Perashot Tazria-Messora 5778

Perashot Tazria-Messora 5778

The perashot Tazria and Messora speak about the purification process of
sara'at, the discoloration that in ancient times would mysteriously appear on a person's skin, clothing or on the walls of their home.

Rashi explains that the plague of sara'at is the result of derogatory speech which is classified as chattering. Thus part of the remedy for those who commit this sin is to offer birds who constantly twitter and chirp on the altar for atonement. Sara'at can also be the result of haughtiness. Therefore, a messora, an afflicted person, must also bring a stick from the very tall cedar tree as another component of his offering.

On the contrary, our sages teach us that the sara'at that affects the structure of a home was a gift to Am Yisrael. The pasuk that introduces sara'at of the home does so in a festive manner as if delivering good news: "When you come to the land of Canaan, which I am giving you as a possession, and I place a lesion of sara'at upon a house in the land of your possession." [Leviticus 14:34] The Midrash says that when the Emmorites heard that the Israelites were about to conquer the land, they immediately buried their treasures within the walls of their homes. When Am Yisrael finally settled in the land of Israel sara'at appeared on the walls of their homes. In following the Torah's procedure to remove sara'at from the structure of a home, the Israelites were obligated to demolish the walls and consequently found the treasures that had been buried there. This is how Hashem kept his promise to bring Am Yisrael into "houses full of all good things that you did not fill" [Deuteronomy 6:11]. 

Surly Hashem could have provided other ways for Am Yisrael to find these treasures. Why then is Hashem's blessing given in such a negative mannerinvolving ritual impurity and the demolition of the home? 
The commentator Sheville Pinhas explains that there are those who possess great gifts and talents which equip them to be able to attain significant achievements in the study of Torah or in doing Missvot, yet question their abilities to do so through false Anava, humility. They doubt their abilities by asking themselves, who am I to be able to teach others Torah or start doing Hesed on such a large scale? Aren't there more suitable people to do this instead of me?

These excuses, masked in false humility, are the proverbial walls of the home that must be broken down so that they cannot stand in our way of achieving great things and revealing the treasures that we all possess deep down.

Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Mimoun Miller