Transcript
Good morning, בוקר טוב Boker tov, should be a good morning for כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael. May we hear בשורות טובות besoros tovos. Please God we should hear good news. Hostages should be home, our soldiers should return to their families in a sweeping, sweeping victory. I want to thank our פרשה parsha series sponsors for the year, Becky and Avi Katz and family in memory of Becky's father, לעילוי נשמת דוד בן מנחם מנש l'iluy nishmas David ben Menachem Manes, David Grossman. Today's שיעור shiur is also sponsored by Elie and Amy Buzaglo in commemoration of his father's יארצייט yahrtzeit, יוסף בן מסעד בוזגלו Yosef ben Mas'ad Buzaglo, as נשמה neshama should have an עליה aliyah. Thank you so much. We are last פרשה שיעור parsha shiur until after פסח Pesach. It's not my fault because there is no פרשה parsha. So this is שבת הגדול Shabbos HaGadol. We still read פרשת מצורע Parshas Metzora, and then next week is פסח Pesach. שבת חול המועד Shabbos Chol HaMoed, and then it will be פסח Pesach the Tuesday morning. Still פסח Pesach, right? פסח Pesach is over Tuesday night. So we'll resume the Tuesday a week following פסח Pesach. We will resume. But this week we have the privilege of learning and reading and studying פרשת מצורע Parshas Metzora, page 620 in the ArtScroll Stone חומש Chumash. וידבר ה' אל משה לאמר זאת תהיה תורת המצורע ביום טהרתו והובא אל הכהן Vayedaber Hashem el Moshe leimor, zos tihyeh toras hametzora b'yom taharaso, v'huva el hakohen. If you enjoyed פרשת תזריע Parshas Tazria, you're gonna love פרשת מצורע Parshas Metzora.It's basically an extension, a continuation of many of the same themes, notably the הלכה halacha of the מצורע metzora, the individual who used and abused the power of speech, didn't use it to uplift and to construct and to support and to inspire and to comfort, used it to destroy and to denigrate and to marginalize. And they used their power of speech for gossip, for slander, and to judge others. And the individual, of course, it results in צרעת tzaraas. So let's examine some more now as the פרשה parsha continues in מצורע Metzora along the same line, along the same theme. We're going to start out with three insights of Rav Druck in his להבות אש Lahavos Eish. The first. It says in the פסוק pasuk, זאת תהיה תורת המצורע ביום טהרתו zos tihyeh toras hametzora b'yom taharaso. This is the Torah of the מצורע metzora on the day that he is purified. And what's the תורה Torah of the מצורע metzora? והובא אל הכהן V'huva el hakohen. The תורה Torah, the law of the מצורע metzora is that he's brought to the כהן kohen. פירוש הדבר הרי המצורע זה שדיבר לשון הרע על חברו Peirush hadavar, harei hametzora zeh she'diber lashon hara al chaveiro. This individual spoke ill about another. כדיברי הגמרא בערכין K'divrei haGemara b'Erchin, שעל זה באין הנגעים she'al zeh ba'in hanega'im, that these blemishes, the spiritual leprosy is the result of negative speech. How does that happen? Why does someone speak negatively about somebody else? Says Rav Druck, the answer is, אומר לעצמו omer l'atzmo, such an individual says to themselves, מה כבר עשיתי Ma kvar asisi? What did I do that was so bad? I didn't punch someone, I didn't shoot someone, I didn't steal from someone, I didn't injure or harm somebody. It's words. מה כבר דיברתי בסך הכל כמה מילים Ma kvar dibarti? B'sach hakol kama milim? I said a few words. Okay, guilty as charged. Caught me at a bad moment, a weak moment, a negative moment, and I said something negative. It was just words. Did I really hurt anybody? וכי יש לדבר כזה משמעות גדולה עד שעל כל מילים ראוי ללקות כל כך V'chi yesh l'dibur kazeh mashma'us gedolah, ad she'al kol milim ra'ui lilkos kol kach? I said some words, inappropriate words, I misused my words, but because of that, you got this whole thing? Have to go חוץ למחנה chutz l'machaneh, live sequestered, secluded, have to go through a whole purification process. על כך משיבה לו התורה ואומרת לו Al kach meshiva lo haTorah v'omeres lo. So that's what the Torah is responding to, and the Torah says, אם חפץ אתה לראות כמה משמעות יש למילים אז והובא אל הכהן Im chafetz ata liros kama mashma'us yesh l'milim, az v'huva el hakohen. It's a brilliant insight of Rav Druck.What's the law? What's the הלכה halacha? The individual has to be brought to the כהן kohen. Why? Why are you brought to the כהן kohen? Is it objectively or not objectively צרעת tzaraas? I don't know what the equivalent of WebMD is for spiritual maladies, but a person suspects they broke out in צרעת tzaraas, go on WebMD for spiritual maladies and check it out. Google Images for צרעת tzaraas. Yeah, I think I got צרעת tzaraas. Or no, I don't think this is צרעת tzaraas. What do you have to be brought to the כהן kohen? And the כהן kohen, Rav Druck doesn't say this explicitly, but the כהן kohen actually has enormous power because the individual is not defined, doesn't have the status or identity of מצורע metzora, doesn't have to go through the process of rehabilitation until, unless the כהן kohen pronounces them טמא tamei. Power is all in the כהן's kohen's hands. So much so the רמב\"ם Rambam codifies what חז\"ל Chazal tell us that if an individual is in the שבעת ימי המשתה shiv'as yemei hamishteh, they're in the שבע ברכות sheva brachos, they got married. Could you imagine? פאשטער דעם שמחה Fashter dem simcha. Imagine what happens to שבע ברכות sheva brachos. The night after one of my daughter's weddings, it was during the Corona wedding, we all wore masks and separated and was small and outdoor, all the things. But the first שבע ברכות sheva bracha, the next night, my son-in-law comes to me and he says, אבא Abba, I don't know how to tell you this and I don't know what to do. I can't smell and I can't taste anything. I said, you got to get, you got to get checked. We got to let everybody know. ברוך השם Baruch Hashem he was just a tired, exhausted חתן chassan who had a cold and not Corona. It was negative for Corona. ברוך השם Baruch Hashem. ברוך השם Baruch Hashem. But could you imagine פאשטער דעם שמחה fashter dem simcha, the whole שמחה simcha? The חתן chassan has צרעת tzaraas? So the רמב\"ם Rambam says, no, no, the כהן kohen doesn't look, doesn't declare, doesn't examine. Does that help? I know there were people who felt if you didn't get tested for Corona, you didn't have it. But that's not the way it works. If you have a disease that is contagious, it's not a function of whether the doctor or the test declares it. So by not going to the כהן kohen, you could avoid it? And therefore a person could celebrate their שבע ברכות sheva brachos, or conversely, mark a שבעה shiva or whatever the case may be.Says Rav Druck, listen to this insight. You know why והובא אל הכהן v'huva el hakohen? Because this individual thought, it's just words. What power do words have? It's like I gossiped, I slandered, I spoke negatively. It was just some words. The answer is, look at the words of the כהן kohen. The power of words, when the כהן kohen declares you טמא tamei, your life is upside down. If he didn't declare you טמא tamei, then your life continues as normal. You see the power of words. Words have the ability to create reality. גם אם הנגע הוא אחד מארבעת מראות הנגע טהור עם כל זה אינו טמא עד שהכהן מוציא את המילים מפיו ואומר טמא Gam im hanega hu echad m'arbaas mar'os hanega tahor, im kol zeh eino tamei ad shehakohen motzi es hamilim mipiv v'omer tamei. וכן יוצא בזה בטהר V'chein yotzei b'zeh b'tahar. הדיבור של הכהן הוא זה שמטמא והוא זה שמטהר Hadibur shel hakohen hu zeh shem'tamei, v'hu zeh shem'taher. It is the speech of the כהן kohen that creates reality. לפיכך מובן שיש כאן תשובה נפלאה למצורע הטועה למה צריך את הטהרה הזאת שנעשה אצל הכהן L'fichach muvan sheyesh kan tshuva nifla'ah l'metzora hato'eh lama tzarich es hatohara hazos shena'aseh etzel hakohen. And that's why the answer is this individual, והובא v'huva, let's go to the כהן kohen. Why not go to the כהן kohen? WebMD, Google Images, let me check it out. No, the answer is, it's not a function of objectively do you have it. והובא אל הכהן V'huva el hakohen, the כהן kohen has to declare it, because you're going to see the power of words. So what's the תורת המצורע toras hametzora? זאת תהיה תורת המצורע והובא אל הכהן Zos tihyeh toras hametzora, v'huva el hakohen. The answer, the antidote, the message, the rehabilitation of the מצורע metzora is והובא אל הכהן v'huva el hakohen, go to the כהן kohen and see the power of words.I shared with you before, this was Rav Soloveitchik's insight, why the holiest night of the year, כל נדרי Kol Nidrei night, we call it כל נדרי Kol Nidrei night, but יום כיפור Yom Kippur night, there's so many things that we could say, so many parts of liturgy that would move us. And what do we sing? What do we say? כל נדרי Kol Nidrei. We list off these really boring laws of oaths and promises and pledges and we do התרת נדרים hataras nedarim collectively, and that's the entrance into the holiest day of the year. Like, sit on the floor and sing אחינו Acheinu. Let's have a קומזיץ kumzits. כל נדרי Kol Nidrei? Like people don't look at the English. If you would, if you would actually the חזן chazzan would sing, 'All oaths...' you know, sing כל נדרי Kol Nidrei with that haunting melody in the English, you'd be what in the world is going on right now? That's how you start יום כיפור Yom Kippur? Rav Soloveitchik said, yeah. You're about to stand before Hashem for 25 hours. You're going to say, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I couldn't have, I should have, I shouldn't have, I should have... Words matter. Words mean something. Words count. You want to know how you see that words matter? נדרים Nedarim. What's a נדר neder? What's a promise, a pledge, an oath? You know, right now, that chair is permissible. But if I say that chair is forbidden to me, like something that's forbidden, I can transform the status of the chair and turn it into a piece of חזיר'שע מאכל chazir'she ma'achal. It could be as forbidden to me as pork. It could be as forbidden to me as a cheeseburger. All through my words. Words have power. Words have meaning. Words can alter reality. We have to remember the power of words, not only in הלכה halacha, but interpersonally. Our words matter. Somebody calls you says, I'm thinking about doing business with him. Be careful with your words. What do you think? You're on the שידוך shidduch resume. Tell me about him. You could make or destroy a שידוך shidduch. You could make or destroy a פרנסה parnasa, a livelihood. Words matter. They mean something. So the individual who didn't realize the power of words and misused them to speak negatively of another, what's the תורת המצורע Toras HaMetzora? The antidote, the תורה Torah of the מצורע metzora is והובא אל הכהן v'huva el hakohen, be brought to the כהן kohen. That is Rav Druck number one. Rav Druck number two.The משנה Mishna in נגעים Nega'im tells us, מצורע שנכנס לבית כל הכלים שיש שם טמאים אפילו עד קורות metzora shenichnas l'bayis, kol hakeilim sheyesh sham teme'im, afilu ad koros. That a מצורע metzora who enters the house, all the utensils, everything in the house is contaminated, takes on the status of טומאה tumah, even until the beams of the house. רבי שמעון אומר עד ארבע אמות כלים מיטמאין Rabbi Shimon omer ad arba amos keilim mitam'in. רבי יהודה אומר אם שהה כדי הדלקת הנר Rabbi Yehuda omer im shaha k'dei hadlakas haner. So there's a מחלוקת machlokes in the משנה Mishna in נגעים Nega'im, 13th פרק perek of נגעים Nega'im, is it just when the מצורע metzora enters the house they contaminate everything, or is it only the four אמות amos around them, or do they have to remain in the house long enough to light a candle? המצורע מטמא את מושבו Hametzora m'tamei es moshavo. The מצורע metzora contaminates the place they dwell. וכאשר נכנס לבית ברשות הכלים שבבית נטמאים V'ka'asher nichnas l'bayis b'reshus, hakeilim she'ba'bayis nitma'im. So when they enter a house with permission, when they're entitled to be there, they contaminate, they transfer their טומאה tumah, their impurity on everything in the house. But how long? So רבי יהודה Rabbi Yehuda says it's not called the place of their dwelling unless they're in the house long enough to light a candle. It seems kind of arbitrary. Why don't you say until they're there long enough to make a potato kugel? They're in the house long enough to, I don't know, check the stock market. How do we arbitrarily choose the definition of it being their dwelling? How do you define in the house for the length of a dwelling? Long enough to light a candle. It seems kind of arbitrary. יש לומר שלו יצא בעל הבית מבית המצורע מהר שהוא טהור בהדלקת הנר ולסלקו בידו מלצאת, לכך אין נחשב הבית למקום מושבו של המצורע והכלים שבבית אינם טמאים Yesh lomar, she'lo yotzei ba'al habayis m'beis hametzora maher, she'hu tahor b'hadlakas haner u'l'salko b'yado milatzeis, l'kach ein nechshav habayis l'makom moshavo shel hametzora, v'hakeilim she'ba'bayis einam teme'im. רק אם שהה שיעור זה של הדלקת הנר, ולא הוציאו בעל הבית משם Rak im shaha shiur zeh shel hadlakas haner, v'lo hotzio ba'al habayis misham. If nobody kicked you out of the house and said, 'Get out! You're טמא tamei! You're going to ruin everything!' within the time it takes to light the candle, they're out. צריך להבין Tzarich l'havin, why, why דוקא dafka this length of time? Says Rav Druck, יתכן לבאר בדרך רמז כי הנה כל המצורע ששלחו אותו מחוץ למחנה שישב בדד, אומרים לו שהוא מחרחר ריב ומדבר לשון הרע, על כן מקומו הוא מחוץ למחנה Yitachen l'va'er b'derech remez, ki hinei kol hametzora she'shalchu oso michutz l'machaneh she'yeshev badad, omrim lo she'hu m'charcheir riv u'medaber lashon hara, al kein m'komo hu michutz l'machaneh. This individual, part of the rehabilitation is they have to live and dwell where? Outside of the camp. בדד Badad. Alone. איכה ישבה בדד Eicha yashva badad. On תשעה באב Tisha B'Av we read איכה Eicha, and we bemoan, we mourn, we grieve how we were all alone. It feels like it again. It didn't for a moment, hopefully it can remain. One of the most incredible miracles of מוצאי שבת Motzei Shabbos was not just knocking down 300 missiles. Maybe you saw this write up by a physicist who said we don't begin to understand what it means. 99% being being knocked down, the miracle that it is. Drones, ballistic missiles, all kinds of concoction of missiles all mixed and layered over each other, and yet knocking them all down. It's a miracle. You know what else is a miracle? That Saudi Arabia and Jordan and UAE, these countries all helped. It's a miracle. So for a little bit, we don't feel alone. For for five minutes. Hopefully it can last and continue. But the Jewish people know what it means to be alone. It's painful to be alone. It compounds whatever you're going through to go through it alone. That's why we have a מצוה mitzva ביקור חולים bikkur cholim, ניחום אבלים nichum aveilim, to show up, to show up, to be present, to offer companionship, because that can help provide strength and support when a person's going through something that's difficult.So this מצורע metzora, what do we do? We say, go be alone. You're in time out. בדד ישב Badad yeshev, alone. חוץ למחנה מושבו Chutz l'machaneh moshavo, outside the camp. Why? Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz says, because when they gossiped and slandered another, you know what they did? They made that person feel alone. When you speak negatively about somebody, if you're the victim, if you're the subject of לשון הרע lashon hara, you feel alone. Does everyone believe that? How could they just stand by and accept that and listen to that? Is this what everyone's saying about me? You see somebody post online or you heard a conversation at a שבת Shabbos table, or somebody says something, gets back to you, they said, you feel very, very alone. So the individual who gossiped made people feel alone. Part of their rehabilitation is they have to go outside and be alone, and be alone. שאינו יכול לסבול חברת אנשים, וכל עניין הדלקת הנר בערב שבת הוא משום שלום בית. לפיכך תלוי הדבר בזה בהדלקת הנר She'eino yachol lisbol chevras anashim, v'chol inyan hadlakas haner b'erev Shabbos hu mishum shalom bayis. L'fichach taluy hadavar b'zeh b'hadlakas haner. The whole notion of lighting a candle is to illuminate, to dispel the darkness, to create connection. Why do we light the candles on Friday night? The whole הדלקת נרות שבת hadlakas neiros Shabbos is שלום בית shalom bayis. That's why a person has limited resources, they can buy either שבת Shabbos candles or חנוכה Chanukah candles. חנוכה Chanukah candles commemorate a miracle, miracle, פירסומי ניסא pirsumei nisa. Yet, which do you spend the money on? Where do you allocate it? The שבת Shabbos candle or the חנוכה Chanukah candles? I'm the only rabbi speaking about חנוכה Chanukah on ערב פסח Erev Pesach. שבת Shabbos candles. Why? Because שבת Shabbos is שלום בית shalom bayis. Lighting the candles is שלום בית shalom bayis. כך אומרים למצורע כאשר נכנס לבית שמדליקים בו את הנר ויש בו שלום בית, אין זה מקום מושבו של המצורע, שהוא למתאים שייך לבית כזה Kach omrim l'metzora, ka'asher nichnas l'bayis she'madlikim bo es haner, v'yesh bo shalom bayis, ein zeh makom moshavo shel hametzora, she'hu l'mat'im shayach l'bayis kazeh. You who sowed, you who sowed disruption, you who sowed dispute and divide and division, you don't belong in a house where the candle that's lit. So that's why, says Rav Druck, where do we come up with this arbitrary measure? How long is it to be in a house that you consider dwelling there, that you would contaminate and transfer impurity? The time it takes to light a candle, because he didn't light candles, he extinguished candles. He created מחלוקת machlokes through his speech. Third Rav Druck, and then we'll move on, all in the opening פסוק pasuk of our פרשה parsha. It's a short פרשה parsha.זאת תהיה תורת המצורע ביום טהרתו והובא אל הכהן Zos tihyeh toras hametzora b'yom taharaso v'huva el hakohen. The מדרש רבה Midrash Rabbah says, זאת תהיה תורת המצורע הה\"ד ולרשע אמר אלקים מה לך לספר חוקי ותשא בריתי על פיך zos tihyeh toras hametzora, hahu d'chsiv v'larasha omar Elokim ma lecha lesaper chukai v'tisa brisi al picha. יש להבין את דברי המדרש, זאת תהיה תורת המצורע ולרשע אמר אלקים Yesh l'havin es divrei haMidrash, zos tihyeh toras hametzora, v'larasha amar Elokim. What's the connection between this is the law of the מצורע metzora, and to the wicked, Hashem said, why are you talking about my חוקים chukim? So it says Rav Druck the following. המצורע שבאו עליו נגעי צרעת הרי הוא אדם רשע Hametzora she'ba'u alav nigei tzaraas, harei hu adam rasha. The individual who gets diagnosed, the כהן kohen diagnoses him with צרעת tzaraas, his skin, the surface has revealed the פנים pnim, what's inside. And what's inside is pretty rotten. If you could sit and be so judgmental and hypercritical and slander and gossip and hurt and harm and marginalize others, it's pretty rotten inside. You're pretty rotten inside. כך אמר רבי יוחנן על שבעה דברים נגעים באין. נגעים על לשון הרע, שפיכות דמים, וכו' Kach amar Rabbi Yochanan, al shiv'ah devarim nega'im ba'in. Nega'im al lashon hara, shfichus damim, etc. Gossip, murder, false promises, promiscuity, arrogance, theft, looking with a critical eye. אם כן כשם המצורע הוא רשע, והקדוש ברוך הוא אינו חפץ בתורתו Im kein, kashem hametzora hu rasha, v'haKadosh Baruch Hu eino chafetz b'soraso. Because the רשע rasha is wicked, Hashem is not really interested in his תורה Torah. What does it mean his תורה Torah? You know the רשע rasha always has like the world according to me. Here's the way I see it. Here's my principle. Here's my perspective. You know what Hashem says? I don't really care. I'm paraphrasing Hashem there. Hashem says I don't, I don't really care about your perspective and your policies and your principles and your approach to life. So therefore it says זאת תהיה תורת המצורע ביום טהרתו zos tihyeh toras hametzora b'yom taharaso. אימתי תורתו של המצורע מתקבלת אצל הקדוש ברוך הוא, רק ביום טהרתו Eimasai toraso shel hametzora miskabeles etzel haKadosh Baruch Hu? Rak b'yom taharaso. When is the מצורע metzora and his principle and his Torah accepted to Hashem? Only on a day that he becomes pure. כשהוא נטהר וכבר אינו מצורע, אך מקודם לכן אומר הקדוש ברוך הוא לאותו המצורע, מה לך לספר חוקי ותשא בריתי על פיך K'shehu nithar v'kvar eino metzora, ach mikodem l'chein omer haKadosh Baruch Hu l'oso hametzora, ma lecha l'saper chukai v'tisa brisi al picha. He quotes the פסוק pasuk in תהלים Tehillim. The מדרש Midrash is connecting that פסוק pasuk here. Hashem says what do I care about your perspective, what do I care about your principled stance, what do I care about your view of life? You're a רשע rasha, you're rotten in your core. Your judgment, your negativity, your gossip, I care about your view of life? I don't really care. When will I care again? זאת תהיה תורת המצורע Zos tihyeh toras hametzora, when? Only ביום טהרתו b'yom taharaso. ויש להוסיף ולבאר V'yesh l'hosif u'l'va'er, Rav Druck continues and he says. כאשר הרשע המצורע מספר חוקי הקדוש ברוך הוא ועוסק בתורה, הרי שאין תורה זו נחשבת כלל לתורת השם, אלא נקראת זו תורת המצורע, שהיא תורתו של המצורע הרשע Ka'asher harasha hametzora mesaper chukai haKadosh Baruch Hu v'osek b'Torah, harei she'ein Torah zo nechsheves klal l'Toras Hashem, ela nikras zo Toras HaMetzora, she'hi toraso shel hametzora harasha. You know, a רשע rasha also has the ability to manipulate and distort and pervert the תורה Torah of Hashem, to see the world through their eyes, through the prism of their view, and then to make the Torah conform, to distort the Torah. So it's called the תורת המצורע Toras HaMetzora. This תורת המצורע Toras HaMetzora. Why does someone gossip and slander? Because here's the world according to me. You know those people? We all know those people. They have something to say about everyone. This one is stingy, and this one is selfish, and this one is this, and this one is that. I warn you, you know what the problem is about hanging around such people? They're also talking about you. So when you listen and you're an accomplice to them, when you're at their שבת Shabbos table and you're willing to sit there and be a spectator while they're sharing their opinion about the whole world and everyone in it, next שבת Shabbos they're having someone else over, and they're talking about you. So be careful. Be careful who your friends with and be careful who you're a passive spectator to, because while it's easy and it's fun and you're earning social commodity by listening, next שבת Shabbos they're talking about you. That's the תורת המצורע Toras HaMetzora. תורת המצורע Toras HaMetzora.באור הדברים ביסוד שער התורה, אין תורה כשאר חכמות שבעולם, שכל העוסק בהן מחכים. תורה Torah is unlike every other discipline in the world, because תורה Torah penetrates, תורה Torah molds, תורה Torah fashions a person, it turns somebody into a בן תורה ben Torah. That's why חכמה בגויים תאמין chochmah b'goyim ta'amin, believe that there's wisdom. Chemistry, biology, physics, there's all kinds of wisdom in the nations of the world, but wisdom can be academic, conceptual, separate and apart from personality and performance. תורה Torah is supposed to mold us and shape us into a בן תורה ben Torah, a בת תורה bas Torah. תורה Torah is supposed to actually change us, transform us. עומק עניין בזה, שאין כלל מושג של תורה בלא מידות, תורה בלא דרך ארץ Omek inyan b'zeh, she'ein klal musag shel Torah b'lo middos, Torah b'lo derech eretz. That's why the משנה Mishna in אבות Avos has מ\"ח קניינים שהתורה נקנית בהן mem ches kinyanim she'haTorah nikneis bahem. There are 48 ways the Torah is acquired. Why? There are 48 personality traits, 48 ways we work on ourselves. You can't acquire Torah, it can't penetrate, it doesn't mold and fashion, it doesn't transform you unless it comes with also better, a better personality. כשם שכלל ישראל לא יכלו לקבל את התורה עד שחנו כאיש אחד בלב אחד K'shem she'Klal Yisrael lo yachlu l'kabel es haTorah ad she'chanu k'ish echad b'lev echad, before we were united and together, we couldn't have Torah. It was the prerequisite. So מי שמדבר לשון הרע ומתנהג בגסות רוח לא יתכן שיכול לזכות בתורה Mi she'medaber lashon hara u'misnaheg b'gasus ruach, lo yitachen she'yuchal lizkos b'Torah. So a person who's self-centered, who's selfish, who's narcissistic, a person who sees the world and has an opinion and a judgment of everyone and everything in it, they're not actually observing Hashem's Torah. Whose Torah are they observing? תורת המצורע Toras HaMetzora. It's the Torah of the מצורע metzora. They've interchanged, they've changed their Torah for Hashem's Torah. And that such a person needs to be מחוץ למחנה michutz l'machaneh. Such a person needs to be outside the camp. They need to realize what's happened, and they need to come back to embrace the תורה Torah of Hashem, not to have the תורת המצורע Toras HaMetzora. Three of Rav Druck we opened with. The אמרות טהרות Amros Tehoros of the הילולא דרחמישטריווקא רבה Hilula d'Rachmastrivka Rebbe, זכותו יגן עלינו zechuso yagen aleinu. Passed away this year. And he says two ideas. The word זאת תהיה תורת המצורע ביום טהרתו והובא אל הכהן zos tihyeh toras hametzora b'yom taharaso v'huva el hakohen. He quotes the מאור עינים Me'or Einayim. Who was the מאור עינים Me'or Einayim? The טשערנאבילער רבי נחום נחם מטשערנאביל Chernobyler, Rav Nachum Nacham of Chernobyl. הנה חז\"ל Hinei Chazal say in ערכין דף ט\"ו Erchin daf tet zayin, דרשו מצורע נוטריקון מוציא רע darshu metzora notrikon motzi ra. Where does the word מצורע metzora come from? מצורע Metzora is... מצורע metzora is a conjunction of two words, מוציא רע motzi ra. שכל המספר לשון הרע נגעים באים עליו She'kol ha'mesaper lashon hara nega'im ba'im alav. In other words, our words create reality. We didn't appreciate this as much until this generation that we can now. You know why? I'm not gonna try it right now because your phones are going to all respond and light up and things are going to happen. You ever, you ever on Shabbos, talking on the Shabbos table, be careful because the technology in the other room are gonna turn on the blender. You gotta be careful. Today, we have speech recognition. You can direct, you could sit on your couch, sit back in your recliner, and tell your phone what to do, turn on the oven, get the mixer going. You can talk into your phone and your Tesla will come pick you up because it's raining outside. I stood next to somebody who did that. Tesla with the automatic driving, you can, if it's raining under the canopy, you don't want to get wet. You tell the car to come pick you up. We're living like a George Jetson time. We're living in future, we're living in crazy times. So every day in our דאווענען davening we say, ברוך שאמר והיה העולם Baruch she'amar v'haya ha'olam. הקדוש ברוך הוא HaKadosh Baruch Hu you spoke and you created a world. בעשרה מאמרות נברא העולם B'asarah ma'amaros nivra ha'olam. With ten sayings, Hashem created the whole world. You know who else creates and destroys worlds? We do. We do. We can create and destroy worlds with our power of speech. So we always gave that as like a nice rabbi homiletical idea, right? We can create and destroy with our words. Be nice. Sticks and stone, whatever. Words can't hurt me. Words create. But we see it in reality today. Words create. Words can launch wars. Apparently the word 'don't' doesn't mean anything, but other words can do things. Other words can do things and mean things.So this individual who abused their power of speech, they were מוציא רע motzi ra. They brought evil into the world. מוציא Motzi, they brought it, they fashioned, they created evil in the world. ואין עניינו כי הנה כשברא הקדוש ברוך הוא את השמים ואת הארץ, בראשית, בשביל התורה שנקראת ראשית, בשביל ישראל שנקראו ראשית V'ein inyano, ki hinei k'shebara haKadosh Baruch Hu es hashamayim v'es ha'aretz, b'reishis, bishvil haTorah shenikreis reishis, bishvil Yisrael shenikre'u reishis. Torah is called the first, the Jewish people are called the first. וישראל בעיני הקדוש ברוך הוא כמה חשובים ויקרים הם לפני יתברך V'Yisrael b'einei haKadosh Baruch Hu kama chashuvim v'yikarim heim lifnei yisbarach. Jewish people are considered to be great and precious before Hashem. עד שרק בשבילם ברא את כל העולם Ad she'rak bishvilam bara es kol ha'olam. The whole world was created just in the merit of the Jewish people. ודאי מקבל השם יתברך תענוג ונחת מכל אחד ואחד מהם V'vadai mekabel Hashem Yisbarach ta'anug v'nachas m'kol echad v'echad mehem. ובכללם אפילו מן הרשע הגדול U'v'chlalam afilu min harasha hagadol. God gets great satisfaction from every one of his children, including those who we would call a רשע rasha. Because after all, we're Hashem's children. This past שבת Shabbos, Rav Kelish spoke about it over and over again. There's nothing like the prayer of a parent who loves a child unconditionally and says, Hashem, I have to and I do love this child who is complicated to love, who brings shame and challenge and difficulty and costs me enormous amount and makes me worry, and I love him or her unconditionally. You're my father, you need to love me even when I misbehave, even if I bring you shame. That is the most heartfelt prayer that there is. So even this רשע rasha, הקדוש ברוך הוא haKadosh Baruch Hu loves because we're his children. ומפני כן חמור כל כך עניין הלשון הרע שלא לדבר סרה על שום אדם מישראל, כי מי שמדבר לשון הרע על שום אחד מישראל, מבטל להקדוש ברוך הוא את התענוג שיש לו ממנו U'mifnei chein chamur kol kach inyan halashon hara, shelo l'daber sarah al shum adam m'Yisrael, ki mi shemedaber lashon hara al shum echad m'Yisrael, mevatel la'Kadosh Baruch Hu es ha'ta'anug sheyesh lo mimeno. וכתב עוד בלשונו שמהפך בו מידת עצבות כביכול V'kasav od b'leshono she'mehapech bo middas atzvos k'viyachol. When you speak about one of God's children negatively, you're making him sad. You're making Hashem sad about you. ולכן עונשו של המספר לשון הרע שיבואו עליו נגעים מידה כנגד מידה V'lachen onsho shel ham'saper lashon hara she'yavo'u alav nega'im middah k'neged middah. אחרי שהוא ביטל את התענוג של הקדוש ברוך הוא והפך עונג לנגע Acharei she'hu bitel es ha'ta'anug shel haKadosh Baruch Hu v'hafuch oneg l'nega. Hashem was getting tremendous נחת nachas, he had עונג oneg, he had pleasure and joy and a גשמק geshmak from all of his children, even the רשע rasha, even the child, even the fifth child. You know the סדר Seder next week we'll talk about the four sons. But there's a fifth son. The fifth son is the one who doesn't even make it to the סדר Seder. Maybe they come for פסח Pesach, they don't want to come to the סדר Seder. But the parents still says, 'but you're all home'. Put on a ירמולקה yarmulke, no ירמולקה yarmulke, earrings, piercings, tattoos, whoever you brought home with you, but you're here. And I have עונג oneg. I'm focused on the pleasure and the joy and the עין ayin, the עונג oneg. And then you go and you gossip and you marginalize, and then you go you're critical, and you speak לשון הרע lashon hara. And now for Hashem you turned his עונג oneg into נגע nega, the עין ayin. התיקון לזה הוא עסק התורה Hatikkun l'zeh hu eisek haTorah. כי מאחר שבדיבורו דיבר לשון הרע עשה קלקול בדיבורו Ki mei'achar she'b'diburo diber lashon hara asa kilkul b'diburo. So if you abuse the power of speech by speaking negatively, how do you repair the power of speech? By speaking Torah, positively. The vocabulary and the language of Torah. And that says the רחמסטריבקא Rachmastrivka, that says the טשערנאבילער Chernobyler, the מאור עינים Me'or Einayim, that's what our opening פסוק pasuk is telling us. זאת תהיה תורת המצורע Zos tihyeh toras hametzora. זה האיש שהיה מוציא רע Zeh ha'ish she'hayah motzi ra. זאת תהיה תורת המצורע דיבור הוא בחינת מלכות Zos tihyeh toras hametzora, dibur hu b'chinas malchus. תורתו תהיה כדי לעלות ולסלק את הדיבור על ידי עסק התורה Toraso tihyeh k'dei la'alos u'l'salek es hadibur al yedei eisek haTorah. And how do you know how to speak that? So what's the answer? זאת תהיה תורת המצורע Zos tihyeh toras hametzora. The מצורע metzora needs to learn the speech, the vocabulary of Torah. Where do they learn it? How do you learn how to talk like a בן תורה ben Torah? You know there's speech that's beneath us, below us. We grew up with that. It's a very Jewish idea. It's פאס נישט pas nisht. It's פאס נישט pas nisht. It's beneath you to speak like that. I, but the, you know, used to be you say the FC, what do they call it? FCC? Who regulates the public channels? FCC. Their standards already are nothing. Today in the middle of the day, you could have curses on regular TV. But it didn't, it didn't make it through a list, so it's not really obscene or profane. Yes, it is. A בן תורה ben Torah doesn't use that word. A בן תורה ben Torah doesn't speak like that. A בת תורה bas Torah doesn't speak like that. There's obscenity, profanity. We have our own list. It's beneath us. There's a תורה Torah, there's a תורה Torah to our vocabulary. There's a תורה Torah to our, how we speak, how we carry ourselves, how we dress, who we are. This מצורע metzora who was מוציא רע motzi ra, who gave birth and brought wickedness and evil into the world by speaking negatively about a peer, a fellow Jew, a sibling, so now they need to learn the proper vocabulary. How do you learn the proper vocabulary? It's the vocabulary, the תורת המצורע toras hametzora, it's the Torah. And how do they go learn it? Where do they learn it from? Rosetta Stone? Where do you go learn the vocabulary of Torah? How to speak Torah? והובא אל הכהן V'huva el hakohen. You go to the כהן kohen, because the כהן kohen is the teacher of every generation. They're the light of every generation. Go to the כהן kohen. That's the טשערנאבילער Chernobyler. The אגרת הכלה Iggeres HaKallah has another interpretation. זאת תהיה תורת המצורע ביום טהרתו Zos tihyeh toras hametzora b'yom taharaso. לדקדק על אומרו זאת תהיה תורת המצורע, היה לו לומר רק ביום טהרת המצורע L'dakdek al omro zos tihyeh toras hametzora, hayah lo lomar rak b'yom taharas hametzora. Why does it introduce with this whole expression, this phrase, זאת תהיה תורת המצורע zos tihyeh toras hametzora? Why not just start with the law, which is on the day of his becoming pure, bring him to the כהן kohen. זאת תהיה תורת המצורע ביום טהרתו Zos tihyeh toras hametzora b'yom taharaso. It's all extraneous, it's all superfluous, it's unnecessary. So says the אמרות טהרות Amros Tehoros, כי הנה בהמשך הכתוב נאמר וציוה הכהן ולקח למטהר שתי ציפורים Ki hinei b'hemshech hakasuv ne'emar v'tziva hakohen v'lakach l'mitaher shtei tziporim. We continue and you take two birds, and עץ ארז eitz erez, a cedar tree, and שני תולעת shni tola'as. And רש\"י Rashi says, הנגעים באים על לשון הרע שהוא מעשה פטפוטי דברים hanega'im ba'im al lashon hara shehu ma'asei pitputei devarim. Why do you take two birds? What do birds do? Chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp. And what did this person do? Chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp. What do birds do? They tweet. What did this person do? They used Twitter too much. They tweeted things they shouldn't have tweeted. לפיכך הוצכה לטהרתו ציפורים שמפטפטים תמיד בצפצוף קול L'fichach hutzrecha l'toharaso tziporim she'mefatpetim tamid b'tziftzuf kol. עץ ארז Eitz erez. Why else do they come? גסות הרוח Gasus haruach, arrogance. And there the עץ ארז eitz erez comes to humble. שני תולעת Shni tola'as, and עזוב eizov. למה תולעת ועזוב רבי יהושע בן לוי אמר עצמו והשפיל עצמו כעזוב ותולעת Lama tolaas v'eizov, Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi amar atzmo v'hishpil atzmo k'eizov v'tolaas. And these ingredients, these materials are lowly, and we have to humble the person. ולפי זה הנה כאשר יתבונן המצורע בהיות שצריך ישעיהו מנגעיו, צריך בעיקר להתבונן בכל העניין במה לתקן את עצמו U'l'fi zeh, hinei ka'asher yisbonen hametzora b'heyoso tzarich l'he'ashe'us m'nega'av, tzarich b'ikar l'hisbonen b'chol ha'inyan b'mah l'takein es atzmo. So these aren't random. You don't use the two birds and the cedar and the שני תולעת shni tolaas of the worm. You're not using all these just some random recipe, concoction, some formula, some prescription. Each of these ingredients should make the מצורע metzora be mindful and pause and say, I'm just a lowly worm food. That's what I'm going to be in the end of days. Who am I to sit in judgment of others? And the birds they chirp, I can't chirp so much. I got to be much more thoughtful and regulate how I speak, what I speak. And זאת שאמר הכתוב זאת תהיה תורת המצורע ביום טהרתו, המצורע החפץ ליטהר מנגעיו, צריך ללמוד את תורת המצוות השייכות גם בפרשה Zos she'amar hakasuv zos tihyeh toras hametzora b'yom taharaso, hametzora hechafetz litaher m'nega'av tzarich lilmod es toras hamitzvos hashayachos gam b'parsha. So that's what it's telling us. זאת תהיה תורת המצורע Zos tihyeh toras hametzora, don't just superficially go through this as if it's some punishment, but Hashem doesn't give arbitrary punishments. Whenever Hashem prescribes a response or a reaction, a reality, it's always מידה כנגד מידה middah k'neged middah. There's something to learn. There's an ability to be transformed by it. And that's why it's תורת זאת תהיה תורת המצורע toras, zos tihyeh toras hametzora, learn what is the deeper message and deeper idea in two birds and the עץ ארז eitz erez and the שני תולעת shni tolaas and so on and so forth.פרק י\"ד פסוק ב' Perek yud daled pasuk beis. Moving along, ג' gimmel. ויצא הכהן אל מחוץ למחנה וראה הכהן והנה נרפא נגע הצרעת מן הצרוע V'yatza hakohen el michutz la'machaneh v'ra'ah hakohen v'hinei nirpa nega hatzaraas min hatzarua. The כהן kohen goes forth from the outside of the camp to go look and behold, and he sees he's been healed. טאקע takka it is, it is צרעת tzara'as. וצוה הכהן ולקח למטהר שתי צפרים חיות טהרות ועץ ארז ושני תולעת ואזוב v'tziva hakohen v'lakach l'mitaher shtei tziporim chayot t'horot v'etz erez ush'ni tolaat v'ezov. And as we just said, once the כהן kohen diagnoses it and says טאקע takka it's צרעת tzara'as, he has to say טאקע takka, he doesn't have to say טאקע takka, he just has to say טמא tamei. For the person being purified, two live clean birds, cedar wood, crimson thread, and hyssop. Specifically those ingredients. Says Rabbi Soloveitchik. Where does the כהן kohen go to see this individual? Where does he go? ויצא הכהן אל מחוץ למחנה v'yatza hakohen el michutz l'machaneh. Listen carefully. Listen carefully. The כהן kohen goes outside the camp. Listen to what Rav Soloveitchik says. When we explore this parsha we find a peculiar phenomenon. The כהן kohen here assumes the role of diagnostician and nurse. Only the כהן kohen has the right to pronounce the sick person clean or unclean. It's a task the כהן kohen would not normally be expected to perform, given the lengths that he has to go to to avoid impurity. How peculiar. The כהן kohen is a special warning. כהן Kohen can't go to the cemetery or the hospital that has a morgue. כהן Kohen can't be in the same home with a dead body. כהן Kohen can't come in contact with a שרץ sheretz. The כהן kohen has a special warning. Be on guard, be careful. Even a pregnant woman, she has a sonogram and finds out she's having a baby boy, perhaps can't go to the hospital. There's a whole discussion in הלכה halakha. Does she have to have a home delivery? She knows it's a boy because that boy already is a כהן kohen and maybe the fetus כהן kohen is already warned and cautioned not to become impure even in utero. Maybe even already in the womb. It's a whole discussion. Do you rely on the sonogram to determine if it's a boy? Does she have to undergo a sonogram? Maybe ignorance is not bliss. She has to know where she can go if she's carrying. Can a pregnant woman? It's a whole question, should it can a pregnant woman go to a cemetery, a funeral of shechter holds that the בבא סאלי Baba Sali says she can go. Others are more cautious. Heebie-jeebies, mysticism, superstition. But if does she have to check whether she's carrying a boy before she goes to a cemetery or a funeral? Whole discussion. So the כהן kohen is warned. Stay away, be careful, be vigilant, no טומאה tumah. Until the מצורע metzora. Then we say, go. Go מחוץ למחנה michutz l'machaneh. Go to the leprosy camp. Go into the place of טומאה tumah. Go check out this this leper. It's a task you'd never think to assign that would be assigned to a כהן kohen. Why is this job assigned to the כהן kohen? Furthermore there are many forms of impurity in the Torah. Anyone with the required knowledge can help with the purification. Yet, צרעת tzara'as is assigned only to the כהן kohen. Send the dermatologist. Send a לוי Levi or ישראל Yisrael, send somebody who's not cautioned to be careful about impurity. Continues Rav Soloveitchik. Let us analyze the situation of the מצורע metzora and the treatment of leprosy in biblical times. The phobia related to leprosy in olden times is similar to the phobia of modern malignancy. The greatest fear was the fear of discovery. One took sick and the outward symptoms caused others to suspect he had leprosy. Immediately the sick man lost his human dignity. He became isolated from the community. People were afraid to associate with him or even greet him. He was often killed or at the very least driven out of town. From time to time he offered a meager supply of food, thrown to him like food thrown to a dog. He was treated harshly for the sin of having contracted the disease. Might as well be talking about Corona. You remember in the early days of Corona. I remember. My son-in-law got Corona during חנוכה Chanukah. He stood outside looking through the window while we looked while we lit the חנוכה Chanukah candles. He slept in the guest room detached from the house. We put food outside his door he could come and take it. But God forbid, you know, with gloves and distance and mask and don't open your door till we leave. You remember the way we were? And how that made people feel. פסח Pesach's coming up. We'll never forget פסח Pesach 2020. People had סדר seder all alone. Now, we should be taking stock, there should be a review, we should be evaluating what we did right, what we did wrong. We did the best with what we knew at the time and we deferred from the experts, and that's our job to listen to. But they, the experts, and we, with them, should be looking back and learning from it. But there were people who were all alone. That pain of being alone. There's no question that it hastened people's death. The the loneliness of it. The loneliness of it, of being alone. So that was leprosy. People who got leprosy. There are people alive old enough to remember leper colonies. And what happened when a person got leprosy and how they were made to feel. What is the Jewish approach? Says Rav Soloveitchik. The first thing the Torah demands, bring the כהן kohen. The leper was thus instantly removed from the mob psychosis. The כהן kohen diagnosed and pronounced the טומאה tumah as צרעת tzara'as. But the leper was not subsequently cut off of society. He was in communication with the כהן kohen as one of the heads of the community. In fact, the מצורע metzora could request being seen by the כהן גדול kohen gadol himself. A man who was not permitted to attend the funeral of his closest relatives. And yet, if the כהן גדול kohen gadol was summoned, he had to go to the leper. The Torah legislated to prevent the loss of human dignity. The כהן kohen went to the leper outside the camp to demonstrate that he was his friend. The מצורע metzora was isolated from everyone except the leader, who must do everything possible to heal him and bring him back to society. The כהן kohen assures the man, you are needed, you will get well, you will return. We love you, we haven't forgotten you. The כהן kohen acts for the needs of the people. The message of פרשת מצורע Parshas Metzora is that even someone who holds the exalted office of כהונה kehuna must not abandon his fellow Jew. He must have his compassion for everyone, even someone as dangerously ill as the leper. Not only the כהן kohen, but the prophet as well was charged with the role of being such a friend. The prophet had to deliver the word of Hashem but was also charged with the mission of helping individual man, of being a nursing father to the people of Israel. Moshe himself said to the people who come to me to seek Hashem, compassion is the essential attribute of the spiritual leader of כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael. What an insight of Rav Soloveitchik. What a message it would send. Everybody was isolating, everyone was withdrawing, everyone was recoiling from this leper. And who went? דוקא Davka, the כהן kohen, who was so vigilant and so careful who he was exposed to, he went. Even the כהן גדול kohen gadol who didn't go to the funeral of his own direct family, if summoned, went to go see the מצורע metzora. Why? Because you know what leadership's about? Not making someone feel alone. באשר הוא שם ba'asher hu sham, going where they are to offer that love and that non-judgmental, unconditional companionship. It makes me think when you read that insight of the Rav, it makes you think of the disco rabbi, Rabbi Grossman, זאל זיין געזונט און שטארק zol zein gezunt un shtark. Rav Grossman, who never compromised an iota. חסידישע איד chasidishe yid of who he is and how he dresses and how he conducts himself. But got the name disco rabbi because he'd go in Manhattan with Rabbi Riskin, should also be well, and would go into the discos on Friday night on שבת Shabbos and befriend the Israelis who were there. And חלילה chalilah, I'm not calling that a leper colony, but it means to go to uncomfortable places, to go to places that ordinarily we would be vigilant not to be exposed to. To go באשר הוא שם ba'asher hu sham and to connect and to be able to show love and to offer companionship and to be where the people are. The Tolna Rebbe, the Tolna Rebbe, also has a similar idea on our parsha. He talks about going out, ויצא הכהן מחוץ למחנה v'yatza hakohen michutz l'machaneh. The כהן kohen goes out, והנה נרפא נגע הצרעת v'hinei nirpa nega hatzara'as. The Psikta Zutrasa in a different context in Parshas Balak, comments the word והנה v'hinei, והנה v'hinei, והנה v'hinei, והנה נרפא נגע v'hinei nirpa nega. Look back at pasuk gimmel. והנה נרפא נגע V'hinei nirpa nega. When the כהן kohen goes out, where the מצורע metzora is, והנה v'hinei and behold, he's able to hear the, heal the נגע nega. The word והנה v'hinei, what does the והנה v'hinei ordinarily mean? אין והנה אלא שמחה Ein v'hinei ela simcha. Joy. What's the joy? You're going to a leper colony. You're going to the disco. You're going where the people are in order to connect. והנה V'hinei? There's joy, there's a געשמאק geshmak? There's a געשמאק geshmak? So, וגם הנה הוא יצא לקראתך וראך ושמח בלבו v'gam hinei hu yotzei l'krasecha v'ra'acha v'samach b'libo. You see this elsewhere in Sefer Shemos. Aharon going out to greet you, he'll see you and rejoice at his heart. הנה הוא יצא וראך ושמח בלבו Hinei hu yotzei v'ra'acha v'samach b'libo. You see that והנה v'hinei comes with שמחה simcha. The situation of צרעת tzara'as is when the כהן's kohen's love for every Jew is manifest. This love does not come to their the fore during normal times. When everything goes smoothly and the כהן kohen is together with his fellow כהנים kohanim, basking in the glory of the בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash. You know when you see it? When the כהן kohen leaves the בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash, when he goes מחוץ למחנה michutz l'machaneh to work with a מצורע metzora. That's when the powerful love the כהן kohen has for every Jew, that's when it can be seen and measured. That's when it's manifest. The Torah alludes to this manifestation of the כהן's kohen's love. נגע צרעת כי תהיה באדם והובא אל הכהן Nega tzara'as ki siyeh b'adam v'huva el hakohen. The final letters of the words והובא אל הכהן v'huva el hakohen, אלף למד נון alef lamed nun says the Tolna Rebbe, are the first letters in Dovid Hamelech's description of his love for Yonasan. נפלאתה אהבתך לי מאהבת נשים Nifle'ah ahavascha li mei'ahavas nashim. Your love was more powerful to me than the love of women. The Mishna in Avos tells us the bond between Dovid and Yonasan is the quintessential אהבה שאינה תלויה בדבר ahavah she'einah tluyah b'davar. You want to know a love between two friends that is not dependent on anything. There's no dependence, there's no conditions, there's no because you do for me, there's just love and loyalty. Is the love of Dovid and Yonasan. This is the level of love the כהן kohen must feel for the מצורע metzora when he goes out of the camp to work with him. Likewise, the word מן min, נגע הצרעת מן הצרוע nega hatzara'as min hatzarua alludes to מאהבת נשים mei'ahavas nashim in Dovid Hamelech's expression of his love for Yonasan. This is the level of love the כהן kohen has. And the Tolna Rebbe concludes, he says today we don't have מצורעים metzoraim. We don't have this diagnosis, spiritual lepers. But we have a lot of lost souls. We have a lot of people who are trying to find their way. And you know how we bring them back? When we go find them. When leaders, דוקא davka, the כהנים kohanim of our generation, shower genuine love to these individuals, to not send them away or leave them isolated and alone, but to go where they are. To go into the meetings and recovery, rehab, to go into the disco and to go wherever they are, just as the מצורע metzora sent away. The Gemara Migila says, במדה שאדם מודד בה מודדין לו b'midah she'adam moded ba modedim lo. קדוש ברוך הוא Kadosh Baruch Hu treats a person the way they treat others. So if we show our love even for those Jews who are far and distant and work to bring them closer, Hashem is going to bring us closer, and he's going to show his love for us, says the Tolna Rebbe. And all this, a very similar idea both between the Tolna Rebbe and Rav Soloveitchik. Same idea of ויצא הכהן אל מחוץ למחנה v'yatza hakohen el michutz l'machaneh. You see the responsibility and the definition of leadership where they're willing to go. You know, I was one of the early rabbis to use social media, not to post dessert or about my kid's fever or about my vacation or about my birthday, but to share Torah, articles, to connect, inspirational messages. And I got a lot of criticism at first. The world's caught up. All segments of the Torah world. Agudah has a Twitter handle. Satmar has a Twitter handle. I know that because after we went to see the Satmar Rebbe two weeks ago, they posted the pictures and talked about how great the אחדות achdus of Satmar headquarters. The world has moved along. But what was the rationale? What was the reasoning? Not to חלילה chalilah compare those who engage the technology as being מחוץ למחנה michutz l'machaneh, but באשר הוא שם ba'asher hu sham to engage and to connect and to try to uplift and inspire and to bring light where people are, and to find them and to find them there. והנה נרפא V'hinei nirpa. We said the word והנה נרפא v'hinei nirpa. We said the word והנה v'hinei always connotes joy, שמחה simcha. What's the שמחה simcha? What's the שמחה simcha? So the Rachmei Shrifka back to the amaros tehoros. He says, אמת שכן רפואת הנגע תלוי במחשבה בתשובה. כאשר יעשה תשובה כראוי וישחרר לבנו ונסה בלב נשבר הוא עלול לבוא לידי ייאוש מזה למרירות ודכאון רוח. על ידי זה אדרבה יתגבר עליו החולי. איך יתכן שתהיה התשובה סיבה לרפואת הנגע? Emes sheken refuas hanega taluy b'machshava b'tshuva. Ka'asher ya'aseh tshuva k'rauy v'yis'charer libo v'nasa b'lev nishbar hu alul l'vo l'yidei ye'ush mizeh l'merirus v'dika'on ruach. Al yedei zeh adraba yisgaber alav hacholi. Eich yitachen shetihiye hatshuva siba l'refuas hanega? We know when a person feels that they're isolated and alone, they're living מחוץ למחנה michutz l'machaneh and they've been put in time out by the community, you know, they beat themselves up, they knock themselves down, they feel enormous shame and sadness. אבל האמת כי כאשר יעשה אדם תשובה אמיתית כראוי Aval ha'emes ki ka'asher ya'aseh adam tshuva amitis k'rauy. But really the opposite can occur, occur. When a person says, I made mistakes, I went wrong, I brought about this own reality, but I'm going to learn from it. I'm going to grow from it. I'm going to bounce back from it. There's not win or lose, there's win or learn. So this מצורע metzora says, I'm going to learn. And עבדו את השם בשמחה ivdu es Hashem b'simcha. I have a lot of עבודה avodah to do to bounce back, but I'm going to do it בשמחה b'simcha. Because when a person tries to bounce back with sadness, they only knock themselves further down. The only way to climb up and the only way to bounce back is בשמחה b'simcha. And that's why the word והנה v'hinei is used here. וראה הכהן v'ra'ah hakohen, כאשר יראה הצדיק כשרונו גורם לשון שמחה ka'asher yireh hatzadik kishrono gorem l'lashon simcha. And what will bring him the שמחה simcha? When he looks up, ויצא כהן מחוץ למחנה v'yatza kohen michutz l'machaneh, who's there? Who's there? I go to prison to visit people. You know what it means? Because they look up and they say, that's how someone's spending their time, that means something. That matters, that lifts spirits, that gives hope. A person who's beating themselves up has reason to, who needs to work to bounce back. But if they're all alone, they'll only fall into a deeper depression. When ויצא כהן מחוץ למחנה v'yatza kohen michutz l'machaneh, and in every respect we're all a כהן kohen in different ways to family, to friends, we're all those leaders. When we go out, when we go to people are, והנה נרפא נגע הצרעת v'hinei nirpa nega hatzara'as. What is it that heals the נגע הצרעת nega hatzara'as? והנה V'hinei, the fact that we showed up. When you show up, and you check in, and you visit, and you care, and you connect, the simple והנה v'hinei, the simple connecting is enough that lifts the person's spirits. I already made the bracha before we began. Not that you would have thought I didn't, but I felt the need to say that for some strange reason. Anyway. Okay. Why does it say והובא v'huva, not ובא uv'ba? Why והובא v'huva and not בא ba is also a question, but moving along. פרק יד פסוק ד Perek yud daled pasuk daled. We read, the כהן kohen, וצוה הכהן v'tziva hakohen, the כהן kohen commands this individual now has been diagnosed as having צרעת tzara'as, the way back is two life clean birds, cedar wood, crimson thread, and hyssop. Back to Rav Druk, להבדיל l'havdil. And he says the following. רש״י Rashi tells us, the פטפוטי דברים pitputei d'varim, the bird's chirped, he chirped, עץ ארז etz erez, שנגאים במעל גסות הרוח she'noga'im b'ma'al gasus haruach, arrogance, you got to bring the cedar, and the the worm and the hyssop, because a person has to lower themselves from their גאוה gaivah. אינו מובן בשביל מה צריכים שני דברים כדי להעביר לו אותו מסר הזה Eino muvan bishvil ma tzrichim shnei d'varim k'dei l'haavir lo oso ha'meser hazeh. Why wasn't תולעת tola'as or אזוב eizov enough? Why do you need two ingredients? You need the אזוב eizov, the cedar wood, and you need the תולעת tola'as, you need the crimson thread. Why didn't why do you need, why did he need both of these things in order to be able to bounce back? Both of them are about humility and modesty rather than being arrogant. So why do you need both? כל אחד מהם יש בכחו להרמז לו כך שצריך להשפיל את עצמו. זה תולעת וזה גם אזוב. בשביל מה הוא צריך את המצורע להביא את שניהם? Kol echad meihem yesh b'kocho l'ramez lo kach shetzarich l'hashpil es atzmo. Zeh tola'as v'zeh gam eizov. Bishvil mah hu tzarich et hametzora l'havi es shneihem? Furthermore he says, הנה הדברים שהמצורע צריך להביא לטהרתו שנוים בפסוק לכאורה אינם נוים כפי סדר הראוי. Hinei had'varim shehametzora tzarich l'havi l'taharoso sh'nuyim b'pasuk, l'chora einam nuyim k'fi haseder hara'uy. And the order that we go in. First is עץ ארז etz erez, which is the tallest. Then the אזוב eizov, the hyssop, which is lower. And then the תולעת tola'as, the worm, which is the lowest. So we should have gone in the order of lowering himself from the highest, the cedar, to the hyssop to the worm. למה הסדר מובא בפסוק עץ ארז ושני תולעת ואזוב? Lama haseder muva b'pasuk, etz erez ushni tola'as v'eizov? We seem to go out of order. So Rav Druk quotes his Rebbe. מורי וחמי Mori v'chami, מורי ורבי mori v'rabbi, הגאון רב חיים קנייבסקי זצ״ל HaGaon Rav Chaim Kanievsky zatzal. Answered a difficult Rambam. Won't get into the specifics of the Rambam and how he answered the Rambam because I want to get on to other ideas, but with Rav Chaim's answer to a complicated Rambam, Rav Druk answers our question. גם כאן יש לתרץ שתי השאלות הראשונות. מן נצרך המצורע להביא גם שני תולעת וגם אזוב וזה כי מאחר רפואתו תלויה בכך שישפיל את עצמו תחילה עד לקצה האחרון. שני תולעת ורק לאחר מכן יוכל להעלות את עצמו למידה הבינונית. Gam kan yesh l'taretz shte ha'she'elos harishonos. Min nitzrach hametzora l'havi gam shni tolaas v'gam eizov. V'zeh ki meiachar refuaso tluyah b'kach she'yashpil es atzmo t'chila ad l'katze ha'acharon. Shni tolaas v'rak l'achar kach yuchal l'ha'alos es atzmo l'midah ha'beinonis. Because when you want to get better, first you have to go to the extreme. First you have to go all the way down to being worm food, and then you can bounce back and say, but I'm a little better than worm food. I'm an אזוב eizov, hyssop. כי בתורה מתואר סדר רפואתו של המצורע. Ki b'Torah metuar seder refuaso shel hametzora. In other words, sometimes if you've acted in an extreme, you've got to go to the opposite extreme to bounce back to the middle. And that's why it went out of order, because we're not going in order from the height to the middle to the lowest, we go all the way to the lowest, and we bounce back to the middle because in rehabilitating ourselves, sometimes you have to go to the opposite extreme in order to be able to come back to the middle. I want to tell you an amazing Gerer Rosh Yeshiva, שליט״א shlita. An incredible idea from מורי ורבי mori v'rabbi Rav Shaul Alter. He says the following. As part of the מצורע's metzora's purification, we're on pasuk yud alef. We turned the page. ברוך השם Baruch Hashem. Leora Ancha, proud we turned the page. והעמיד הכהן המטהר את האיש המטהר ואתם לפני השם פתח אהל מועד V'he'emid hakohen hametaher es ha'ish hamitaher v'osam lifnei Hashem pesach ohel moed. The final stage of purification is that this מצורע metzora comes to the בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash, comes to the משכן mishkan, and the כהן kohen stands him, the one who purifies shall place the person being purified along with them before Hashem at the entrance of the tent of the meeting. פתח אהל מועד Pesach Ohel Moed. The כהן kohen who purifies places the person being purified at the entrance of the אוהל מועד ohel moed. What is the word לפני השם lifnei Hashem? Says רש״י Rashi, לפני השם lifnei Hashem, where is this place? The gate of שער נקנור Shaar Nikanor. Look at Rashi at alef. לפני השם בשער נקנור Lifnei Hashem b'shaar Nikanor. Quotes the Gemara in Sota daf zayin. ולא בעזרה עצמה, לפי שהוא מחוסר כיפורים. V'lo b'azarah atzma, l'fi she'hu mechusar kippurim. Now the כהן kohen can't actually bring him into the עזרה azarah, why not? He's not clean. So where does he bring him? To the entrance. Which entrance? The entrance that's called שער נקנור Shaar Nikanor, called שער נקנור Shaar Nikanor. The Gemara in Psachim daf peh hey discusses why שער נקנור Shaar Nikanor was not sanctified. The מצורע metzora couldn't enter the עזרה azarah, but he could stand in that gate. Why was he allowed to stand in that gate? Because the gate was not pure. Why was the gate not purified? The Gemara says it was for this very reason, in order that a מצורע metzora would stand there and put his thumb into the עזרה azarah, and the oil and the blood would be sprinkled on his thumb into the עזרה azarah. So he needed to be able to stand there. So wonders Tosfos, says Tosfos, Yevamos daf zayin amud beis. Why couldn't Shaar Nikanor be sanctified and the מצורע metzora would stand outside Shaar Nikanor and stick his thumb in? Why did you have to leave the gate itself not pure so he could stand in the gate and stick his thumb in? Make the gate also pure and he could stand outside the gate and stick his thumb in. So you know what Rabbeinu Tam answers? Listen to this. He says Shaar Nikanor was left unsanctified in order to protect the מצורע metzora from the sun and the rain. Because it would be uncomfortable for the מצורע metzora if he had to stand outside in the sun and bake, could get hot and humid on הר הבית Har Habayis in ירושלים Yerushalayim in the summer. Could rain, in the winter, a sideways rain would knock this מצורע metzora over. Says Rav Shaul Alter, that's truly amazing. Think about it. צרעת Tzara'as comes as a punishment for one of these seven severe sins, לשון הרע lashon hara, murder, swearing falsely, גילוי עריות gilui arayos, haughtiness, theft, stinginess. So you might have said, you know, this individual, let him bake in the sun, let him get a sunburn, let him get soaking wet from the rain. Let them gain atonement through their suffering. It should be a כפרה kapparah. Let him get cut, it'll be a כפרה kapparah for them. But the Torah teaches otherwise. We must concern ourselves with the comfort even of a sinner, even of the רשע rasha, even of the person who misbehaved, that we also care even about them. That's the sensitivity that we have to have. Never grow so callous that you become indifferent even to the person who's displayed their own indifference. Because that callousness is a poor reflection on us. So the Torah is worried that even that lowlife, even that עוורף oizvarf, even that בעל לשון הרע baal lashon hara, even that רשע rasha who violated one of these seven things, also deserves the shade. Also deserves not get to not get wet. So much so, שער נקנור Shaar Nikanor is not purified so he could stand there and stick his thumb in. We can understand why this took place specifically in שער נקנור Shaar Nikanor, not one of the other entrances to the בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash, says Rav Shaul Alter. Why? Because חז״ל Chazal in the Gemara in Yuma tells us that Nikanor's great מסירות נפש mesiras nefesh. Who was Nikanor that he has a שער shaar named for him? Nikanor was a person. And he displayed tremendous מסירות נפש mesiras nefesh, selflessness to bring doors to the בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash. Where did those doors come from? Egypt. Elevating them to great קדושה kedusha from their origins in the most impure land. He transformed them. This is very appropriate for ערב פסח Erev Pesach. He took these doors from the land of טומאה tumah, Egypt, and he transformed and elevated them by using them where? At the entrance to the בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash. The most fitting place for the doors to be purified them to קדושה kedusha is the place that shows concern for the well-being of every איד yid regardless of their spiritual standing. Where the קדושה kedusha of the בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash is sacrificed to ensure the comfort even of sinners is where these doors obtained through מסירות נפש mesiras nefesh should be elevated to קדושה kedusha. There's an important lesson in this too, says Rav Shaul Alter, that a person who has to draw others close despite the cost of his own individual growth. We saw this with the כהן kohen, the Tolna Rebbe and the Rav, the כהן kohen goes out. כהן Kohen goes out even to the place that the leper is. Similarly here, we go out to make it comfortable even for the מצורע metzora. We work to raise others even if it might bring us down. It's like the lesson of the פרה אדומה para aduma. The pure become impure while purifying the one who is impure. צדיקים Tzaddikim said that just as the broom gathers dirt when it sweeps a room, so too one who helps others may find themselves somewhat soiled. Just like the broom gathers dirt when it's used to clean, you clean the room, what's left with the dirt with the broom? It's dirty. So to when you try to clean someone, something, you can absorb the dirt. Where there's מסירות נפש mesiras nefesh for another איד yid, there's the purification of כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael, of כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael. And that's uh, and that is the the message of שער נקנור Shaar Nikanor, דוקא davka why שער נקנור Shaar Nikanor and why even though Tosfos answers, we're worried about his comfort, it shouldn't rain, shouldn't be too cold, even for this lowlife מצורע metzora. Okay, one more idea. פרק יד פסוק י״ח Perek yud daled pasuk yud ches. ונתן השמן אשר על כפו הכהן יתן על ראש המטהר וכפר עליו הכהן לפני השם V'nasan hashemen asher al kapo hakohen yiten al rosh hamitaher, v'chiper alav hakohen lifnei Hashem. The sprinkling, this anointment, this rehabilitation process, it also includes that the oil that's on the כהן's kohen's palm, he puts on the head of the person being purified. Why? Why on the head? You know who was bothered by this question? The חפץ חיים Chofetz Chaim. חפץ חיים Chofetz Chaim is bothered. על זה גמר רושם even on his head? We don't find this with any הזאה haza'ah in the Mikdash. Anytime there's an anointing in the בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash, which there are others, we don't find ever the anointing on the head. So why here is there an anointing on the head? Says the חפץ חיים Chofetz Chaim, כיון שהמצורע ודאי עבר גם על איסור קבלת לשון הרע Kevain shehametzora vadai avar gam al isur kabalas lashon hara. The מצורע metzora accepted. Why did they come to speak negatively or hear negative talk about somebody? ודאי חשב בראשו מחשבות זרות על חברו Vadai chashav b'rosho machshavos zaros al chaveiro. because they were thinking negatively. It starts up here and then it comes down and out through the lips. לכך נזקק גם ראשו לטהרה L'chach nizkak gam rosho l'taharah. So therefore, not only do the lips need to be purified, but the head needs to be purified. להדגיש שלשון הרע לא מתחיל בשליטה על הפה L'hadgish she'lashon hara lo maschil b'shlita al ha'peh. לשון הרע Lashon hara is not just about the mouth. Where is the real battle with not gossiping about others? It's not with the lips and the power of speech because before a person speaks, hopefully, not always, and for some, not often, but hopefully, before a person speaks, what do they do? They think. So where is the place of purification? In the place of thinking. And that's why the חפץ חיים Chofetz Chaim says, unusual, but this is the one place where, where do we anoint and where do we purify? The head. To remind us, think before you speak. And have pure thoughts about people, positive thoughts about people, an עין טוב ayin tov, a good and positive eye about others before you speak. That's why דוקא davka, that's why דוקא davka the sprinkling happened where? It happened on the head, not only on the lips. והזרתם את בני ישראל v'hizartem es b'nei Yisrael was going to share one more insight, but we are going to end here. A little bit early because there's a שבת הגדול דרשה Shabbos Hagadol drasha that needs a little bit of work still. Wishing everyone a חג כשר ושמח Chag kasher v'sameach. Should be a good יום טוב Yom Tov that's filled with שמחה simcha because the hostages are home. God forbid they're not. We are participating in a campaign as are others, you'll be able to get at the שול shul or download yourself. A poster that is of the hostages, set a seat at the סדר seder table with no one on it, put the poster on it. And we should go through our סדר seder looking at that seat with the collage of hostages remembering that we דאווען daven that they come home, to bring them home with the hashtag let our people go. Here we are thousands of years after יציאת מצרים Yetzias Mitzrayim, and we're still saying let our people go. What Moshe and Aharon had to demand of Pharaoh, we demand every moment of every day to Hamas, let our people go. So please God, we won't have an empty chair. The chairs will all be full because the hostages will be home. God forbid they're not, set aside a chair, let our people go. Should have a חג כשר
