Does anyone have a davar Torah on parshat Metzora?

Answer 1

Mattos

Love. 4 letters, 1 word--yet impossible to understand. What is it? Alexander Nestor Haddaway asks this question in his 1993 worldwide hit song, "What Is Love?" and answers "don't hurt me." How does that answer the question? If you truly love someone, why would you hurt them? I think we could gain some understanding to this song from this week's parsha...

In this week's parsha, the nation of Israel went to war against Midyan.

Rashi (31;3) notes that even though Moshe knew he would die after the war, he still acted with joy and didn't delay in preparing the soldiers.

Later on, Rashi (31;5) notes that the nation of Israel didn't want to go to war just because they knew Moshe would die after.

However, Rashi (31;5) states right before: "Before (Israel) heard of Moshe's (impending) death, what does it say? A bit more and they will stone me (Shemos, 17;4)."

The question is obvious: If the nation of Israel loved Moshe so much that they didn't want to go to war just so he wouldn't die--then why did they want to stone him?

Before we answer this question, let's first see the importance of loving our fellow Jews...

The Gemara (Shabbat, 31a) relates a famous story in which Hillel tells a non-Jew that the whole entire Torah is "Do not do to your friend what is hateful to you." Additionally, the Gemara (Berachot, 28b) relates that when Rabbi Eliezer became ill he told his students "Be careful about the honor of your friends" in order to mention a portion in the World to Come. Furthermore, the Midrash (Bereishis Rabbah, 98;2) relates that Yaakov told his sons before he died, "Though it is not known when the Day of Judgment will be, I do tell you that the hour you gather and assemble together you shall be redeemed." (Note: The mitzvot of being together and loving your fellow Jew run along the same lines--for if there is hatred among the Jews then they won't be together). Moreover, the Yalkut Shimoni (Yitro, 273) states "The whole Torah is peace and to whom do I give it? To the nation which loves peace!" (Note: As stated last week, parshat Pinchas, the mitzvot of peace and loving your fellow Jews run along the same lines--for when one pursues peace they show they love their fellow Jews). Lastly, the Gemara (Yoma, 9b) relates that the second temple was destroyed due to baseless hatred. We therefore see the greatness and importance of loving our fellow Jews...

Now let's take a look at Moshe...Did he love the nation of Israel?

The Torah (Shemos, 32;32) relates that Moshe told Hashem to erase him from the whole entire Torah if He doesn't forgive the nation of Israel for the sin of the Golden Calf. Additionally, the Gemara (Menachos, 65a-b) proves that Moshe loved the nation of Israel. In fact, the Gemara (Megillah, 13a) states that Moshe had 6 other names--all of which were in relation to the nation of Israel (Many commentators note that the nature of a person could be found by analyzing his name--See Yoma 83b for interesting story on this topic). Moshe's whole entire life goal was simply to lead the nation of Israel into the land of Israel...So we see clearly that Moshe had a great love for the nation of Israel.

The question now grows: If Moshe had such a strong love for the nation of Israel, then why did they almost stone him?

The Mishna (Pireki Avos, 5;16) states "When love depends on another factor, then when the factor ceases to exist, so does the love. But when love does not depend on anything else, it never ceases to exist."

However, how could love not be dependent on something? Why would 2 people love each other if there is no reason for them to love each other?

It could be that love is always dependent on some factor(s) (physical attraction, similar interests, etc.) at first, but then grows as 2 people spend more time together. Therefore, it could be that the nation of Israel's love for Moshe was first dependent on his great abilities. Therefore, when they were thirsty and he failed to provide water for them, Moshe felt as though they were going to stone him (Shemos, 17;4). However, now after Moshe had been their leader for a long time and had performed a lot of miracles for them, their love wasn't dependent on any factor. They had an unconditional love for him. Thus, even though they had wanted to stone him before, they now loved him and didn't want to go to war since he would die after.

Summary: Rashi (31;5) is teaching us that true love is unconditional love which could only be felt after time. At first, the nation of Israel's love for Moshe was dependent on his powers. But now, right before Moshe was about to die, their love had grown to an unbreakable strength, as it wasn't dependent on any factor. This is what the Mishna (Pirkei Avos, 5;16) is teaching us when it states "when love does not depend on anything else, it never ceases to exist." The true love which the nation of Israel showed for Moshe is the true love in which we should feel for each of our fellow Jews.

So now, why does "Haddaway" answer his question "What is love?" by saying "don't hurt me"? It could be because love must always begin as being dependent on a factor. At that point of a relationship, many things could go wrong, and so many people get (emotionally) hurt. We find this between Moshe and the nation of Israel, as they almost stoned him (Shemos, 17;4) at that point of their relationship. However, once 2 people get past that point, their love for each other grows unbreakable since it's unconditional. Thus, it could be that "Haddaway" answered the question by saying "don't hurt me" because he was referring to the beginning steps in a relationship, when one is very vulnerable and could easily get hurt.

Answer 2

Tazria/Metzora I'm sure most of us remember when we were kids and we got the chicken pox...It was basically a free week off from school. In this weeks Parsha we deal with tzaaras (a spiritual blemish, commonly known as leprosy). Similar to chicken pox, tzaaras was a skin disease... The Gemara (Erchin, 15b) relates that tzaaras comes upon one who speaks Lashon Hara. But how could that be? lashon hara is a terrible sin that's surely worth a more severe punishment!?! Before we answer this question, let's review the severity of speaking lashon hara: For starters, the Gemara (Sotah, 42a) relates that those who speak lashon hara will never be allowed to stand in the presence of the Divine Providence. Additionally, the Gemara (Erchin, 15b) states "it is fitting to stone one who speaks lashon hara" and "one who speaks lashon hara accumulates sins equal to the 3 great transgressions: idolatry, adultery and murder." Furthermore, the Gemara (Pe'ah, 1;1) states "lashon hara equals all sins combined." For this reason, the Chofetz Chaim, Vilna Gaon and other commentators classify lashon hara as the most severe sin in the whole Torah. Now let's review the actual punishment one receives when speaking lashon hara... The Rambam (Tumas Tzaaras, 16;10) writes that if a person would speak lashon hara, then the wall of his house would change color. The house would then be pronounced impure, and if he continued speaking lashon hara then his house would eventually be destroyed (while this may seem like a terrible punishment, chazal note that the previous inhabitants would hide their valuables in the walls of the homes, and these treasures would later be found when the house was destroyed). Once his house was destroyed, if he continued speaking lashon hara then the hides upon which he would sit/lie would change color and become impure. If he continued speaking lashon hara then the hides would be burned. Once the hides were burned, if he continued speaking lashon hara then his clothes would change color. If he continued speaking lashon hara then his clothing would be burned. Once his clothing were burned, if he still continued speaking lashon hara then his skin color would change and he would be declared a metzora (meaning, one who is afflicted with tzaaras). As a result, he would be forced to be alone and thus unable to speak lashon hara. Now that we understand the severity of speaking lashon hara, and the punishment which one would receive for speaking lashon hara, the obvious question arises... How could the Torah be so lenient on those who spoke lashon hara?!? I think the whole basis for tzaaras is to simply embarrass the person who spoke lashon hara. When he spoke lashon hara about his friend, he caused his friend needless embarrassment. So now in return, the Torah is causing him embarrassment by giving him tzaaras. If you look at the punishments, you'll see that the Torah really isn't trying to cause him a monetary loss (for even after his house is destroyed, he finds a treasure...etc.). Rather, the Torah's goal was to simply embarrass the one who spoke lashon hara, like he caused his friend...Therefore, when he goes out, his clothes have tzaaras, his skin has tzaaras...it's everywhere and he can't escape from it. As a result, quite naturally, he stays by himself out of pure embarrassment. However, how does this answer the question? One who speaks lashon hara should be stoned!?! How could we allow him to get "off the hook" by just getting tzaaras? The Gemara (Bava Metzia, 58b) states that anyone who whitens his fellow's face is considered as if he has killed him. From this Gemara we learn that embarrassing someone is like killing them. In explaining the severity of embarrassing another, the Gemara (Bava Metzia, 59a) states "it is better to throw oneself in a lit furnace than to make someone blush." Many commentaries explain that when one is embarrassed he feels such a strong sense of worthlessness that he is considered dead. Mar Ukva, a great scholar who was considered one of the Princes of the Babylonian exile, was a firm believer in risking ones life in order to keep a fellow from embarrassment... The Gemara (Ketubot, 67b) relates a very famous story. There was a poor man in Mar Ukva's neighborhood in which he would support by throwing 4 zuzim every day by his front door. One day the poor man decided to see who this generous donor was. That day, Mar Ukva was late returning from the Beis Medresh, while with his wife. When the poor man saw them put money by the door, he ran out to greet them. Mar Ukva and his wife then began to run away, with the poor man chasing after them. In order to avoid the poor man from seeing them, they jumping into a hot oven. The Gemara asks the obvious question: Why did Mar Ukva and his wife put their lives in danger just to avoid the poor man from seeing them? The Gemara then answers that it is better to throw oneself in a furnace than to make someone blush (the poor man would have blushed had he known who had been supporting him). I think we can now explain why the Torah punishes one who speaks lashon hara with tzaaras. When one gets tzaaras, he becomes embarrassed, just like he caused his fellow. The tzaaras is all over the place...on his house, clothes, furniture...even on himself. Everywhere he goes, everyone knows that he speaks lashon hara. As a result, this person is constantly embarrassed and begins to feel absolutely worthless. This feeling of embarrassment, the Gemara is telling us, makes him considered as though he was dead. Therefore, by receiving tzaarat, the one who spoke lashon hara actually received the punishment which he deserved...that being, death. In Summary: Lashon hara is the most severe sin according to many commentaries, deserving of death. As a result, when one would speak lashon hara they would receive tzaarat, for tzaarat causes one to feel embarrassed, thus causing a strong sense of worthlessness as though they were dead. *I once received an email with the following story: There was once a boy who peed in his pants during class (well, actually, I'm sure that has happened many times). The urine was all over his pants and dripped on to the floor. A little later, a girl was walking through the aisle holding a fish tank and slipped, causing all the water to spill on the boy (thus mixing in with the urine, making the urine unnoticeable). The teacher then became angry at the girl, and made sure that the boy was properly cleaned up with a brand new set of clothes. Later on the girl was told to apologize to the boy...To which she told him: I remember when I peed in my pants during class...I was so embarrassed. I saw that you had peed in your pants and I didn't want you to go through the same embarrassment I went through, so I spilled on the water on you...From this story I think we can learn the importance of avoiding our friends from embarrassment.