in this case neighboring nations) first, similar to His striking a house and then a garment before striking the human body? Is exiling others similar to having our own property affected, sending a similar message that we better make a correction if we don’t want something worse to happen? Or is the Midrash telling us that this “warning system” (having houses stricken first and then garments and then bodies) was designed specifically for when we are living autonomously in our own land?

    Aside from this Midrash, there are other indications that this is the context within which the “tzora’as” warning system was meant to be activated. First of all, structural “tzora’as” only applies “in the house that you possess,” i.e. after the land was conquered and divided and each person knew exactly which tract of land was his (see Yoma 12a). Once we were exiled from the land before (and during) the destruction of the First Temple, this situation was never really repeated. Additionally, Rashi (Vayikra 14:34), quoting Vayikra Rabbah (17:6), tells us that having one’s house stricken by “tzora’as” was (at least partially) good news, as the prior inhabitants of the land had hidden their valuables in the walls of their houses to hide them from the Children of Israel (whom they knew were coming, and to whom the land really belonged); tearing open the walls because of “tzora’as” revealed these hidden valuables. Here too, taking over fully built houses containing hidden treasure was really only relevant when the land was first conquered. The implication is that the whole notion of houses being afflicted with “tzora’as” only applied until we were exiled from the land. True, we learn from it the concept that when G-d punishes those He is close with He first strikes their possessions in order to get them to repent, but the specific progression of houses then garments then the body seems to have been directed specifically at the nation from after they settled the land until they were exiled from it.

    One of the questions I have heard many ask about the order of house->garment->body is why they appear in the Torah in reverse order. Numerous answers have been suggested; Midrash Tadshay (17) simply says that the Torah started with skin “tzora’as” because in the desert they didn’t have houses yet and their clothes were miraculously maintained; the only “tzora’as” that was relevant was the kind that affected the skin. Obviously, then, this type of “tzora’as” is possible even if there are no houses to afflict first and afflicting clothing wasn’t an option. Nevertheless, that doesn’t necessarily mean that when houses and garments are an option they won’t be stricken first, only that it is not a prerequisite for skin “tzora’as.” It would follow, though, that when afflicting a person’s house or garment first is not appropriate, either because they don’t fit the criteria for being afflicted or because the level of divine providence is not great enough to warrant  the “miraculous” affliction of structures or materials, a message that repentance is needed can still come via the more “natural” skin “tzora’as.”

    S’fornu (Vayikra 13:47) discusses, at length, how a person must be able to comprehend the message G-d sends if a divine message is to be sent. There is no point in using sign language to communicate with someone who is completely blind, nor to speaking (even very loudly) to someone who can’t hear at all if they cannot see your lips. Similarly, if being afflicted with “tzora’as” has no chance of being understood by the sinner as a message that he must repent, there would be no point in sending it. Therefore, S’fornu says, only those who can take the message of “tzora’as” to heart will be sent such a message. [That doesn’t preclude a naturally occurring “tzora’as” from afflicting a sinner who won’t get the message, as being affected by naturally occurring harmful things (including choices made by others) is a general message built into creation that we need to be connected with G-d in order to be protected by Him from such things (see http://www.aishdas.org/ta/5764/kiTavo.pdf).] Accordingly, if “tzora’as” is meant as a message to correct a specific shortcoming, the type of “tzora’as” used as the message will correspond to the sin the message is trying to make the person aware of. And there is no reason to limit the range of the message to the various types of skin “tzora’as;” if having one’s house or garment develop “tzora’as” will convey a more precise message, that’s what will occur.

    It would seem, then, that when the nation as a whole is worthy of G-d’s divine presence, such as before the first Temple was destroyed (the era most relevant to the generation the Torah was given to), G-d would send a message that improvement was needed in progression (by first afflicting the house then a garment then the skin). However, when it is just the individual who was worthy of divine intervention, the message was tailored specifically to alert him or her as to what needs correcting. And that message didn’t necessarily start with the house being afflicted (although, as we see from the progression used elsewhere, G-d will often first send the message by smiting a person’s possessions). If afflicting a garment first, or sending a specific type of skin “tzora’as” right away, would send a more precise message, that’s the message that was sent.