In the third and fourth aliyot of Parasha Metzora, we read about the second stage of the purification process, after the initial "purification" involving the dashing, the korbanot, and removal of hair. This time, in addition to more korbanot, we read about how the metzora is "daubed" two times - first with the blood of a korban and then the oil as part of a log of oil offering.
Changing gears somewhat, I have heard an oft-repeated Talmudic aphorism during my learning which is that the ba'al teshuvah - someone who returns after wrongdoing - is able to reach a higher spiritual level than someone who is "holy" their entire life and supposedly never makes any error.
It is an extremely nice thought, and one that is especially inspiring around the High Holidays or other holy times in which I review my thoughts, behavior, and even emotions throughout the year.
But I wonder - and, to be fair, I have not actually tracked down the citation in the Talmud itself - if this idea has its root in this very aliyah. Why? Well, earlier we read about how the kohen-in-training is first daubed with oil on the middle part of the ear, the big thumb of the right hand, and the big toe of the right foot, as part of this consecration. Here, there is both a daubing of blood on those same body parts and then, seemingly immediately after, a daubing of oil on the same places. In fact, the Torah in VaYikra 14:28 specifies that the oil daubing is done "on the place of the blood of the guilt-offering" - i.e., directly over it.
We know that blood, as queasy as it might make us, is an important part of the consecration and purification process. The altar itself is constantly being covered in it, and at its very first use, blood is daubed on its "horns" (i.e., corners). There is obviously so much more to it than merely marking a object - whether it be ritualistic (the altar) or human (the metzora) - rather, it is actually part and parcel of the purification and "holification" process - a process which cannot exist without blood.
Here, again, the metzora is daubed with both blood (which is used on the holy altar) and oil (which is used to sanctify the kohen). It seems as if the metzora, therefore, is sanctified "twice" and to a higher level than even the kohen - a literal servant of H' - receives.
It is fascinating that in this entire parasha, as well as the one before, there is absolutely no mention of what causes tza'raat. None. However, the sages piece together that when Miriam later becomes afflicted with tza'raat, it was because she spoke lashon hara (evil tongue) about her brother, Moshe. And that, therefore, lashon hara, along with other actions, is a cause of tza'raat.
The Talmudic teaching therefore, becomes real and objective here, in that not only does the metzora receive exactly the same type of oil treatment that the kohen does, he or she also receives a similar type of treatment that the holiest of objects, including the altar, receives, that of blood. Therefore, there is real reason to believe that committing a wrong - but then going through the entire, lengthy, and intense teshuvah process literally embodied by the procedure described here - can elevate that person to a spiritual level previously unavailable and most definitely otherwise unavailable to the kohen.
It's a slippery slope - obviously, we don't want to make negative choices intentionally and for the sole purpose of being able to return. But in making those choices, when done properly, it allows us to not only undo the negative choice (and not make it again) but instead improve our entire outlook, drawing ever closer to H'.
I do have to admit to close, that as I've reflected upon previously when reading about these holy rites associated with the mishkan, that emotionally I feel a deep sense of sadness since we have neither the affliction nor the antidote described here. Is there any sort of modern equivalent, something powerful enough to do what the parasha describes? I'm not sure, and I'm not positive there is. Perhaps it is for each one to discover on their own, and once discovered, to hold it close as a treasure of drawing close to the Essence of the Divine. At the same time, this sadness leaves me to wonder what mystical secrets were so easily grasped that our predecessors that we, living here today, can only see the faintest shadows of. My prayer is that we one day soon be able to rise to their level, to stand both amongst and on the shoulders of these spiritual giants.
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