Timeless Torah

There’s an old Jewish saying - maybe an hour old - “Of course, he can’t see anything in front of his nose. With a beak like that, it’s a wonder he sees at all.”

Actually, this thought first occurred to me last week at the Shabbat table. One of the guests was explaining the complex process of how the images we see are transferred specifically to the back of the eye. He subsequently raised the question, “Why then doesn’t the back of the eye see the front of the eye?”

This point is strikingly similar to this week’s Biblical portion that deals with the disease of Tzora’as, commonly misinterpreted as leprosy. Actually, tzora’as was an affliction unlike any other physical disorder. It appeared, not only on a person’s body, but also on his clothes or on the walls of his home. It was caused by various types of sins and was a spiritual malaise that was identified, examined, and treated by the kohanim, who not only functioned as priests, but as doctors who specialized in the supernatural.

The Midrash Tanchuma tells the story of an impoverished kohen who intended to leave his family and seek a better living abroad. Before he left, he began teaching his wife the laws of tzora’as, so that she could substitute for him during his absence. “Check the hairs of the afflicted person,” he instructed. “Each and every hair is nurtured by its own follicle, a wellspring of life that G-d created just for it. If the hair has withered, you will know its source beneath the skin has dried up.”

Upon hearing this, his wife declared, “If the Almighty fashioned each individual hair with its own fount to drink from, wouldn’t He provide sustenance for you, a human being with children to support. The husband changed his mind and remained at home.”

How did the kohen’s wife enlighten him? He obviously knew that G-d is the Ultimate Provider of all. He himself had made that very point to his wife. Nonetheless, he felt compelled to leave his home and his family. What changed his mind?

This Midrash illustrates one of the fundamental character flaws that man must contend with. We can acknowledge a basic truth as being correct, even preach it to others, while at the same time overlook its simple application to our own lives. The kohen could detect the minute hairs and the slight difference in color that would render the afflicted person Tomay or Tahor (pure or impure). But the same kohen would fail to notice the moral imperative that stared him in the face, regarding his own life.