CHASSIDIC PEARLS BY RABBI LAZER BRODY PARSHAS TAZRIA

(PLEASE LEARN THIS FOR A REFUA SHELAMA FOR THE GEDOLIM Rav Elyashiv -Yosef Sholom ben Chaya Musha, Rav Shteinman - Aaron Yehuda Leib ben Gitel Feiga, Rav Weiss - Yitzchak Tuvia ben Rikal, Rav Belsky - NAME ADDDED Chaim Yisroel ben Chana Tzirtel, Rav Yosef - Yaakov Chai ben Margalit Harav Shlomo Leib Ben Miriam - HaRav Shlomo Brevda Harav Yeshaya Yaakov Ben Raizel - HaRav Yeshaya Yaakov Portugal Harav Meshulem Fish Ben Tziril - The Toshe Rebbe Harav Yitzchok Issac Ben Treina - HaRav Isaav Ausband Rav Yerachmiel Shlomo Hakohen ben Raizel. -Rav Yerachmiel Shlomo Rothenberg, rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva of Mountaindale for a refuah shleima b’soch kol cholei am Yisrael.)

"If an affliction of leprosy will be in a person, he will be brought before a Kohen" (Vayikra 13:9) God doesn't punish; He educates us, leads us on the right path, and helps us attain our necessary tikkun, or soul correction, so that we'll be worthy vessels of His Divine light, both in this world and the next. As such, God directs our lives with unfathomable lovingkindness and mercy. The casual observer may ask, "Granted, a person must be punished for slander; but leprosy? That's a terrible affliction! Why is a person afflicted with leprosy for gossiping?" [editor's note, although tzaraat is commonly translated as "leprosy" it was really a spiritual disease that only superficially resembled the physical ailment of leprosy. The answer is twofold: First, loshon hora, or the "evil tongue" that is guilty of slander and gossip, leaves a terrible blemish on the soul that corresponds to the manifestation of the physical disease. Only the atonement and correction process of the soul will lead to a physical cure. In that light, the tzaraat is a "favor" from God to help a person correct a spiritual blemish that otherwise would have gone uncorrected.