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Dimensions in Chumash — Tazria 5782

Выпуск: Dimensions in Chumash — Tazria 5782. Темы: health_mind, parsha_commentary. Поисковые термины: здоровье, психология, стресс, health, mental, בריאות, נפש, недельная глава, парша, parsha, פרשה, פרשת השבוע. Rabbi Immanuel Bernstein 2022 / 5782 DIMENSIONS IN CHUMASH PARSHAS TAZRIA Reading the Messages of Tzoraas ‫ ָטמֵ א הּוא‬...‫וְ ָר ָאה הַ כֹהֵ ן ַא ֲח ֵרי הֻ כַ בֵ ס ֶאת הַ נֶ גַ ע וְ הִ נֵ ה ל ֹא הָ פַ ְך הַ נֶ גַ ע ֶאת עֵ ינֹו‬ The Kohen shall see after the affliction has been washed, the affliction has not changed its color… it is impure.1 The laws of tzoraas, in all of its forms and iterations, are both detailed and involved. In this regard, the Midrash4 famously tells of a travelling salesman who came to the town of Tzipori and announced, “Who wants the elixir of life?” When the townspeople gathered around to see his wares, he produced a book of Tehillim which asks this very question, “‫ – מִ י הָ אִ יׁש הֶ חָ פֵ ץ חַ יִּ ים‬Who is the man who desires life?” and responds, “‫ – נְ צ ֹר לְ ׁשו ֹנְ ָך מֵ רָ ע‬guard your tongue from evil.”5 What was the salesman’s message in this episode, aside from creating a fetching production around this well-known verse? As such, when he proceeded to cite the verse from Tehillim, he was teaching all those present that guarding ones tongue is the elixir of enjoyable life in this world!6 As we mentioned, the words “‫ ”ענג‬and “‫ ”נגע‬share the same letters, with the difference being whether the letter “‫ ”ע‬appears at the beginning of the word or at the end. In this light, R’ Yitzchok of Koritz explains an additional allusion in the words of our verse “ֹ ‫ֹלא הָ פַ ְך הַ נּ ֶ גַע אֶ ת עֵ ינו‬.” The goal of tzoraas is not just to chastise the sinner for his sins, but to encourage him to return to a path where he can actually enjoy life. Or, to put it another way, the desired result is to take the word “‫ ”נגע‬and to reverse (‫ )להפוך‬its “‫ ”עין‬from the end of the word to its beginning, granting the person the “‫ ”ענג‬of a life free of the ongoing compulsion to speak lashon hara, as well as the constant fear of it being spoken about him. The duration of their punishment was forty years of wandering in the wilderness, as the verse explains: “In accordance with the number of days that you spied the land, forty days, each day – a year.”2 Now, inasmuch as their crime was one of slander upon returning from the land, why

Издание

Dimensions in Chumash

Дата

31 марта 2022 г.

Страниц

2

Темы: health_mind, parsha_commentary