Parashat Metzora – Jake Kupferberg

Posted on April 2, 2014

metzora

In the second and third pasukim of Parashat Metzora it says:

פסוק ב: “This shall be the law of the metzora on the day of his cleansing: He shall be brought to the kohen.”

פסוק ג: “The kohen shall go outside the camp, and the kohen shall look, and behold, the lesion of tzarat has healed from the metzora.”

There are a lot of contradictions here because it says that he is purified but then calls him “metzora” and also that he shall be brought to the kohen but then says that the kohen will come to him. The Kli Yakar (כלי יקר) says that the first pasuk is not talking about him physically going to the Kohen. The reason why people get tzarat is not because לשון הרע, slander, but because a person is not willing to look at themselves and say “wow I really do gossip too much and I need to stop and seek spiritual help.” By getting tzarat they are forced to see that they need help and therefore they go to the kohen. The second step, in second pasuk, is that now we see the person with tzarat actually getting guidance from the kohen. Tzarat is only talked about in terms of punishment but if you think about it, tzarat is a gift. It forces you to think about what you have done and so you come to the conclusion that this is not the person you want to be and now you go on the path to bettering yourself.