Being Zoche to Punishment

The bulk of this week’s Parsha deals with the Dinim of Tzaras, as does next week’s Parsha. The Torah introduces this topic with the Dinim of Nigaim on a person’s body, and the process he must go through to determine his status.

Following that, the Torah speaks about the idea of a Negah appearing on a person’s clothing, which also requires examination by a Kohen to determine the exact nature of the Negah.

The Ramban, on the Passuk that begins the Parsha of Niggei Begadim explains that these Nigaim are in effect different than those that may appear on the body, because it is impossible for them to have come through Teva, nature. The same is the case with Niggei Batim, which appear on the walls of a person’s house.

The Ramban explains that Tzaras is only applicable in the times that Klal Yisroel is completely devoted to Hashem, and so if one member of the Klal does an Aveira it is immediately noticeable on his clothing, his home or his body.

The Ramban adds that for this reason the Niggei Batim only occur in Eretz Yisroel, as the Passuk in next week’s Parsha says: “B’Bais Eretz Achuzaschem” Only Eretz Yisroel, which is our Nachla from Hashem, can Niggei Batim exist.

But it goes one step further: the Medrash says that only in Eretz Yisroel after it was completely captured and divided amongst the Shevatim (Kivush and Chliuk) was there Niggei Battim. The Ramban explains that only after Kivush and Chiluk were the people able to really focus on their connection to Hashem, and not be distracted by the wars and the process of Chiluk HaAretz. Only when they had that level of connection to Hashem could Niggaim even exist.

We see an amazing Yesod from this Ramban: one had to be on a very high level to be “Zoche” to Tzaras! We see Tzaras as a punishment for wrongdoing, which it is, but yet one wouldn’t be punished unless he was on a high enough spiritual plain.

This idea seems to run contrary to our basic understanding of reward and punishment. We would assume that someone who is on a lower spiritual level would be subject to more punishments, to harsher consequences for his actions. But when it comes to Niggaim, Chazal tell us that the opposite is true: only those who were really connected to Hashem could have Tzaras.

How can we understand this? What is unique about Tzaras and why is it that only those who are “Zoche” would be subject to the punishment?

I think we can answer this based on a thought I saw from R’ Shalom Schwadron zt”l.

In Parshas Korach, after the story of Korach’s fight with Moshe and his subsequent demise, the Torah tells us that Bnei Yisroel once again began to fight with Moshe and Aron, saying that they had killed Korach and his cohorts. As a result, there was a Mageifa, plague, and more than 14,000 people died.

After the Mageifa, Hashem told Moshe to place a Matteh from each Shevet, including one for Shevet Levi, in the Mishkan. Hashem said that the stick of his chosen one would blossom and in that way the arguments would cease. And of course the next morning came and Aron’s stick had sprouted blossoms and almonds.

R’ Shalom asks: if the Nes of the sprouting Matteh was enough to quell the arguments of the people, if this sign was the end-all to the argument as to who Hashem had chosen to lead, why didn’t Hashem command them to do this much earlier? Perhaps if they had carried out this exercise while Korach was making his arguments his death, and the destruction of his group, and the 14,000 others could have been avoided?

R’ Shalom brings a number of other stories in Tanach, including Naaman and his Tzaras and Eliyahu and the Nevei HaBaal, and draws a very important conclusion: Nissim do not automatically have the desired effect on people who witnessed them.

Even the most open Nissim can be explained away, sometimes by science, sometimes by philosophy, sometimes as mere circumstance. Someone once told me that there was an entire documentary on the Discovery Channel devoted to explaining how the Ten Makkos could have come about through natural causes: rust deposits in the Nile turned the water red, not blood! Three thousand years later people are still devoted to explaining away what were clearly open Nissim and the Yad Hashem.

This is because it is very easy to be unimpressed by Nissim, as R’ Shalom explains.

When we are slaves to the physical world, when we are not in touch with our Neshama, we are no better than animals. Our Ruchnias existence is, after all, the only thing that separates us from animals. He points out that when a person is really on the wrong path, they can even be worse than animals, citing examples of such people as Hitler and Stalin, ym”sh. Because this is the case it is understandable why people are sometimes not affected by Nissim. As R’ Shalom says in his inimitable manner: go try and impress a cow. Would any animal be stirred by witnessing the Nissim of Krias Yam Suf or Har Sinai? Would a donkey be moved to Teshuva during the Nes of Chanukah? Of course not!

People are the same way. When we are merely physical beings, we have no chance at being affected by Nissim. Only when we are able to break free of our physical obsessions is that possible.

That’s why the Nes of the Mattos would not have been effective when Korach was mounting his argument: he and his group were stuck in the world of Kavod, one of the least spiritual pursuits possible. Only once there had been a Magefa and people were shaken from their focus on the physical, as we can imagine, could they be stirred by a Nes.

Perhaps that is why only those on a certain level were “Zoche” to Tzaras. The point of Tzaras was to awaken the person who was stricken. He would be forced to do a complete Cheshbon HaNefesh, as it would be clear that Hashem was sending him a message.

This would only be possible, as we see from R’ Shalom’s words, if the person was on a level to be affected by Nissim. Otherwise he would always be able to explain away the Nes of the Tzaras, and remain unaffected. In such a case the Tzaras would fail to serve its very purpose: to spur the Metzorah to Teshuva.

This is also why Goyim are not at all included in the Parsha of Tzaras, as the Seforno points out here. No matter the level a Goy reaches, he will never be far enough removed from the physical world to be affected by the Nes of Tzaras.

As we enter the month of Nissan, a month of Nissim Geluyim, it is a good time to remember that if we want to be Zoche to be affected by Nissim, we have to be properly removed from our animalistic tendencies.