 Parshat Tazria-M'tzora G'MATRIYA based on L'ORA SHEL TORAH by R. Yaakov Auerbach z"l Following through with an idea from the Midrash at the beginning of Parshat Tazri'a, Rabbi Auerbach z"l make several numeric observations. NISHMAT CHAYIM, the breath of life that G-d breathed into ADAM HARISHON (and therefore into us all) equals 50+300+40+400 (790) + 8+10+10+40 (68) = 858. This beautifully matches the Torah's identification of the uniqueness of humans above the rest of the animal word, in that he (Adam HaRishon) was created in G-d's image,B'TZELEM ELOKIM BARA OTO, which equals 2+90+30+40 (162) + 1+30+5+10+40 (86) + 2+200+1 (203) + 1+400+6 (407) = 858. That the human being, because of who he is, is challenged to by holy, is numerically illustrated by the comparison of the following two G'matriyas. VAYIPACH B'APAV, NISHMAT CHAYIM = 6+10+80+8 (104) + 2+1+80+10+6(99) + 858 = 1061. This matches V'HAYITEM K'DOSHIM LEILOKEICHEM, and you shall be holy for your G-d = 6+5+10+10+400+40 (471) + 100+4+300+10+40 (454) + 30+1+30+5+ 10+20+40 (136) = 1061. And how do we go about becoming holy? By doing Mitzvot. MITZVOTAI TISHMORU, My commands you shall observe = 40+90+6+400+10 (546) + 400+300+40+200+6(946) = 1492. Same as V'H'YITEM LI K'DOSHIM KI KADOSH ANI HASHEM= 471 + 30+10 (40) + 454 + 20+10 (30) + 100+4+6+300 (410) 1+50+10 (61) + 26 = 1492 The Physical-Spiritual Connection Imagine this: A person falls and breaks his arm. Let's see - simple fracture, left arm, ulna - that means that the person didn't say Birkat HaMazon with proper kavana. A painful hangnail results from showing disrepect to one's teachers. A toothache happens because a person ate a food with a questionable set of ingredients. How do we know those things? We don't. I just made it up But what if we did? Actually, there was such a thing. There is. Except we are not knowledgeable in how it works, so it isn't "practiced" today. Imagine a person talking LASHON HARA (for example) and developing a certain skin condition that IS a direct result of his sin. Imagine a physical manifestation of a spiritual transgression. That is TZORA'AT. (People tend to translate it into English as Leprosy, but that disease does not conform with the discriptions from the Torah and Mishna as TZORA'AT. Some of the manafestations of the one resemble those of the other. TZORA'AT is the main theme of Parshat Tazria, not jut M'tzora.) Our sources say that LASHON HARA is the main sin that causes TZORA'AT, although other sins are also implicated. Not every skin problem is TZORA'AT. A person was required to consult an expert Kohen if he develops certain symptoms. Sometimes, the Kohen would declare the person TAHOR (ritually pure) upon the first inspection.Basically, that would mean that the particular skin problem should be shown to a dermatologist - it is a physical problem only. Sometimes, the Kohen would declare the person a M'TZORA and sometimes the Kohen would recheck the signs a week later to determine what's what. The point is - there is a direct connection between a person's spiritual behavior and his physical well-being. Things are much more complicated than this, but there is enough here to provide food for thought. Today, without TZORA'AT, we still have the notion that there is a connection between what we do and what happens to us. We might not know the mechanics of the connection, but we believe (should believe) that there is a connection. We are made up of a body and soul which are firmly linked to each other throughout a person's lifetime. [The Tazria-M'tzora Homepage] |