Metzorah 5764
Parashat Metzorah is the Parasha that is designated to the laws of Tzora’at, the laws of spiritual leprosy, which the Gemara says comes from different reasons, primarily to those who speak Lashon Hara. Chachamim give a correlation on the word Metzorah- Motzih Shem Ra. This means that to those who exhibit speech that is forbidden, they are afflicted with this disease of leprosy.
In the process of repurifying himself from contamination, the Torah says ’Begadav Yehiyu Pherumim, VeRosho Yehiye Pharua’, that the person with leprosy must rip his clothes and he also must let his hair grow wildly. So the Chafetz Chayim asks why that is part of the process? Why is it that a man must let his grow and rip his clothes? What is the message?
So the Chafetz Chayim says that people that speak about other people, the source of their sin is really Ga’ava, which is arrogance. The person thinks that he is better than somebody else, and therefore he feels that he is allowed to put down somebody, and talk about somebody, defame, malign, and spread false rumors about somebody. This person thinks that he is above everybody, and he allows himself to speak as he wishes and what he wishes about other people.
The Torah therefore says, in order to humble this man, we have to bring him down to size. So we tear his clothes and we let his hair grow wildly so that he looks disheveled and belittled, and he comes to realize that really he is not as great as he thought.
The ripping of the clothes and the hair growing is a form of humbling the speaker of the Lashon Hara, in order to show that he is not as great as he thought. And in the process, the Torah says he has to bring Etz Erez, that he has to bring a piece of wood from the cedar tree, and the herb called Hyssop. And Chachamim tells us again that the concept here is the same, which is to humble the person. Etz Erez is a cedar tree, which is a tall solid great tree, and it is reminding the speaker of Lashon Hara, that he acted like an Erez, like the arrogance of a cedar tree, and now he has to humble himself like a Hyssop, which is a small bush, which is low. Again, we are trying to remedy the source of those that speak about others which is arrogance.
The Chafetz Chayim then explains that a cloak must cover the head of the person who has the leprosy. It has to cover all the way to his mouth. And the Chafetz Chayim writes that it is from a sense arrogance that the person speaks Lashon Hara. They think they are in control of their speech and what they say. No one can tell them what they can talk about. They think that they have the right to say what they want. And therefore, the Torah says, to cover their mouth, to put a cover over their head and cover that mouth, for it is not theirs, and they in fact do not have the liberty to say as they please.
So you might say that this whole process of purifying the person who has leprosy is not only a punishment, but it is also a form of rehabilitation in trying to get the fellow going forward to be a little more careful with his speech.
Shabbat Shalom Umevorach!
