The Haftarah of Metzora describes the end of Aram[1]‘s siege against Shomron, the capital city of Israel. The siege had been long and cruel; right before the Haftarah begins, we learn that not only were people dying of starvation, they were fighting over who would get to eat the corpses of the children. This siege was miraculously lifted when the army of Aram suddenly ran away, leaving behind the contents of the camp and all the provisions. The Haftarah tells us that it was a group of four Metzoraim[2] who discovered that the camp was abandoned. It then goes on at length about their actions when they made this discovery:
וַיָּבֹאוּ הַמְצֹרָעִים הָאֵלֶּה עַד קְצֵה הַמַּחֲנֶה וַיָּבֹאוּ אֶל אֹהֶל אֶחָד וַיֹּאכְלוּ וַיִּשְׁתּוּ וַיִּשְׂאוּ מִשָּׁם כֶּסֶף וְזָהָב וּבְגָדִים וַיֵּלְכוּ וַיַּטְמִנוּ וַיָּשֻׁבוּ וַיָּבֹאוּ אֶל אֹהֶל אַחֵר וַיִּשְׂאוּ מִשָּׁם וַיֵּלְכוּ וַיַּטְמִנוּ:
These lepers came to the edge of the camp. They came into one tent; they ate and drank.
They carried away from there gold and silver and garments. They went and they hid them.
They returned and went into a different tent. They carried away from there, they went and hid them. (Melachim II 7:8)
Understandably, the first thing they do is eat the food that they find in the abandoned tents. But then, when we would have expected them to run to the city and tell everyone that the siege is over, it turns out that they have other priorities. They spend most of the night acquiring and hiding a significant hoard of valuables. Only then does it dawn upon them that it might be a good idea to pass the news of the end of the siege on to the king and to the starving people.
This story is a continuation of the Haftarah of the previous Parsha, Tazria[3] . The Haftarah of Tazria tells the following story:
A general in the army of Aram, Na’aman, has Tzara’at, and is advised to go to the prophet Elisha to be cured. Na’aman follows his instructions and is healed. He comes back to Elisha and offers him gifts to express his gratitude. Elisha refuses categorically, no matter how much Na’aman insists, no matter what he offers. In light of Elisha’s obvious poverty, this display of selflessness impresses the general, and he promises that from now on, he will worship only Hashem. This is where the Haftarah of Tazria ends, but the story, unfortunately, does not end there.
Gechazi, Elisha’s servant, cannot accept that his master let this wealthy general go away without giving them a penny. He chases down Na’aman, and tells him that his master needs just a few loaves of bread and some clothes to feed some apprentice prophets that showed up unexpectedly. Na’aman is delighted to oblige, sending two of his servants along to carry the gifts. Gechazi has the gifts brought to his house, where he hides them in a place where no one would think to look for them. Elisha confronts Gechazi, but he tells the prophet of Hashem that he didn’t go anywhere or do anything. Elisha then decrees that Gechazi will be a Metzora like the general Na’aman, along with his sons, forever[4] .
Gechazi took what he should not have taken and hid it so no one would see. In the Haftarah of Metzora, the Metzoraim ran around grabbing gold and silver and hid it so no one would see. They displayed the same self-centered, materialistic, money-grabbing attitude as Gechazi had before, and they bore the same affliction, Tzara’at. For this reason, the Midrash identifies the Metzoraim as Gechazi and his sons.
Tzara’at, the topic of Parshot Tazria and Metzora, is an outward sign of G-d’s displeasure with our actions. This particular punishment, a visible blemish on our skin, creates a situation where everyone sees that we have done something wrong. But it is not a punishment for just any sin; it is not earned by eating non kosher food or driving on Shabbat. The Midrash lists the types of behavior that the Tanach records as having been punished with Tzara’at:
על עשרה דברים נגעים באים על ע”ז ועל גילוי עריות ועל שפיכות דמים ועל חילול השם ועל ברכת השם ועל הגוזל את הרבים ועל גוזל את שאינו שלו ועל גסי הרוח ועל לשון הרע ועל עין רע,
These diseases come for ten things: for idolatry, for forbidden relations, for murder, for desecrating G-d’s Name, for cursing G-d, for embezzling from public funds, for stealing a position he does not deserve, for haughtiness, for Lashon Hara, and for refusing to let other people benefit from your possessions. (Midrash Vayikra Rabba Metzora 17:3)
The sins on this list[5] share a theme. These are actions that express an attitude of selfishness and entitlement. Moreover, the people who do these things pretend that they will not be caught. They expect that no one will ever know the source of their immoral gains. But G-d knows, and the punishment of Tzara’at exposes their corruption to the world.
Gechazi had been the servant of the prophet Elisha, called “the Man of G-d” by the Tanach and by the people of Israel. He was himself a prophet in training, next in line to bear that title and represent G-d to the people. One can imagine that he acted and dressed and spoke like his master, and that people assumed that he himself was a holy Man of G-d. His actions with Na’aman showed that he was none of those things. For years, Gechazi had been able to hide his character under a cloak of holiness and piety, but no longer. Elisha’s curse of Tzora’at exposed him as the self-centered crook that he was.
The Parsha of Metzora teaches us that Tzara’at is potentially a short-term condition. There is a purification process, and one goes back to life. Thus, Tzara’at is meant to serve as a lesson to the individual, to allow him to adjust his character to be in line with his outward appearance of holiness and piety.
Gechazi’s Tzara’at was different; it would not go away and would not heal. We see from his selfish behavior at the camp of Aram that Tzara’at did not motivate him to change his character. Had it done so, had he learned to not put himself first at the expense of other people, then perhaps it would have faded in time. But as long as it remains, at least people would no longer expect him to be a person they could trust or admire.
Tzara’at serves as an outward sign, a visible mark that says: “Do not be misled; this person is not what he appears. He does not serve G-d; he serves himself.”
Copyright © Kira Sirote
In memory of my father, Peter Rozenberg, z”l
לעילוי נשמת אבי מורי פנחס בן נתן נטע ז”ל
[1] At this time, Israel and Aram, its neighbor to the north, are in a state of ongoing conflict, and Aram has the upper hand.
[2] Since it is not exactly medical leprosy, but a spiritual disease with similar symptoms, we will call it by its Torah name. The disease is “Tzara’at”, and a person afflicted with it is a “Metzora”; plural, “Metzoraim”.
[3] Tazria is usually either Shabbat HaChodesh or combined with Metzora, and is read very rarely.
[4] Elisha has a reputation for being a warmer, more accessible version of his master Eliyahu, but frankly, based on the majority of his stories, he is not a person you would want to make angry.
[5] The first 3 do not seem to belong on this list, as they are cardinal sins and have much bigger punishments. It would be very interesting to analyze the sources given as proofs by the Midrash and figure out why they are even on this list, but it is outside the scope of this work.