(2002/5762)

This week’s Parsha deals with a partly physical and partly spiritual illness called Tzaraat.  Tzaraat is a discoloration of a person’s skin, clothing, and hair.  It can even appear on the walls of one’s home.

Both the Ramban and Rashi explain that when Tzaraat first appears on the person’s home, the affected stones have to be taken out and destroyed.  If person does not get the message and continues in his wicked ways, then his clothing is also affected.  If the message still does not get through to him, then the person’s skin is affected and he is forced to leave the Jewish camp until the disease subsides and the Kohen affirms that he is acceptable to return.

Rashi says that the first stage of Tzaraat, the person’s house, is actually a blessing in disguise.  Tzaraat on a house can bring wealth to the person affected.  As the Israelites approached Canaan, the residents thought that they would eventually re-conquer the land, so they hid all their money in the walls of their houses.  However, when one would remove the affected stones of his house, he would find the hidden money that was left by the Canaanites.

Why would Hashem give a blessing to someone who has sinned?  What message is Hashem sending to him by rewarding his sins with money? 

The answer is that Hashem is sending a message to the person who has sinned by telling the sinner to look below the surface.  On the outside he may see a dirty wall.  But if he digs a little deeper and he will find gold inside.  The next time you look at a person superficially, stop, think, and dig deeper.  There is definitely gold beneath the surface.  Sometimes you need to break down the walls to find what you at first thought never existed.

Adapted from a Dvar torah by Rabbi Mordechai Kamenetzky at http://www.torah.org/learning/drasha/5761/tazria.html