The first types of tzara’at that the Torah discusses are those that appear on a person’s skin. The skin is the external layer of our body; this type of tzara’at therefore alludes to an imperfection in our external behavior. Specifically, it afflicts people who are guilty of unintentional, spontaneous injurious gossip or slander.
We can indeed purify our deliberate behavior, speech, and thought of negativity. Nevertheless, some subconscious negativity might remain, lurking so deep within that we might never become aware of it on our own. When the only trace of negativity remaining within us is this delicate, the only way it can surface is in spontaneous behavior, such as unpremeditated gossip – the casual remark that slips through otherwise innocent conversation. Spontaneous speech discloses the inner recesses of the heart.
When the Tabernacle or Temple stood, G‑d let people know when they still possessed this slight imperfection of character by afflicting them with tzara’at. Although we lack this open sign today, we can still notice the slips of our tongue and take them as cues to refine ourselves accordingly.1
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