Parshat Tazria-Metzora  1 Iyar5762, April 13 2001

By Shlomo Riskin

Efrat, Israel - The disease known as leprosy has engendered dread in the hearts of people especially in times gone by - when it was apparently more widespread and exceedingly contagious. In Biblical times the priests (Kohanim) would determine whether a skin dis-coloration or scab was indeed leprous - and if so the hapless leper would be rendered ritually impure and exiled from society. And, from the Biblical religious perspective, this tzara'at emanated from a serious moral deficiency, generally identified as slander (the Hebrew metzora - generally translated as leper - may be taken as a contraction of two words, motzi-ra, to speak out evil words).

An especially problematic aspect of these laws of tzara'at is the fact that not only individuals but even walls of houses could become infected by this ritually impure discoloration, and that - even stranger still - the Bible describes the phenomenon of "leprosy of houses" in almost positive, gift - of - G-d terms: "And the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron saying, 'when you come into the Land of Canaan which I give to you as an inheritance and I shall give you the plague of leprosy in the houses of the land of your inheritance'" (Leviticus 14:34). How are we to understand this Biblical reference to the "Divine gift" of the leprous walls?

Nachmanides, the twelfth century commentary who is an especial champion of the unique importance of the land of Israel for the people of Israel, sees the phenomenon of the leprous walls as an expression of the intensely concentrated moral sensitivity of our Holy Land; the sanctity of Israel, home of the Divine Presence (Shekhina), cannot abide within its boundaries a home in which slander is spoken. Hence the walls of such a house in Israel will naturally show the affects of words of gossip which can destroy lives.

Maimonides sees another benefit to the "leprosy of the homes", an explicit warning to cease and desist from speaking slander: "This is a sign and a wonder to warn people against indulging in malicious speech (lashon hara). If they do recount slanderous tales, the walls of their homes will change; and if the inhabitants maintain their wickedness, the garments upon them will change" (Mishneh Torah, Laws of the Impurity of Tzaraat, 16,10).

Rashi, the commentary par excellance and most authentic representative of the view of the Talmudic and Midrashic Sages, suggests a practical application for the "gift of the leprous walls", "It was a happy tiding for them when the plague (of leprosy) came upon (their homes). This is because the Amorite Canaanites had hidden treasures of gold in the walls of their homes during the forty years when Israel was in the desert, and because of the leprous plagues the walls were taken apart and (the treasures) were found" (Rashi, Leviticus 14:34).

I would suggest that Rashi's commentary may be given a figurative rather than a literal spin. The walls of a house represent a family, the family which inhabits that house, and every family has its own individual culture and climate, scents and sensitivities, tales and traditions; a house may also represent many generations of families who lived there, the values, faith commitments and lifestyles which animated those families and constituted their continuity. The sounds, smells and songs, the character, culture and commitments which are absorbed - and expressed- by the walls of a house, are indeed a treasure which is worthy of discovery and exploration. The walls of a home impart powerful lessons; hidden in those walls is a significant treasure trove of memories and messages for the present and future generations. Perhaps it is for this reason that the nation of Israel is called the house of Israel throughout the Bible.

>From this perspective we can now understand the Biblical introduction to "house - leprosy" This hidden power of the walls is a present as well as a plague, a gift as well as a curse. Do the walls emit the fragrance of Shabbat challah baking in the oven or the smells of cheap liquor? Are the sounds seeping through the crevices, sounds of Torah, Prayer and affection or tale-bearing, porn and anger? The good news inherent in the leprosy of the walls is the potency of family: the very same home environment which can be so injurious can also be exceedingly beneficial; it all depends upon the "culture of the table" which the family creates and the walls absorb!

With this understanding, it is instructive to note the specific colorations - or discolorations- which render the walls ritually unclean: "And he (the Kohen -Priest) shall examine the leprous plague penetratingly embedded in the walls of the house, whether they are bright green or bright red." (Leviticus 14:37). Can it be that green is identified with money (yerukim in modern Hebrew, an apt description of American dollars) and red identified with blood? A home which imparts materialistic goals as the ideal and/or insensitivity to the shedding of blood - remember that our sages compared slander or character assassination to the shedding of blood - is certainly deservant of the badge of impurity! And is not the Palestinian flag waved so ardently by suicide bombers, red and green and white (white being the initial sign of leprosy).

And finally, Rashi suggested that there was an Amorite - Canaanite treasure which the inhabitants placed in the walls of their homes in Israel when the Israelites dallied in the desert rejecting the different challenge of the conquest of Israel. Might not this interpretation be suggesting that the indigenous seven nations, as well as present-day Palestinians do indeed have a treasure which they impart to the children through the walls of the houses? This treasure is the belief that the land is important, the connection to the land is cardinal for every nation which claims a homeland and respects its past. The land must be important enough to fight and even die for, since it contains the seed of our eternity; only those committed to their past deserve to enjoy a blessed future.

I am certainly not suggesting terrorism against innocent citizens and nihilistic, Moloch-like suicide bombing, which proves not love of land but rather universal rejection of life and destruction of fundamental humanistic values. The Torah declares the ritual impurity of Red, Green and White! But until this final intifada, Post-Zionism was forgetting the indelible linkage between a nation and its land as an expression of its commitment to eternal ideals and the continuity between its past and future. Tragically we have only learned as a united nation to appreciate the importance of our homeland when the Palestinian suicide attackers threatened to take it away from us by their vicious attacks. But sacred lessons can be learned even from the purveyors of impurity.

Shabbat Shalom and Yom Haatzmaut Sameach!

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