Tazria Metzorah 5775: Watchamacallit

By Rabbi Joshua (obscurely known as The Hoffer) Hoffman

The laws of tzora’as, an affliction commonly, if questionably, translated, based on the Septuagint, as leprosy, are very intricate and require a great deal of expertise in their own application. Their actual implementation is in the hands of the Kohanim, who are exclusively empowered to declare a person to be a metzora, or a spot as tzora’as. This power of the Kohein is not dependent on his knowledge of the laws. Even if he is ignorant of the laws of tzora’as, a non-kohein who is an expert in the laws can observe the spot, and, determining it to be tzora’as, give this information over to the kohein, who then makes the declaration. The non-kohein, however, is not authorized to make this declaration. What is the meaning behind this Halacha? Why must the kohein be the one to make the declaration?

Rabbi Mordechai Ilan, in his Mikdash Mordechai, explains, on the basis of a verse in Malachi (2:7), that the lips of the kohein have special status. The prophet tells is, “For the lips of the kohein safeguard knowledge, and people should seek knowledge from his mouth, for he is an agent of God, Master of Legions.” The kohein’ s mouth has a special sanctity, him being an agent of God, and, therefore, as the Talmud in the beginning of Pesachim tells us, a person who presumes to be a kohein but speaks inappropriately, in a repugnant fashion, arouses suspicion that he is, in fact, not a kohein. A true kohein would not speak in such a way. This feature of the kohein is what gives him the ability to pronounce the pure or impure status of a possible tzora’as – afflicted spot. Tzora’as comes most prominently as a punishment for lashon hora, or evil talk, by which a person effectively declares that his mouth has no restraints and can be used in any way he wishes. To offset this notion, the kohein, whose mouth, by definition, is controlled and sanctified, is empowered to declare the consequences of this attitude. 

Rav Yaakov Yitzchok Ruderman, zt"l, as cited by his student, Rav Yissochor Frand, shlit"a suggests a somewhat different explanation for the kohein’ s control of the implementation of tzora’as. People who speak lashon hora, he says, feel that they are not doing anything wrong, for, after, all, mere words have no value. Therefore, the kohein, by his mere words, even when declared without any thought or study, but just repeating what someone else said, creates a situation of tzora’as, to demonstrate that words are, in fact, quite powerful.

As a supplement to Rav Ruderman’s explanation, perhaps we can suggest a further insight. Rav Avrohom Pam, zt"l, Rosh Yeshiva of Torah Vodaath, reportedly was very opposed to the use of the expression “watchamacallit,” because it reflected a lack of thought before speaking, and, he felt, a person should never speak without thinking first. In truth, lashon hora often consists of words spoken without prior thought and consideration. In order to bring home to the person the potential effect of such speech, the kohein can make his declaration of pure or impure, even without prior thought on his part, merely repeating the evaluation of the expert. In this way, he will learn, very starkly, the potential destructiveness of words without thought.