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Home -> 5785 -> Metzora

כי תבאו אל ארץ כנען…ונתתי נגע צרעת בבית ארץ אחזתכם…והנה הנגע בקירת הבית…וצוה הכהן וחלצו את האבנים אשר בהן הנגע הנגע

Sruly Schnair
In Metzora, 5785

When you arrive in the land of Canaan… and I will place a tzaraas affliction upon a house in the land of your possession… and behold, the affliction is in the walls of the house… the kohen shall command and they shall remove the stones that contain the affliction (14:34,37,40)

Chazal (Vayikra Rabbah 17:6) teach that, when the Canaanim heard Klal Yisrael was on their way to take their Heavenly-designated land, they hid their jewelry and precious metals inside the walls of their homes to prevent the Jews from finding them. Thus, when the house is demolished due to the plague, that is on it, the hidden jewelry will be discovered. Obviously, we can say a lot concerning Hashem’s manner of rewarding the Jews. Surely, He must have a better, simpler way of giving them the gold and silver than having them dismantle their homes due to a plague. Let…

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Home -> 5785 -> Metzora

זאת תהיה תורת המצרע

Sruly Schnair
In Metzora, 5785

This shall be the law of the Metzora. (14:2)

Tzaraas is the Heavenly-designated punishment for one who is motzi ra, speaks lashon hara, slander. One does not just speak lashon hara because he has nothing better to do. He always has a reason. It may not make sense; indeed, it may even be ludicrous, but to the one who is doing the speaking, it is a reason worth transgressing six aveiros, sins. One of the most “popular” reasons for speaking lashon hara is sinas chinam, unwarranted hatred: “I simply do not like that person. I have no legitimate reason, but, if you give me a few moments, I will…

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Home -> 5785 -> Metzora

וביום השביעי ימול בשר ערלתו

Sruly Schnair
In Metzora, 5785

On the eighth day, the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. (12:3)

No nation has suffered that which the Jewish people have experienced from its very infancy. Hashem has used adversity as the crucible for tempering our spiritual growth – and it has succeeded. The Jewish people have manifested incredible religious commitment, continuing to grow by leaps and bounds in their spiritual devotion, Torah study, and mitzvah performance. Nonetheless, a major portion of our people do not even know what it means to be Jewish. They are biologically Jewish, but, unfortunately, they are unaware of the uniquely Jewish spiritual persona that defines us. Many of them, although they do not practice religiously,…

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Home -> 5784 -> Metzora

להורות ביום הטמא וביום הטהור זאת תורת הצרעת

Sruly Schnair
In Metzora, 5784

To rule on which day it is contaminated and on which day it is purified; this is the law of tzaraas. (14:57)

Horav Eliezer Waldenberg (Tzitz Eliezer) was asked to issue a halachic ruling concerning doctors in a teaching hospital, who, when making daily rounds, would be accompanied by any number of students. Is it permissible to teach the students under such circumstances in which the students having the information provides no benefit to the patient? In teaching, the doctor must reveal the patient’s illness and prognosis, when, in fact, it does nothing more than offer information to the students at the expense of the patient’s privacy. Is this a violation of the oath of confidentiality, doctor/patient privilege? Rav Waldenberg rules that…

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Home -> 5784 -> Metzora

וזאת תהיה תורה המצורע ביום טהרתו

Sruly Schnair
In Metzora, 5784

This shall be the law of the metzora on the day of his purification. (14:2)

No purification process is more extensive than the one for the metzora. As soon as the plague surfaces, the metzora is to go to the Kohen. He is then isolated for seven days to see if it will disappear. If it is clearly tamei, a nega, plague, for which one becomes ritually impure, he is sent out of the three machanos, camps. He must be completely isolated with no one nearby and sit, wearing torn clothes, to ponder how he has ended up in this miserable place. Once the signs of impurity have disappeared and the metzora is declared healed,…

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Home -> 5784 -> Metzora

זאת תהיה תורת המצורע ביום טהרתו

Sruly Schnair
In Metzora, 5784

This shall be the law of the metzora on the day of his purification. (14:2)

Taharah, purity from sin, can only be achieved once the sinner has repented. While repentance addresses the sin between man and Hashem, the hurt that he has caused his fellow can only be ameliorated once he sincerely asks for mechilah, forgiveness. Otherwise, he has achieved nothing. What about the sin of lashon hora, whereby one has slandered his fellow, but the fellow is unaware of this incursion? Does the baal lashon hora need to meet with his victim and inform him, “I spoke lashon hora about you, and I would like to beg your forgiveness”? Why not let “sleeping dogs…

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Home -> 5784 -> Metzora

זאת תהיה תורת המצרע ביום טהרתו

Sruly Schnair
In Metzora, 5784

This shall be the law of the metzora on the day of his purification. (14:2)

Probably more has been written concerning the sin of lashon hora than any other aveirah. Its common occurrence is due to human failing. Veritably, the only way to protect oneself from falling prey to the abyss of lashon hora is not to speak. Two powerful vignettes inspires one to think twice before he speaks ill of others. A young man came to the saintly Horav Shloimke, zl, m’Zevhill, and petitioned the Rebbe for a blessing. He and his wife had been married for a considerable amount of time and had yet to be blessed with a child. They were broken-hearted….

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Home -> 5784 -> Metzora

זאת תהיה תורת המצרע ביום טהרתו

Sruly Schnair
In Metzora, 5784

This shall be the law of the metzora on the day of his purification. (14:2)

One sins – he is punished. It is as simple as that. Lashon hora, the sin of slanderous speech, is apparently different. Shortly after he commits the act of defaming his fellow, he is visited by various negaim, plagues, which first appear on the walls of his house. Then, if his scurrilous activity does not cease, he will see the plague make an appearance on his clothes. If he still does not get the message, he becomes a metzora, spiritual leper, which requires him to be removed from the community and take up residence in isolation. It seems that the…

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Home -> 5783 -> Metzora

להורות ביום הטמא וביום הטהור זאת תורת הצרעת

Sruly Schnair
In Metzora, 5783

To rule on which day it is contaminated and on which day it is purified; this is the law of tzaraas. (14:57)

The one who speaks lashon hora, who slanders with impunity, has a jaundiced view of people. In order to speak negatively about someone, it is natural (and probably necessary) to knock down his personal opinion of the subject of his lashon hora a few notches. He, therefore, has no qualms about humiliating him, because, after all, what is he? While this attitude may not course through the mind of every baal lashon hora, the mere fact that he is callous and unfeeling concerning the feelings of his fellow Jew is an indication that he has a low opinion of him….

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Home -> 5783 -> Metzora

ואם דל הוא ואין ידו משגת

Sruly Schnair
In Metzora, 5783

If he is poor and his means are not sufficient. (14:21)

The Torah goes out of its way to be sensitive to the needs of one who is impoverished. I refer to one who simply has no means of providing for his family. Poverty is, for the most part, something either we hear about – but do not actually experience – or towards which we conveniently close our eyes because it makes us feel uncomfortable and guilty. This does not mean that it does not exist. Serious pockets of poverty exist all over, especially in families who have made Torah their life’s endeavor. Since, baruch Hashem, most of us remain spectators,…

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