Inside Out and Outside in

In Chassidic tradition we always look beneath the surface of others to discover their hidden good. However, we must also appreciate the surface and superficial good others possess and praise them for it. METZORA METZORA

Tzara’as is Not Leprosy

The word “leprosy” is usually the way translators incorrectly render the Hebrew word, Tzara’as that appears in this week’s parsha. The basis for this error is the fact that this ailment afflicts the skin, and that the Torah required quarantining for the one so afflicted.

One proof that the Torah is not referring to leprosy is that the same term is used for clothing and buildings. Obviously, the Torah speaks not of an illness per se, but of the deterioration of the color of a person, garment or house. Furthermore, this ailment, as opposed to leprosy was curable and not contagious.

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Discoloring of Another

Tzara’as as a discoloration of the skin, according to our Sages, resulted from a person speaking ill of others, known in Hebrew as Lashon Hara. In Judaism punishments meted out by G-d are usually “measure for measure.” Hence, the fact that the “punishment” was the discoloration of the skin was an indication that the sin of lashon hara is associated with the skin.

On the basic level, when one slanders others, he or she is essentially “discoloring” them. And while all the insults in the world cannot alter one’s inner color and beauty, it does have the capacity to remove the sheen and integrity of the outer person.

Two Forms of Slander

Upon deeper reflection, slander comes in two opposite forms, both of which relate to the surface of the person:

There is the case where the slanderer focuses on a superficial defect that another might have. In doing so, one is guilty of ignoring the METZORA positive qualities that that individual possesses and which overshadow the mild external flaw. Moreover, Jewish mystical texts teach us, undue emphasis of an external fault can ultimately cause the fault to become engrained and internalized.

By focusing on that deficiency, the slanderer has demonstrated how he cares only about the surface (i.e. the skin) of the other. Hence his punishment was Tzara’as, that affected only the skin; measure for measure.

There is, however, another reverse form of lashon hara, where the slanderer exposes some actual flaw in the other that may have been embedded in his or her soul, hidden from view. By speaking ill of another, one can actually cause that latent flaw to become an actual and manifest one. In this scenario, lashon hara can cause one’s internal negativity to come to the surface, to show up on the skin, so to speak. Here too, the punishment is the discoloration of the skin because the sin was bringing the hidden into the open.

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The difference between the two scenarios is whether the evil starts at the surface and works its way inward, or the evil comes from within and works its way out to the surface.

(The sin of speaking baseless evil of another is technically a separate transgression not to be confused with lashon hara which deals with true gossip.)

Actually, the word Metzora (the term used by the Torah to describe the person who is afflicted with Tzara’as) is a composite of two words: Motzei ra (one who finds evil), or Motzi ra (one who extracts evil). It may be suggested that the phrase “one who finds” evil refers to the person who casually notices another’s faults and speaks about them, while the phrase “one who extracts” evil refers to the one who digs deep into a person’s psyche, heart and soul to find some hidden flaw.

It may also be suggested that the difference between these two forms of lashon hara determined the length of one’s affliction and recovery. If one merely focused on another’s superficial flaws, but did not dig deeper into the inner dynamics of the other’s soul to find METZORA fault, then the corresponding affliction of Tzara’as would likewise be of a fleeting nature.

However, if the slanderer invaded the other’s being by probing beneath the surface to find some deeply rooted flaws and then exposed them, the corresponding outbreak of Tzara’as likewise affected the person internally to the point that it was exposed outwardly as well. This was a far more serious situation because the diseased skin was an expression of a seriously diseased inside.

The lesson from the above analysis is that either way it is harmful to speak ill of another’s internal or external flaws, (unless, of course, it is to protect an innocent person from harm, and the like, as discussed in Jewish law.)

Two Forms of Positive Speech

There are also two corresponding ways of speaking lashon tov, or positive words about another:

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When one sees a person whose outer appearance does not warrant praise, one must probe beneath the surface to find the inner good. The Ba’al Shem Tov, the founder of the Chassidic movement once compared the Jew to the earth that contains hidden treasures.

Conversely, one must also make an effort to see the superficial qualities of another. And even when it seems that these qualities lack real substance, nevertheless, when one focuses on the positive aspects of a person’s behavior, it helps to reinforce them, to the point where they become internalized.

The Metzora Metaphor for Moshiach

The Talmud, when discussing the identity of the Moshiach, refers to him as a person who is afflicted with Tzara’as. Commentators grapple with this rather odd characterization of the Messiah and conclude that it is obviously a metaphor.

In light of the above discussion, we can appreciate the Metzora metaphor. Moshiach’s role requires that he direct his energies to METZORA both the internal and external nature of the people whom he will liberate from exile.

Exile, is not just a geographic state of existence, whereby the Jewish people were driven out of their homeland and Holy Land. Exile is also a condition which prevents us from being in touch with the Holy Land aspects of our own souls and the Holy Land of the souls of others.

For Moshiach—and all of us—to change the dynamics of exile, he/we must be capable of doing two opposite things:

First, he/we must go beyond the surface of each and every person and see his or her inner beauty and holiness. By doing so, Moshiach/we will help to reveal and actualize their positive qualities.

Second, Moshiach/we must also dwell on the external qualities of others, and work on cultivating and exercising those positive attributes, although they are presently only skin deep. By promoting greater observance, repeated performances of the Mitzvot, which are external acts, the surface holiness begins to seep through the “pores in the skin” and METZORA becomes an integral part of the previously superficial Jew. This is what brings about individual as well as the collective Redemption of the Jewish people and of the entire world.

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From the book Light from the Future: Parshas Tazria-Metzora by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.