Parashat Tazria-Metzora - Tzara'at and the Proper Response to Life's Challenges
Much of Parashiyot Tazria-Metzora is devoted to the subject of Tzara'at, leprosy, and the procedure required of a person stricken with this disorder. It must be emphasized that the Tzara'at of which the Torah speaks was very different from the medical condition of leprosy. The Tzara'at discussed in the Torah was manifest in a number of different ways, in the form of a discoloration on one's body, garment or home. Obviously, the illness of leprosy can only affect a person's skin. The Torah's Tzara'at was a spiritual, rather than physical, ailment, which resulted not from poor health or exposure to a virus, but rather from sin.
One of the laws of Tzara'at establishes that it is forbidden for a person to sever a piece of skin affected by Tzara'at. A person may want to spare himself the discomfort and embarrassment associated with Tzara'at by surgically removing the infected area from his body; the Torah, however, prohibits doing so. The Sefer Ha'chinuch (anonymous work analyzing the 613 commandments) explains this prohibition as a reflection of the proper attitude we must have towards life's hardships and challenges. The hardships we confront are a message from the Almighty intended to awaken and inspire us to perform Teshuva, and this is precisely how we should respond. Any attempts we make to remove or overcome these difficulties without an accompanying process of introspection and repentance are insufficient. Just as a person stricken with Tzara'at must work towards correcting the spiritual flaws that caused the discoloration, rather than simply removing the infected skin, so must we respond to our own hardships by making a concentrated effort to improve.
The Gemara tells the story of Rav Huna, who had stored many barrels of wine in his cellar. One day he found that all his wine had spoiled and turned to vinegar. He consulted with his colleagues to determine the cause of this misfortune that befell him, and one colleague noted that he had neglected to pay his sharecropper for his work. Rav Huna accepted this response and immediately settled the account with his sharecropper. The Gemara then records two different accounts of the story: according to one account, all the vinegar miraculously turned back into wine, whereas according to the other, the price of vinegar soared and Rav Huna sold his merchandise for an enormous profit.
Many people in Rav Huna's situation would have responded to this misfortune by attempting to "sever the infected skin," so-to-speak, by finding some natural cause. They would have called a technician to assess the temperature or humidity level in the cellar, or consulted with the barrel manufacturers to examine the quality of the barrels. Rav Huna, however, understood that hardship and misfortune must serve as a catalyst to Teshuva, and he responded accordingly.
We of course all hope and pray that we enjoy many long, happy years without any difficulties, hardships or inconveniences. Invariably, however, everybody, from the greatest Tzadik to the simplest of men, encounters hardships of some kind at different points in their lives. We will be better equipped to deal with these situations by reminding ourselves that, as the Gemara discusses in Masechet Berachot, "Yisurim" (suffering) serves as a means of atonement and an opportunity for spiritual growth. By internalizing the message of the Tzara'at, and by responding to misfortune properly, rather than simply trying to "sever the infected skin," we can we can help ensure that life's challenges will serve as opportunities for self-improvement, rather than sources of anguish and frustration.
