The Torah portion of Metzorah deals with leprosy that results from someone speaking lashon hara. Rebbi Tzadok HaCohen from Lublin in Pri Tzaddik has a recurring message: Quoting the Gemara (Bava Kama 55a), he says that if you want to understand the origin of something, search for the first time it is mentioned in the Torah. For example, if someone sees the letter “tet” in a dream, it signals something good is going to happen because the first time the letter “tet” appears in the Torah is in the word “tov” (good). Similarly, if you want to understand the origin of lashon hara, you need to look for the first time the Torah deals with this – and surprisingly, it is food related.
Back in Gan Eden, the serpent knew that Adam HaRishon was of such an elevated spiritual stature that there was no way he could harm him directly, so instead he targeted Chava, and through her destroyed Adam. The serpent said to Chava (Bereishit Rabba 19:4) “Hashem ate from the Tree of Knowledge and thus acquired the knowledge to create the world. He told you not to eat from that tree so that you would not have the same power. Every craftsman hates his fellow craftsmen!” This was the first lashon hara in the Torah, the serpent speaking lashon hara against Hashem.
If you closely examine the remedy for leprosy in the parsha, you will notice that it is totally “over the top.” The procedure to atone for this sin is unparalleled and unlike any other atonement in the Torah.
It begins with warnings that get successively “closer to home” (or actually closer to inside the home). It begins with warning signs on the walls of the house. If the person does not wake up, these signs progress to their clothing and if they still do not get the message, to the skin of their bodies. When the situation has deteriorated to this advanced stage, the Kohen isolates the leper outside the camp of Am Yisrael. The sinner could not speak with anyone, could not study Torah, etc. The only thing that they could do was to reflect on their sin and do teshuva. If the person did not do teshuva, the leprosy would get progressively worse. If they did do teshuva, the leprosy would disappear and the purification process would begin:
First, one starts with two birds, a piece of cedar wood, a thread dyed scarlet, and a clump of fresh eizov (origanum syriacum). One of the birds is slaughtered and the blood is collected in an earthenware vessel containing water from a stream. The live bird, together with the cedar wood, the scarlet thread and the eizov are dipped in the blood and are then used to sprinkle blood on the sinner seven times. The second, live bird is then set free and takes flight.
Next up, the sinner must wash all his clothes and shave off all the hair on his body – head, beard, eyelashes, arms, legs, etc. Then comes dunking in the mikvah and washing the body. The sinner is then allowed to return to the camp, but cannot enter their tent. They must sit outside for seven days. On the seventh day, the person receives a second “shearing” – all hair on the body shaved off again and another dunking in the mikvah.
Now the korbanot begin. On the eighth day, the sinner brings three offerings – an asham, a chatat and an olah. Two male sheep, a female sheep and a mincha offering with three isaron measures of flour mixed with oil and one additional log measure of oil (seven components in all). The sinner, along with all the animals, is presented at the entrance to the Mishkan in full view of Am Yisrael There is no other single sin in the Torah that requires three separate sacrifices; lashon hara is the only one.
What strikes us most about this whole procedure is its over-emphasized visual aspect. Blemishes progressively appear. The sinner is visibly removed from the camp. Every hair on their body is shaved off and they must sit exposed outside their tent for seven days. The three sacrifices are performed at the entrance to the Mishkan, during which time blood and oil are spread on the earlobe, thumb and big toe. Oil is spread over the bald scalp. It is all highly visual.
When Hashem punishes someone, it is “middah keneged middah,” measure for measure. If the emphasis is on the visual aspect, it is because the perpetrator of the lashon hara has tried to remain hidden. He/she speaks venomous words quietly in someone’s ear, intending to instigate a snowball effect by which this person will tell another and another, etc. The poison spreads anonymously – the speaker of lashon hara does not have the gall to do it in public. The fitting punishment is to bring the sinner out of the shadows and expose their venomous lies publicly, as publicly as possible.
In Gan Eden, all the other animals saw the serpent after his punishment and scoffed at him: “Slinky, what happened to your legs?” It is likewise with someone who speaks lashon hara.
Lashon hara is a sin of the mouth. The mouth is an extremely powerful part of the body. Perhaps that is why there is only one mouth (as opposed to most other body parts that are paired), because of its potential to do harm. This is why we must be extra careful about what comes out of our mouths (like the serpent) and also what goes into our mouths (like Adam and Chava).
Parshat HaShavua Trivia Question: Why, sandwiched between the story of the death of Nadav and Avihu in parshat Shmini and the continuation in parshat Acharei Mot, do we have the three parshiot that deal with forbidden foods and lashon hara?
Answer to Last Week’s Trivia Question: Why was Moshe permitted to perform priestly duties during the seven days of the inauguration of the Mishkan, but not from the eighth day onwards? The Midrash (Vayikra Rabba 11:6) says that for seven days Hashem tried to convince Moshe at the burning bush to return to Egypt and redeem Am Yisrael, but Moshe repeatedly declined. Moshe was repaid in turn by being allowed to offer sacrifices during the seven days of the inauguration, but after that, the task was given to Aharon.
