“This shall be the law of the leper [torat hametsora] ….” (Vayikra, 14:2) It is written (Yirmiyah, 15:19), “If you take forth the precious from the vile, then you shall be as my mouth …” The formulation “you shall be as My mouth” hints at words of Torah, as it is written (Divrei haYamim 1, 16:12), “the judgments of His mouth” or (Mishlei 2:6) “out of His mouth comes knowledge and understanding.” This is “if you bring forth the precious from the vile,” for if one clarifies the deficiency within him, to bring out of it something precious, then “you will be as My mouth,” for that which comes forth from his mouth will be filled with words of Torah. This is hinted at in the verse “this shall be the law of the leper [torat hametsora].” “This” hints at as one would say “this” itself (singling out the deficiency), which at first seemed as if it has no connection to the Torah; “this” itself will afterwards be clarified that it came from the Torah. This is because the source of leprosy is from the sin of lashon hara (not guarding one’s speaking evil of another), on account of the inability of a man to stop his breath, and consequently he says too much.¹⁷ in Hebrew, comprised of the same letters as metsora, leprosy. The rectification of this on the day of his purification does not come about in a natural way, for according to nature it would have been necessary to stop his breath and limit his speech. On this it says, “this shall be,” meaning in this specific way and not according to nature. Rather, he should take care that the very power of speech that was previously used to say things that were not connected to Torah will now be used to its full power to speak words of Torah and the goodness of discourse in the Divine Law. This is, “and he shall be brought unto the Cohen,” that by means of Divine service the power of his speech will be transformed to speak words of Torah. This can be understood through of the Midrash (Vayikra Rabba, 16:2), with “the tale of a certain merchant [rochel] who would go from town to town and say, ‘who wants the drug of life? Who wants the drug of life?’ When Rabbi Yannai heard him he answered, ‘I want the drug of life!’ whereupon he [apparently the merchant] took out a book of Tehilim and showed him the verse, ‘who is the man who desires life … guard your tongue from evil …’” The question is, what new insight into Torah did this merchant have that merited Rabbi Yannai’s praising him, and why did the Midrash specifically call the merchant by the term rochel (meaning also rechilut, tale bearing, or gossip)? It seems that this man has the particular deficiency in his power of speech and in anger. Then after, when he saw that he could not mix in with society because of his deficiency, he then managed to come upon his lack, complete it, and then transformed this particular power into words of Torah. Then he would pass from town to town with a greatly benevolent eye in order to enter into all he would meet and thus clarify this verse for them. For indeed the power of speech that had initially caused him harm, stemmed from the root of anger within him, as it is written (Mishlei, 21:23), “guard your mouth and tongue, guard your soul from strife.” So afterwards he would run with a good eye and proclaim this verse, “Guard your tongue from evil!” Therefore he is called a rochel, for this particular verse was revealed to him the lack that prevented him from mixing in with society.¹⁸ Thus he saw that there is no room for this attribute even in our everyday dealings in the ways of the world, so therefore he is called a rochel, merchant, related to rechilut, gossip.

footnotes: ¹⁷ The Isbitser says precisely “stop,” which is ma’atsor ¹⁸ He took his very handicap of spreading gossip, and used its power to spread Torah.

“Speak unto the children of Israel and say to them, each man who has a running issue out of his flesh, this issue renders him impure.” (Vayikra, 15:2) Why, regarding this skin affliction, does the Torah preface it by saying, “speak unto the children of Israel,” where it does not say this before any of the other bodily impurities of which the Torah commands? It is written in the Midrash (Tanchuma, Ta’azria, 9), “evil shall not dwell [yagorcha] with you, means that evil shall not draw you along [goreret].” The afflictions discussed teach of a deficiency in the very essence of Jewish existence, God forbid. This began in the previous Parsha, Ta’azria, where it says, “a man who has in the skin of his flesh a rising, a scab, or a bright spot.” Our sages said (Shevuot, 6b), “a scab is a derivative of both a rising and a bright spot.”¹⁹ This is a sign to include a rising with its derivatives, and a bright spot with its derivatives. After the leper has undergone two weeks of confinement, it is written, “the priest shall pronounce him clean; it is a scab,” because the rising and the bright spot are the primary transmitters of the impurity, and as such are completely separated from the very essence of Jewish existence. This is “evil shall not draw you along,” for the very name “Israel” teaches of cleaving to God, as Yisrael can be divided into yashar El, or “straight ahead, God.” On the other hand, these primary transmitters of the impurity have no connection whatsoever to the name Israel or to intense cleaving to God. The scab, as it is secondary in connection to the primary transmitters of impurity, and it is judged according to its spreading, and it does not spread, then of it is said, “it is a scab, it is pure.” In other words, one understands from this that it is not connected to impurity at its root, only secondary and temporary. “And he shall wash his clothes, and be clean” (Vayikra, 13:6). This is as it is written in the Gemara (Yevamot, 47b), “Converts are as difficult to Israel as a scab.” Even though the convert has come to cover himself in the wings of the Shechina, nonetheless he needs to undergo great **clarifications regarding derivation from connections to impurity. This is all related to the matter of afflictions, for the very negia serves to clarify from which root sprouts the deficiency in man, if the leprosy is in his head, or in the walls of his house, and the whole matter is exceedingly deep. For the affliction of the house teaches of how in the future God will cause the evil inclination to pass from the hearts of Israel. (See the verse in Yirmiya, 4:19 where the same word for wall, kir, is used for the chambers of the heart, kirot libi.) The next section (in Parshat Metsora) discusses the impurity of one who has a running issue, and it is prefaced by saying, “speak unto the children of Israel.” (Which is, as was said at the outside, unique in all of the discussions of bodily impurity.) This is because this kind of impurity teaches of the upright of heart, whose actions are very precious, yet within them there is a slight mistake.²⁰ on the book of Melachim 1, Ch. 22 concerning Rechavoam. There it says, “Then King Rechavoam sent Adoram, who was over the forced labor; and all Israel stoned him with stones, and he died. Therefore King Rechavoam exerted to mount his chariot, to flee to Jerusalem. The matter is discussed in the Gemara (Sanhedrin, 48b), ‘Rechavoam had an issue [signaled in that he had to exert himself to mount his chariot]. This shows that his sin, for “issue” means rushing and preceding the proper time, even though afterwards the kingdom would be his. And thus, in the future the kingdom of the house of David will spread over all of Israel, yet here, with Rechavoam, he preceded his time, in exerting to mount his chariot.” In truth, sovereigntry is proper only for the seed of the house of David, yet Rechavoam to seize it with strength before his time. At that time, it was God’s will temporarily to give the kingdom to Yeravoam, and because Rechavoam exerted himself in this (to seize the kingdom) he was punished with an issue. An issue is in itself something good, but it must be at its proper time, meaning to fulfill the commandent of “be fruitful and multiply.” His sin was only in forcing the hour prior to its time. This matter is hinted at in the forty-nine words from “and when he shall be pure” (Vayikra, 15:13), until “[he shall make an atonement before God] for his discharge” (Vayikra, 15:13). For there are forty-nine gates of Kedusha in the forty-nine days of the counting of the Omer between Pesach and Shevuot.²¹ Each of the days of the Omer corresponds to one of the forty-nine words in these three verses.

footnotes: ¹⁹ Different forms of leprosy would create diferent levels of impurity. Here a scab would have been a secondary or derivative level of impurity. ²⁰ This matter is explained in the Mei HaShiloach ²¹ A time when we as a nation undergo spiritual purification in order to be united as a bride with her groom, with God on Shevuot.

“[This shall be the law of the leper on the day that he is purified] and brought to the Cohen.” (Vayikra, 14:2) It is written in the holy Zohar (Vayikra, 49b), “this is as it is said (Shemot, 27:7), ‘And the poles shall be put into the rings.’ ” (The same word above means “brought” and here means “put.”) The Cohen represents the fear of God, and the service of God. This is as it is written (Malachi, 2:5), “and I shall place dread upon him and he shall fear Me.” What this really means is that the Cohen has a confident mind in knowing that everything he does, small or great, is God’s will. This is a point that exists in every one of Israel, yet it is not always apparent, only at times when one is engaged in the service of God or His mitzvot at which time he is called a Cohen (priest). This is the meaning of Rashi’s explanation on the verse (Bereshit, 49:28), “these are the twelve tribes of Israel.”²² This means that each of the tribes included all of the others. This is why the holy Zohar explains, “this is as it is said [Shemot, 27:7], ‘And the poles shall be put into the rings.’” That at the moment he is coming to the Cohen, then he himself shall bring out the quality of the Cohen inside himself, meaning the service and the fear.²³ uses the word huvah (brought) a term that is only found elsewhere in the Torah with regard to the service of the Cohen. Then he should limit himself as much as is necessary when he begins to heal. This is because there is a deficiency at the root of his life, and the main point is to heal the source.

footnotes: ²² Which could also be understood as “all of the tribes were twelve,” meaning he included all of them in the blessing. ²³ As in the verse in question, where anyone of Israel who is afflicted and comes to the Cohen

“[And he shall take to purify the house two birds, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop. And he shall slaughter one of the birds in an earthen utensil over living water. And he shall take the cedar wood, and the hyssop, and the scarlet, and the living bird, and dip them in the blood of the slaughtered bird, and in the living water, and sprinkle the house seven times. And he shall purify the house with the blood of the bird, and with the living water, and with the living bird, and with the cedar wood, and with the hyssop, and with the scarlet.] But he shall let go the living bird out of the city into the open fields, and make an atonement for the house; and it shall be purified.” (Vayikra, 14:53) It is written in the Mishna (Negai’im, Ch. 14, Mishna 2), “He does not turn to the sea, nor to the desert, nor to the city, but to the field.” The matter is thus. “Sea” and “desert” both teach of fear and love. “City” also teaches of fear, as it is written (Daniel, 4:20), “and the king saw a watcher, a holy angel, descending from the heavens.”²⁴ After the leper has experienced God’s salvation in being healed at the very root of his life, he then no longer has to restrict his actions to such an extent, and he is permitted to expand. “Field” represents expansion. This is as it is written in the holy Zohar (Bereshit, 122a), “for there is a field that is on the level of [Devarim, 20:19], ‘a man is a tree of the field,’ and there is is a field which is on the level of [Devarim, 27:27], ‘as the scent of a field which God has blessed.’” Understand this.

footnotes: ²⁴ An angel, which upon seeing would inspire the fear of God, is called by the same Hebrew word as “city,” eer.