YeshivaThe torah world Gateway
Beit Midrash
- Torah Portion and Tanach
- Vayikra
- Tazria
After detailing the laws of נגע צרעת as they relate to the human body, the Torah describes the צרעת of clothing and clothing materials, such as wool and linen. This צרעת may be found in the interwoven threads of linen or wool, or in leather and leather products.
This kind of נגע צרעת, plague of leprosy, involving a person’s בגד, clothes, is also a punishment for social sins. A person’s clothes help define and reflect his character. "Clothes make the man" is not just a saying; it reflects reality. Clothing protects a person and is integral to all of his activities. Further, clothing is like another layer of skin. Just as the skin can be struck with a נגע, so too can the clothes a person wears. God afflicts a person’s clothing because he committed a social misdeed.
The word נגע is from the root נ-ג-ע "to touch," usually an improper touch. The word צרעת is from the root צ-ר-ע "to erupt." Leprosy is a skin disease. The word בגד is from the root ב-ג-ד "to clothe and present outer appearance".
The sins giving rise to the נגע to a person’s clothes are even more serious than those that afflict a person’s skin. This type ofצרעת is so serious that the נגע affects even the threads and fibers from which the clothing is made. The שתי, threads woven vertically, and the עורב, threads woven horizontally, made from flax or wool, are also subject to this נגע.
The word שתי is from the root ש-ת-ה "to flow in a particular direction." The verse refers to the basic threads, usually the long vertical ones. The word עורב is from the root ע-ר-ב "to mix and penetrate with foreign matter." Here it refers to the horizontal threads that are woven into the vertical ones.
This entire phenomenon of נגע צרעת is an expression of השגחה פרטית, Divine providence. God wishes to ensure that each individual acts according to His ways. In God’s society, social sins such as arrogance, falsehood, narrow-mindedness and tale-bearing cannot be prosecuted in a court of law, but can devastate a community all the same if left unchecked.
The word השגחה is from the root ש-ג-ח "to concentrate attention." The word פרטית is from the root פ-ר-ט "to separate." The word is also used for "privacy and personal matters".
The gravity that the Torah ascribes to these social sins is expressed in several ways. For example, a non-Jew who converts to Judaism is not subject to punishment (in the form of צרעת הגוף) for לשון הרע spoken before conversion. However, if prior to conversion one committed any of the social sins punished by צרעת הבגד, the punishment does carry over after conversion and the convert can be affected by the נגע.
Copyright © 2014, Matityahu Clark. All Rights Reserved. This is an excerpt from the forthcoming Hirsch At Your Table, a collection of brief divrei torah based on R. Samson Raphael Hirsch’s Torah Commentary.
Rabbis in Midrash
Lessons
fast navigation
Chukat "HOW ENTEBBE STOLE THE BICENTENNIAL
The Difference Between Historic & Eternal"
As we approach America's 250th birthday, it's worth remembering her 200th Bicentennial birthday, on Jul. 4th 1976, when Israel "stole the show" by shocking the world & miraculously saving 101 hostages in a foreign continent. As Pres. As Pres. Trump decides which countries get priority in his new Middle-East, it's worth reminding him of the difference between historic events and eternally historic ones. This obviously connects with this week's parsha, as well!
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 6 - The Parable of the King of India
The advantages of testimony over circumstantial evidence or philosophical speculation.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 5- "Proofs of G-d"
This may be the most important class of the entire book, where we finally get to the Jewish proof of the existence of G-d and truth of the Torah. We should follow His own direction where He tells us how to get to Him: through the Nation of Israel: Jewish history, Jewish prophets (and today, prophecies fulfilled), and national reward & punishment towards Am Yisrael.
Ein Aya One Humanity, One Creator, One Jerusalem
Rav Kook innovatively and beautifully explains this aggadeta where our sages say that after Jerusalem was destroyed her cinnamon fragrance is only found locked in a particular kingdom's treasury.
Shlach Lecha "Why So Many Don't Make Aliya?" - Parshat Shlach
This short article deals with the weird phenomena that every single time Am Yisrael is meant to enter the Land of Israel, throughout the Tanach, 2nd Temple and until today, they "chicken out" and look for excuses. What's the problem with this mitzvah that proves so challenging. The article, based on sources, suggests that the difficulties of Eretz Yisrael is precisely her secret and beauty!
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 4
The class deals with Islam and how the Muslim tries convincing the King of the Khazars, and why he was also rejected.
Beha'alotcha JEWISH STATE= GUIDE TO G-DLINESS & SELFLESSNESS
A Jewish State not only is a good idea, but educates us towards selflessness, altruism and G-dliness in our daily lives.
Ein Aya In Zion Even the Smoke of the Bark is Sweet
Just as Jewish nationalism is different from others, so too our capitol of Jerusalem is totally different than other national capitols. Rav Kook beautifully explains the passage in the Talmud that the trees of Yerushalayim were cinnamon trees.
