Netvort parshas Tazria 5771: The
Missing Link
By Rabbi Joshua ( contagiously known as The Hoffer) Hoffman
This week's parsha begins with the laws pertaining to a woman who gives birth,
a yoledes, and proceeds to deal with the laws of the malady of tzara'as,
commonly translated, on the basis of the Septuagint, as leprosy. However we
identify the malady, the laws pertaining to it demonstrate clearly that it is
not simply a contagious disease brought about through purely natural
conditions. Rather, it is a divinely sent condition, serving to deliver a
certain message to the person afflicted with it. The Talmud and midrash list
several different reasons for the onset of tzara'as, but the most prominent
reason is the speaking of lashon hora, or derogatory speech. The great
Talmudic scholar, tzaddik and founder of the Mussar movement, Rav Yisroel
Salanter, used to say that the reason that the laws of tzara'as follow
shortly after the laws of kosher animals is to teach us that we must not
only be careful about what goes into our mouths, but also about what comes out
of our mouths. The problem with this explanation, which is cited by Rav Moshe
Sternbach in his Ta'am VaDa'as to parshas Tazria, is that these two sets of
laws do not follow immediately, one after the other, but are interrupted by the
laws of the yoledes. To maintain this connection between the laws of kashrus
and the laws of tzara'as, we need to find a connecting element in the laws of
the yoledes and the laws of tzara'as. I believe that we can find such a link
based on last week's in regard to Aharon's silence upon hearing Moshe's
comments about the death of his sons.
We mentioned last week the teaching of Rav Shimshon Pincas, that silence is not
merely the absence of speech, but an ethical, moral trait, one of the
four foundation traits as taught in the standard works of Jewish ethics. We
also mentioned that Rav Tzvi Yehudah Kook used to say that shemiras ha-lashon,
or guarding one's tongue, is not only a matter of watching what one
says but a trait in and of itself, to watch oneself so as not to speak when it
is not necessary. Based on this approach to the virtue of silence, we can find
the missing connection between the laws of the yoledes and the laws of
tzara'as.
Rashi tells us that the reason a yoledes must bring a sin-offering is that
during her labor pains, she may have made a vow not to ever bring about the
circumstances under which she would have to endure this kind of pain again.
Although any normal mother would soon regret making such remarks once the baby
is born, the words themselves have a negative effect, and do not conform to the
ideal demonstrated by Aharon, of remaining silent when appropriate. This lack
of discipline on the part of the mother may, in fact, carry over to the child that
is born, as well. The mother must realize, from the earliest stages of her
child's infancy that she serves as a role model, and must inculcate within her
child a proper attitude to speech. By bringing a sin-offering, for a vow that
women in labor are apt to make, she will concentrate her efforts on guarding
her tongue, and help her child develop a properly balanced approach to the use
of the gift of speech. In this way, the child will be guarded from speaking
lashon hora, which is the major cause for the occurrence of tzara'as, whose
laws follow immediately after the laws of the yoledes.
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