Parshas Tazria - The Affliction of Tzaraas, the Final Refinement Before the Geulah

00:00 In Reshimos Hayoman—a collection of notes from a journal the Rebbe wrote in his early years, before his nesius, while he was with his father-in-law, the Frierdiker Rebbe, in Poland and elsewhere—there are stories, and the Rebbe often recorded details as well. It is a very rich journal, full of stories and matters relating to the history of our Rebbeim, the history of the early chassidim, and remarkable accounts. Among other things, the Rebbe records a story the Frierdiker Rebbe told about his teacher, the Rashbatz. As is known, one of the Frierdiker Rebbe’s teachers was the Rashbatz, Reb Shmuel Betzalel Sheftel. He was one of the great chassidim of the Tzemach Tzedek. In one of his writings, the Frierdiker Rebbe tells the whole story in detail: how the Rashbatz came from [unclear], and how he drew close to Chassidus until he came to the Tzemach Tzedek. The person who taught the Rashbatz, from [unclear] until he came to the Tzemach Tzedek, was one of the great chassidim of the Alter Rebbe, truly one of the earliest chassidim. He was a holy chossid named Reb Michel [unclear]. He tells several remarkable stories about Reb Michel: that he was a holy man of high spiritual standing, a person who performed wonders, and a very G-d-fearing Jew.

01:41 He was also among the earliest chassidim of the Alter Rebbe. The Rashbatz repeated a story he had heard from his teacher, Reb Michel. Reb Michel told him that in the early years, before the Tzemach Tzedek was born, when the Mitteler Rebbe was a young child, the Alter Rebbe still had the practice of saying very brief, piercing teachings of Torah that seared the animal soul with extraordinary force. He related that at the time, there were several dozen young married men in Liozna who had come to receive and study Chassidus from the Alter Rebbe. Once, the Alter Rebbe suddenly came out of his room into the hall and entered the beis midrash. That was his way then: he would come out suddenly and say a teaching of Torah. The Alter Rebbe came out, placed one hand over the other, lowered his head like this [unclear], and then raised his holy head and quoted a verse from Daniel: “Many will be refined, whitened, and purified; the wicked will act wickedly, and those with understanding will understand.” And the Alter Rebbe said: “[unclear] the coming of Moshiach, our righteous redeemer, when ‘many will be refined, whitened, and purified’”—[unclear], things will become clean and clear. And then, “the wicked will act wickedly”—a new kind of wicked person will appear. [unclear] righteous people will become wicked. The Alter Rebbe

03:26 said: “And those with understanding will understand.” The Alter Rebbe said the teaching and returned to his room. Reb Michel related that the dozens of young men were [unclear] when they heard it. They felt [unclear] and shaken, as if everything had been overturned, [unclear] from the very [unclear]. This was a teaching said at the beginning of the Alter Rebbe’s nesius. And it relates to our parsha, Parshas Tazria, where we learn about tzaraas. This idea of “being refined, whitened, and purified,” one of the signs of the period before the coming of Moshiach, our righteous redeemer, is found in the weekly parsha, Tazria–Metzora. [unclear] The matter of tzaraas, as explained in Likkutei Torah [unclear], is [unclear] the refinements that must be completed before the coming of Moshiach, our righteous redeemer. This is also what we find in the Gemara in Sanhedrin: “What is Moshiach’s name? The white one of the house of Rebbi.” [unclear] the connection between the coming of Moshiach, our righteous redeemer, and tzaraas. Regarding tzaraas, it is explained in the writings of [unclear], in Likkutei Torah, that it is specifically on the very outside. [unclear] when everything is complete and there is no longer [unclear] within him. Tzaraas appears precisely on the outermost exterior. And the Rebbe explains that this is the point: we see that even a person who is complete, even a great tzaddik, can have [unclear] tzaraas, as we find in the teachings of our Sages [unclear].

05:33 Because the ultimate perfection has not yet reached the very skin of his flesh, there is some exceedingly subtle trace of evil, and it breaks through to the skin of his flesh so that it can be dealt with and corrected, until no trace of it remains. Then one reaches perfection. The same applies to the collective body of the Jewish people, for this is connected with the time of the Geulah. The Jewish people are one whole, and as the Arizal explains, the Jewish people are like one great body: just as a human body has a head, hands, feet, and so on—all 248 limbs and 365 sinews—so too, the collective body of the Jewish people contains every level, with Jews at each of them. All these matters must be corrected, refined, and purified. At the time of the Geulah, only the last small details remain, the final refinements, the last thing that needs to be corrected and refined. All these matters must be purified. And now, at the time of the Geulah, only the last small details remain, the final refinements, the last thing that needs to be corrected. This is the meaning of “If a person has on the skin of his flesh”: “a person” refers to the collective Jewish people, and on the skin of his flesh, at the very outermost exterior, remain the last details that must be corrected. This is that subtle trace of evil. When it emerges and is nullified, the Geulah comes—the ultimate perfection of the Geulah. That, in essence, is the subject of the parsha, as explained in the books of Chassidus, in the teachings of Chassidus.

07:19 In Parshas Tazria, among the matters the parsha discusses, we find an intriguing point connected with the Geulah. The laws of tzaraas include a special rule, a truly exceptional one. As the verse says, when a person reaches a state in which “the tzaraas has spread over all of him”—usually tzaraas is in one particular place: a patch the size of a gris, a raised spot or a spreading spot, something small that can be seen, and that is the tzaraas. But when “the tzaraas has spread over all of him,” meaning the person is covered with tzaraas from head to foot, with no place left untouched by it, he is tahor. “It has all turned white; he is tahor,” the Torah says. This is astonishing: How can that be? When a person has only a little tzaraas, he is tamei, but when it spreads over his entire body, he becomes tahor. On the straightforward level, in the revealed dimension of Torah, the commentators offer several explanations. Some say it is a decree of Scripture, without a reason we can understand. The whole matter is a decree of Scripture: if tzaraas covers his entire body, he is tahor; by force of that decree, this state brings taharah. Other commentators, though, indicate that there is indeed a reason for it. As the Ibn Ezra says, “it has all turned white” means that the impurity—the tzaraas, the illness—is pushing its way outward—

09:06 it has already come out, actually breaking through to the outside, and no longer remains within the person; it is no longer part of him. As long as the tzaraas appears on only part of the body, the illness is still inside. When “it has all turned white,” that means it is already outside, no longer remaining within the person; it has come out into the open. That is why he is tahor. In any case, there are two approaches here: either this is a decree of Scripture, or it has a reason—the visible sign shows that the impurity is already leaving the person, and therefore he is tahor. These two approaches help us understand an interesting passage in the Gemara on this subject. The Gemara in Sanhedrin discusses the Geulah and, in several respects, compares Moshiach and the time of the Geulah to tzaraas. The Gemara says there—and I need to quote it—“The son of David will not come”: the Gemara is discussing signs of the Geulah and things that will happen before Moshiach’s coming. It says: “The son of David will not come until the entire government turns to heresy.” The entire government, all governing authority in the world, will turn to heresy; then the son of David will come. The Gemara

10:35 continues and gives another sign: “From where do we know this? As it is written: ‘It has all turned white; he is tahor.’” When “it has all turned white,” when the tzaraas spreads over the whole person, then there is taharah. Along the same lines, there is, so to speak, another sign here: when the entire government turns to heresy, then there is taharah. This is an astonishing passage in the Gemara: What is the connection between these things? What is the explanation? What is it trying to show? There are several explanations of this teaching of our Sages. One explanation comes from the Maharal of Prague. He explains that “it has all turned white” is like the case of tzaraas: as long as part of a person is healthy and part is ill, the situation is not right. It means the illness is mixed into the person: he is an ordinary person with all his good qualities, yet he also has undesirable things within him—and therefore he is tamei. Before any work can begin, that must be corrected. But when “it has all turned white,” says the Maharal of Prague, it is like the analogy of a seed decaying: in the physical world, when you place a seed in the ground and want wheat to grow from it, there is a stage of decay. Decay means that the entire form of the previous thing, that

12:12 The order in which something grows. Seemingly, what is the difficulty with the earlier matters of Metzora? That is already a matter of Metzora. [unclear] completely, the matter of the appearance it is meant to produce. That is the appearance. Yes, that is what I mean. That, that. One and eleven. [unclear] The point is simple; it is needed. This is the way tzaraas works: when “it has all turned white,” that is complete absence. Complete absence. In other words, it is [unclear]. After all, “No one is rich except in knowledge,” and this is the orchard of Torah. That is what they say [unclear]. This is how it reaches that point. It has to reach heresy. When “it has all turned white,” what results from this is the following: As long as there is a little dirt, a little [unclear], there is a state of purity, and only afterward is it corrected. When “it has all turned white,” when the entire kingdom turns to heresy, the fact that the world is in a state of absence and [unclear] is a sign that Moshiach is coming. That is the sign. In other words: “The son of David will not come until the entire kingdom turns to heresy,” because this is [unclear]. What is that whole passage discussing? In the Gemara in Sanhedrin, they speak about undesirable things, troubles and difficulties and various other things. The Gemara discusses this at the end of tractate Kesubos and in a chapter of tractate Sanhedrin; these are among the things that precede the Geulah. Through this, there will be this whole matter of absence. The whole matter of [unclear], ultimately, is [unclear]. This is the last thing before Moshiach comes. And that is what the Gemara says: when the entire kingdom turns to heresy, that itself is [unclear]. What does it show? That [unclear] Geulah will come. And [unclear] this verse, there is something remarkable in it [unclear]. What is the point? To that extent.

14:14 In general, the whole matter of tzaraas is connected with teshuvah. The Gemara says, and Rashi cites it, that tzaraas comes because of lashon hara or arrogance, as well as other undesirable matters that bring on tzaraas. In other words, tzaraas is part of the process of teshuvah; it brings a person to it. And that opens the way to healing. He goes to the kohen, and the kohen, “the kohen who will be in those days,” a man of kindness, puts things right. He shows him the paths of purification, the paths of teshuvah, through which the tzaraas is remedied and he can recover. As is well known, the Rambam discusses the whole matter of tzaraas at length, explaining that it is a miracle and a wonder: when a person engages in undesirable behavior, to the point that he speaks lashon hara, it brings tzaraas upon him so that he will put his affairs right through teshuvah. Accordingly, he says, this is what the verse means: when a tzaraas affliction breaks out on part of the body, he must come to the kohen. The kohen declares him “impure,” so that he will correct it through teshuvah, and so on. But when “it has all turned white,” when a person is in a state where “it has all turned white,” he looks at himself and sees that from head to toe there is not a single part that is not white—that itself awakens teshuvah within him. You do not need, you do not need any further correction. The very thing brings it about; when you are in such a state, it certainly awakens [unclear] within a person. And this brings us to the words of our Sages: the whole purpose of exile is to bring Jews to teshuvah. That is so for as long as there are good times, until Hashem’s salvation.

16:13 There is good, there is evil, and everything is mixed together. [unclear]. When the entire kingdom turns to heresy, Jews see where things are headed and where they stand. They look around and see that the entire kingdom has turned to heresy. That is the point [unclear], because the whole world [unclear], and a state of heresy comes about. In other words, Jews still have their Jewish core, and it remains—the point from which teshuvah comes. And through doing teshuvah, they are redeemed immediately. This is what the Gemara says: “The son of David will not come until the entire kingdom turns to heresy.” When the entire kingdom turns to heresy, when “it has all turned white,” this means that it will certainly awaken Jews to teshuvah, and teshuvah will certainly bring the Geulah. Particularly in our case, the Rebbe offers a beautiful, rich explanation concerning “it has all turned white” as well. Seemingly, there are two ways to understand it: is it a scriptural decree, or is there a reason for it? What are these two approaches, these two explanations? What is the meaning of “it has all turned white”? Is it a scriptural decree, or is there a reason for it? The Rebbe explains in the sicha he delivered on Shabbos Parshas Tazria 5752, [unclear], and brings out this same point. We can see clearly how it is reflected in our own times. It will happen in this way: “They will be refined, whitened and purified.” Here, in connection with Moshiach, he cites one of the signs of the Geulah: there will be a state of “They will be refined, whitened and purified.” In other words, the entire world is mixed, good and evil. It contains a mixture of good and evil. And this mixture of good and evil came about at the time of the sin of the Tree of Knowledge. There is good

18:22 in evil, and evil in good, and everything is mixed together. The work of Jews is to find the good and refine it: to seek out the good, gather it and separate it from the evil. Throughout the generations, Jews have been carrying out this work of refinement and acting upon the world. When something is refined, what is being refined is separated: what is good becomes wholly good, and what is evil becomes wholly evil. The closer the Geulah comes, the more these things are refined. Consequently, the good becomes stronger and more apparent. The evil, too, becomes stronger and more apparent, but they now stand apart from one another. As long as good and evil are still mixed together, they can be intertwined. The good is not entirely good, and the evil is not entirely evil. Evil can appear to be good and good can appear to be evil; things become confused. But as the time of the coming of Moshiach Tzidkeinu draws near, when the refinements are complete, good is revealed in its full force, and the reality of evil is revealed in its full force. This is what is meant, as the time approaches, by “it has all turned white.” As the Gemara says there, when “it has all turned white,” it is pure, and “the kingdom will turn to heresy.” There are two aspects to this. What does it mean that “the kingdom will turn to heresy”? One way to explain it is as a scriptural decree. What does it mean to call it a scriptural decree? How do we interpret this in terms of our divine service? It means that this, too, comes from Above. In other words, Hakadosh Boruch Hu brings about a situation that awakens teshuvah, so the situation comes from Above, like a scriptural decree. There will be a state in which “the kingdom turns to heresy,” with so much darkness in the world and so much evil emerging in its full force. And through this matter of “the kingdom turning to heresy,”

20:27 this is a scriptural decree: it comes from Above, and Hakadosh Boruch Hu decreed it so that a movement of teshuvah would arise among Jews. That is one way to explain this principle. The “kingdom turning to heresy” awakens Jews to teshuvah; that is one way teshuvah comes about. That is one way. The second approach is that there is specifically a reason for it. What does that mean? It means precisely the opposite: it shows that the world is drawing closer to the truth. Falsehood can no longer be tolerated. The fact that the world is drawing closer and closer to the truth expresses itself in this way: things become more and more apparent, with greater force, until they can no longer be pushed out of sight. Anything that does not accord with the divine truth, with “the truth of Hashem endures forever,” has no place; it is utterly ruled out, utterly rejected. In earlier generations, as long as the refinement was not yet complete, things could still be pushed out of sight. So there were things people thought were all right; they did not look closely and did not see the evil in them, because the good was mixed with the evil. Things could be pushed out of sight. Until, as it is written, through the work Jews performed throughout the generations,

21:55 during the exile, engaging in the work of refinement, refining the sparks and separating the good from the evil, we reach a state in which, as the exile ends and the truth is revealed, holiness is complete holiness. Holiness is truth, and this is “the truth of Hashem endures forever”; holiness is G-dliness, and G-dliness leaves no room for anything else. And Jewish life is pure Jewish life, without any dirt. As for anything unconnected to Jews and Jewish life, anything unconnected to “the truth of Hashem endures forever,” to genuine holiness, its true nature is revealed: it is entirely dirt, entirely the opposite of the intended purpose. This is the meaning of “it has all turned white”: there is a reason why, when “it has all turned white,” it is pure. It expresses the fact that the world has already reached a state in which the refinement is complete, and it becomes clear that anything that does not fit, anything that does not belong, has no place. I had the privilege of being at the Rebbe’s farbrengen when the Rebbe spoke about this in 5752, at the Purim farbrengen. Later that year, the Rebbe spoke about it several more times, as far as I remember: on Purim, then on Shabbos Mevarchim Nissan, and several more times during the summer.

23:17 We see that in our generation we are truly on the threshold of the coming of Moshiach, and all the signs of the Geulah are unfolding one after another. The Rebbe spoke about “many will be clarified, purified and refined,” and we see this tangibly in our own time. When we look around today, we see it more and more. Things that until now people thought were fine—that they were the right approach and the right path—are being exposed over time. This is happening in every sphere, including world affairs, among various nations and in matters people thought were fine. Especially in our generation, in this recent period, they are being exposed unmistakably and with full force; we see it openly and tangibly. We could look at world politics and other affairs and see that there is an affliction everywhere in the world. And similarly—and above all, since it is all for the sake of purification, for the Jewish people—we see it in Jewish life too. We have seen this tangibly in recent times: all kinds of things that, until not long ago, could be distorted, covered up and presented as though they were fine and as though they were Jewish. We see it tangibly in every sphere. Wherever we look—at the wider world, at our immediate surroundings or at the Jewish world—we see what is happening in the world at this time.

24:57 We see this “many will be clarified, purified and refined” taking place in the world: the process of clarification is revealing the world’s true nature more and more in our generation, with full force. We see how, among Jews, in Jewish life and in matters of serving Hashem, the truth of holiness, the truth of G-dliness and the truth of purity are emerging in the world with ever-increasing strength. And we also see, may Hashem protect us, that in all kinds of matters, in approaches, outlooks and things that do not accord with the purity of truth, [unclear] the filth within them comes out with full force. This is a preparation so that afterward it will be possible to [unclear]. Why, as the Rebbe said, does it have to happen this way? Why must the evil come out into the open? What is the reason? It could have remained hidden. No: it is precisely when it comes out and we see it that we can correct it. And we see this tangibly: as long as [unclear] about it, throughout one’s life, and the evil remains inside, [unclear], one can stray completely from the path, may Hashem protect us. When it comes out into the open, we see it, and that itself prompts us to correct it, or to remove it altogether [unclear].

26:30 From reality. This is the process by which the world is preparing for “I will remove the spirit of impurity from the earth,” a process we can see tangibly in our time. The Rebbe said that this is the final sign pointing to the coming of Moshiach, and we see it in our generation. The Rebbe said this about thirty years ago, and when we look at the state of the world today from every angle, we see this “they will be clarified, purified and refined” unfolding with such intensity and force, especially in our own days. That itself shows that the world is truly close to the time when “I will remove the spirit of impurity from the earth.” The truth of Judaism, the truth of purity and the mitzvos, is being revealed; consequently, everything among the nations of the world, and every matter that does not accord with it, comes out into the open so that it will cease to exist, so that it can be uprooted and eradicated, leaving no trace of it—“I will remove the spirit of impurity from the earth.” And of course, all of this must be reflected in our own avodah, the avodah of each and every one of us in these days, in our avodah [unclear]. This is what we see happening with [unclear]. When it comes to a person himself, there may be something hidden, an evil concealed within him.

28:02 Greater still, even the person himself does not notice it, because he is surrounded and enveloped by all kinds of things he does not perceive. What is happening now, as we approach the coming of Moshiach, is that the hidden evil is being revealed, emerging from concealment into the open so that it can be corrected. And when a person suddenly feels and realizes that he sees this hidden evil within himself, it is not so that he should fall into despair, and it is not meant to break him. I am repeating what the Rebbe spoke about in those years, and it is reflected in this matter with full force: when the hidden evil within a person is revealed and emerges from concealment with full force, it is not so that he should fall into despair and bitterness. On the contrary, it happens so that he can correct it, so that he can reach the coming of Moshiach in the proper way, having corrected the hidden evil. This is the affliction of tzaraas, which is brought to the kohen—“and he shall be brought to the kohen.” These are the tzaddikim, who, through the teachings of Chassidus, the “teaching of the metzora,” give us the ways to correct both the revealed evil and the hidden evil. As the Rebbe said at that farbrengen, where [unclear], the point was that—

29:24 This is “Make for yourself a rav.” The Rebbe urged this again and again and devoted much attention to it: every Jew, every person, should choose a mashpia, a rav, who will guide him and with whom he can discuss things. We can already see how important this is: a person needs to “make for yourself a rav”; he needs someone he can talk to and consult. That is how he becomes aware of and recognizes the hidden evil that still remains within him, and learns how to correct it. For the final matters of galus that still need to be refined, “make for yourself a rav” and the advice a person receives are crucial, so that he can indeed correct this within himself. And since we are speaking about this, let us talk about the time we are in—everyone is talking about it—we are in the month of Nissan. We know what our Sages said: “In Nissan our ancestors were redeemed from Egypt; in Nissan they are destined to be redeemed.” The time of Geulah is the month of Nissan. And for the Geulah in Nissan, “The Jewish people will be redeemed only through teshuvah” must be fulfilled, as the Rambam says in Hilchos Teshuvah. “The Jewish people will be redeemed only through teshuvah” is agreed upon by everyone: both according to Rabbi Yehoshua and according to Rabbi Eliezer, both according to the view that “in Tishrei they are destined to be redeemed” and according to the view that “in Nissan they are destined to be redeemed.” According to everyone, as the Rambam rules in Hilchos Teshuvah, there must be—

30:54 “The Jewish people will be redeemed only through teshuvah.” And this teshuvah of the month of Nissan, Nissan-style teshuvah, comes with joy and in the manner of a leap. Why? Because the teshuvah of Nissan takes a person from one extreme to the other. This is the distinction explained in Chassidus between the teshuvah of Nissan and the teshuvah of Tishrei. In Tishrei there is an entire progression: Elul, preparations and soul-searching, the days of Selichos and Rosh Hashanah, the Ten Days of Teshuvah and Yom Kippur. Not so in Nissan—“leaping over the mountains, skipping over the hills”: from one second to the next, from one extreme to the other, from the lowest depths to the greatest heights. This is what is new about the month of Nissan: a person is given the strength to spring and leap from one extreme to the other. With a movement of teshuvah, he can uproot all the evil that still remains, and be [unclear], and be [unclear], and be [unclear], so that the truth, pure holiness and pristine purity are revealed. In this way there will be the “teaching of the metzora.” May we already merit the complete Geulah—“in Nissan they are destined to be redeemed”—in this very month of Nissan, truly, truly, truly. Consequently, all the evil that exists, which we see today in wars and in all the things that [unclear], is coming out with full force. And as we said, this is so that there will be [unclear]—

32:25 The true and complete Geulah through Moshiach, immediately. Amen, may it be His will.