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ואשה כי יזיב זב דמה ימים רבים... והזרתם את בני ישראל מטומאתם ולא ימתו מטומאתם

If a woman’s blood flows for many days… You shall separate Bnei Yisrael from their contamination; and they shall not die as a result of their contamination. (15:25,31)

One would think that, as people age, they become more amenable to perform teshuvah, to repent a life lived inappropriately, not in consonance with Torah dictate. Yet, this is not necessarily true. Horav Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler, zl, writes that as a person ages, the yetzer hora, evil inclination, puts on a greater battle to lay claim to this individual’s spiritual dysfunction. After leading him astray for a lifetime, he does not want to lose the battle at the very end. I have noticed this in speaking with seniors who agree with what they “hear,” but are not prepared to effect…

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והנה פשה הנגע בבית צרעת ממארת היא בבית טמא הוא

And behold! The affliction had spread in the house: it is a malignant tzaraas in the house. (14:44)

It seems as if every type of tumah, spiritual contamination, has some form of tikkun, spiritual repair, some way to correct what has been “broken,” to fix what has been put into spiritual dysfunction – everything but tzaraas ha’bayis, a house that manifests a plague. The house must be dismantled – every component connected to the house, wood, stone, even the earth upon which it is built – must be removed. Is this not a bit extreme? Every creation has a spiritual dimension to it or else it would cease to exist: domeim, inanimate; tzomeach, growing vegetation; chai, living creations;…

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ויצא הכהן אל מחוץ למחנה וראה הכהן והנה נרפא נגע הצרעת מן הצרוע

The Kohen shall go forth to the outside of the camp; the Kohen shall look, and behold: the tzaraas affliction has been healed from the metzora. (14:3)

The atonement of the metzora does not occur overnight. He must spend time in quarantine, away from people, alone with himself, so that he can reflect on his misdeeds. He was better than others – or so he thought. His haughtiness bred contempt for others – because, after all, he was better than they were. Being alone allows him the opportunity to realize how much “better” he really is. As soon as he comes full circle and comes down from his lofty perch, he is ready for atonement. The spiritual healing process has begun. The three-stage process of purification may…

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זאת תהיה תורת המצורע

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

The tongue has no mind. It expresses the feelings that the individual has in his heart. A positive person, whose outlook on life and people is positive, invariably speaks only good – because this is what he sees. This is what he feels in his heart. A negative person, whose view on life and people is jaundiced, speaks lashon hora, evil speech, because this is all that he knows. In other words, the best protection against lashon hora is a positive outlook. A primary component for maintaining a positive view on people is to respect others. This is increasingly difficult…

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