Too often, when evaluating ourselves, we focus too much attention on the “healthy skin,” on the encouraging signs of improvement, so we can assign ourselves a status of “purity.” The gratification we receive from positive signs of improvement must not lead us to conclude that we are “pure” and no longer need to grow and advance.
One of the numerous instances of tzara’at discussed in Parashat Tazria is the case of a tzara’at infection in which a patch of healthy skin appears. The Torah (13:11) establishes that the healthy skin indicates that the infection had been present for an extended period of time (“tzara’at noshenet”), and thus the individual is considered a metzora. As Rashi explains, one might have viewed the healthy skin as a sign of “purity,” as proof that this is not, in fact, a tzara’at infection. In truth, however, the healthy skin means only that the infection has been present for a while, and the individual is thus considered impure as a metzora.
Symbolically, tzara’at infections have been viewed as models of spiritual ills which often plague us. Accordingly, the case of “tzara’at noshenet” perhaps presents us with a sobering warning about our flaws and imperfections which have begun showing signs of “healing.” Too often, when evaluating ourselves, we focus too much attention on the “healthy skin,” on the encouraging signs of improvement, so we can assign ourselves a status of “purity.” The moment we detect “healthy skin” – indications of positive change and improvement – we feel content with our modest achievements and ignore the “infection” that remains. The Torah here perhaps alerts us to the fact that the appearance of “healthy skin” should encourage us to pursue further growth, rather than lure us into complacency. The gratification we receive from positive signs of improvement must not lead us to conclude that we are “pure” and no longer need to grow and advance. To the contrary, they should spur us to address the “infection” that remains and to work as hard as we can to “cure” all our flaws so we can inch ever closer to perfection.