Hagaon
Rav Moshe Sofer
zt”l on Parshat Tazria
(from
Chatam Sofer on Vayikra)
The Plague: Man's Shame
and Pride
The Torah follows the passages
about the permissible and forbidden animals (the end of Parshat Shmini) with the
laws of purity pertaining to humans (Parshiot Tazria and Metzora). Rav Simlai
in the Medrash comments, "Just as man's formation ("yetzirato") follows that of
the animals, so man's Torah (laws pertaining to him) follows that of the animals."
Is this praise of man or the opposite? The Chatam Sofer suggests that it can be
both. If man sins, says the Medrash, G-d tells him, "The mosquito preceded you!"
They are greater than he. On the other hand, man enters the world as a king, presented
with a complete universe, "You have placed everything at his feet." (Tehillim
8:7) A good person is the height of creation, but one who sins drops below the
lowest of the animals.
The Torah expresses this by placing the "Torah" of man after that of all the animals.
The laws spoken about in Tazria and Metzora are, according to tradition, related
to man's sins. The Torah saves these until after the laws of the animals. As a
rule negative things are saved for last ("Lo makdimin puranut"). This is man's
shame - forced to be last, following all of the animals.
However, sometimes misfortune comes to man despite - even as a result of -- his
righteousness. There is a concept of "sufferings of love" that G-d brings very
great tzaddikim. This represents the other side of man's Torah being presented
last. The tzaddik rises to the apex of creation.
But even plagues that come upon the sinning man are indicative of his high status.
These plagues were given to the people of Israel out of love and G-d's desire
to purify and better them, to bring them to teshuva, repentence. These are also
mentioned last as a sign of man's high status. Just as in all matters of holiness
we always progress towards the highest level ("maalin bakodesh"), the Torah works
up to the section of the plagues.
When man sins he sinks to the lowest level of creation, but G-d's special concern
for helping him repair his faults indicates how high he really is.
[prepared
by Eliezer Kwass]
from
Classic Divrei Torah on Parshat Shavua
Print Version of http://www.darchenoam.org/articles/web/parsha/ar_tazria.htm
Copyright 2003 Darche
Noam Institutions
