Weekly Thought

זֹאת תִּהְיֶה תּוֹרַת הַמְּצֹרָע וגו': (ויקרא יד:ב)
[G‑d told Moses,] “The following is the law regarding the person afflicted with tzara’at.” Leviticus 14:2
The Hebrew word for a person afflicted with tzara’at (metzora) can be seen as a contraction for the Hebrew phrase for “slanderer” (motzi shem ra), which literally means “someone who gives [someone else] a bad name.” This reflects the fact that tzara’at afflicted people whose hidden evil surfaced in spontaneous harmful gossip and slander.

Good deeds generate positive energy and misdeeds generate negative energy. Therefore, when we set out to repair the damage caused by a misdeed, we also need to neutralize the negative energy it generated. Gossip and slander result from using the power of speech excessively. Therefore, the way to rectify the damage they caused is by excessive speech in a positive way – by studying the Torah (which should be done out loud). This draws positive, holy energy into the world.

We are taught that the Torah’s letters are all “names” of G‑d – i.e., channels through which Divine energy enters the world. Thus, the positive energy that is brought into the world through the study of the Torah counteracts the negative energy that produces tzara’at, replacing the destructive, evil “bad names” with constructive, Divine “names.”

- One Plus One