Rabbi’s Corner – Inner Transformation vs Compartmentalisation

The word Tzaraat is translated as a Leper but in truth this is a mistranslation most likely rooted in the Septuagint.
See here for great article on this https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/is-a-metzora-the-same-as-a-leper-tazria-metzora/ by Daniel Kennemer founder of Mt Carmel Arabic Immersion. Hence, we will not translate the word and for this article we simply refer to Tzaraat as the affliction and Metzorah as the person with the affliction.

The Torah’s description of the Metzorah affliction is rather perplexing as it effects both the skin, people’s garments and even their homes. The person afflicted must leave the camp (only once the Kohen diagnoses the Tzaraat) and quarantine in total isolation until the affliction subsides.
Prior to purification the Metzorah would be considered a source of spiritual impurity and if you came into contact with a Metzorah, you would become Tamei (impure) and be prohibited from entering the Holy Temple or eating Sacred foods.
(Tumah is essentially a state of disconnection from Godliness and being able to connect to God’s presence and would require purification).
Subsequently the Metzorah must go through an elaborate ritual procedure of purification which broadly speaking includes the following steps.
1) Two live pure birds
2) Living water- from a wellspring placed into an earthenware vessel
3) One bird is slaughtered and offered as a sacrifice
4) The other bird is slaughtered and the blood placed in the vessel of water.
5) The remaining live bird together with a bunch of Hyssop, crimson thread and cedar wood is dipped in the blood of the slaughtered and then …
6) The live bird is set free!

Yes a pretty complex purification procedure! (To fully appreciate the narrative of the Metzora see Leviticus 14 and 15 here)

Traditionally the sin that causes Tzaraat is Lashon Harah – Evil Speech, however the Talmud  (Arachin 15a) includes other serious sins such as murder, theft and false oaths, arrogance and sexual transgressions.
Both Maimonides ( 1138-1204) and Nachmanides (1194-1270) further explain that Tzaraat that occurs on a person’s garment or home is not something within the natural order and represents something that transcends the natural order.

The Sefas Emet (Rabbi Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter – Second Gerrer Rebbe Poland 1847-1905) gives a profound psycho-spiritual explanation to the concept of Metzorah and the purification procedure by introducing us to the nature of good vs evil with our psyche.

According to the Midrash the word Metzorah is made up of two Hebrew words Motzi Ra – who brings out evil.

Evil in Hebrew “Rah” is really rooted in the word meaning broken as is Ecclesiastes 1:14 וְהִנֵּ֥ה הַכֹּ֛ל הֶ֖בֶל וּרְע֥וּת רֽוּחַ׃
“All is futile and broken spirit” (Rashi explains the word Reus as the breaking of the spirit, as in “Shatter (Reu) O peoples and be devastated”- Isaiah 8:9)
Also the Talmud refers to a a broken wall as a Kosel Meroah – a broken or weak wall.

In other words evil is a state of being broken, disconnected and alienated from ones True Source.

However in Judaism the conception of evil is very different to what one may think.
We are also biological beings. We have desires and cravings for many things that can make our lives dysfunctional. However, we do not believe that this part of self needs extricating or amputating. On the contrary we are tasked with serving Hashem with our Whole selves.

We say in the Shema “You shall love Hashem Your God with all your heart“. The Talmud (Brachot) asks why the word “your heart” is spelt with two letter Beis’s when it should be spelt with one Beis? The answer is profound: because we are supposed to serve Hashem with both our hearts, with our good inclination and even our evil inclination.

The so-called evil inclination is only evil when it is taken out of the context of the whole person. This then is the meaning of Tzaraat- one who brings evil out and identifies with its selfish outer manifestation. The Metzorah is a person who consciously identifies with his animal souls urges as if they represent him/her. He thus disconnects him/herself from His Divine soul.
However in truth the soul is pure (Morning Blessings).

The Sefas Emes goes onto explain that the purification procedure of the Metzorah reflects this idea.
The Torah speaks of two birds that are BOTH PURE and ALIVE. The bird that is slaughtered and offered on the Altar represents the good inclination (Yetzer Hatov). The concept of a sacrifice is drawing close to the pure undiluted oneness of Hashem.
The second bird which is left alive represents the evil inclination. In its core the evil inclination is pure! The essential healing of the Metzorah is to realign his whole self with Hashem; to sublimate the energy of his evil inclination and realign and utilise it to serve Hashem. This is symbolised by the live bird being dipped into the blood of the slaughtered bird and then being set free. As long as a person sees his negative energies in the context of his whole self then they are able to use this energy to serve Hashem.

A simple practical example would be a person who is aggressive by nature. The broken (evil) use of this natural energy is to physically or emotionally control or hurt another person to satisfy the quest for feeling “bigger and better”. The Torah approach is not to eradicate the aggression to the point the person is a suppressed version of him/herself. Instead, they need to redirect it into positive pursuits that are kosher eg physical exercise for one’s mental wellbeing or to push oneself mentally in ones Torah study or Teffilah, or throw oneself into acts of kindness.  The applications of this principle are endless. In fact the Talmud states that a person who is aggressive or angry by nature should train to become a Shochet (Kosher Slaughterer) or a Mohel (practice circumcision)!!

The ramifications of this idea are profound and so relevant to our lives today.
Whist negative behaviour is prohibited by the Torah and in turn toxic to our environment and our souls, toxicity and negativity are not evil per say.
Instead our negative emotions are a stimulus for inner growth and change. 

Tzaraat seen in this light is not a punishment so much as a barometer for the person to be able to measure their spiritual status and make the urgent changes and adjustments required. Tzaraat is a gift from God as it enables the person to realign themselves with their pure core (during their quarantine period). It is because of a person’s inner purity that their outer selves represented by the Skin, garment, and home) cannot tolerate the brokenness any long and so erupt in this spiritual affliction.

We can also compare this today to the many mind-body disorders that affect people (which includes chronic stress, migraines, back pain, fatigue*. Often, we are unable to find a physical cause to a symptom or set of symptoms. Have we taken a step back to pause and reflect on our lives and current choices and how they maybe effecting our overall health? Our bodies are not just driving us to survive as in the evolutionary model. From a true Torah perspective, the body is literally the vessel for our soul and hence is exquisitely sensitive and tuned into spiritual processes that we may be totally unaware of.

The lesson is to listen to our bodies as the “body holds the score”. The body is sending us messages about our lives all the time. We just need to develop the right tools to understand the messages and implement the change in our lives.

Finally this month is Iyar which in Hebrew stands for “Ani Hashem (the two middle yuds) Rofecha”. This is the month of healing our inner wounds. We believe Hashem is the ultimate healer. But sometimes to heal ourselves, Hashem sends us subtle messages in our lives and bodies which we need to take note of.

I am a firm believer that we all have the God given tools within ourselves to improve our lives for the better.

May we all be blessed with health both physical, emotional, and spiritual. and May Hashem guide us to read the signs in our lives that are guideposts for growth.
And May we learn to accept ALL our ourselves with all our foibles so that we can make our own unique contribution to bringing Heaven down to Earth.

*Disclaimer: A person suffering with a particular ailment or complaint however severe must also look at the potential structural causes to rule out anything. My point is that there are many symptoms that many suffer with that do not fit into the western model of diagnosis and it thus behoves us to look more holistically at the mind-body and how symbiotically they are related.