This
week’s Parasha talks about the man who has Sara’at, commonly referred to as
leprosy, which comes because of Lashon Harah.
After
the whole process is complete, the man has all his hair cut off. That is part
of his purification.
The
Ben Ish Chai is bothered by this.
Why
must we cut off all his hair? What is the message and symbolism of that?
He
explains, based on a Gemarah that says that no person can effect another
person’s parnasah; and it’s compared to the fact that every hair on a person’s
head has its own follicle- its own source of nourishment. A hair follicle has many functions, for
example, it releases a certain type of lubricant called sebum. There is a whole
host of wonders regarding hair follicles.
Just
as every hair has its own follicle, the message is that every human being has
his own source of parnasah. And just as no two hairs share the same follicle,
so too, my parnasah is going to come directly to me.
When
you see a person with a full head of hair, you have no idea what’s going on
under there. But when a person gets his whole head shaved, he can see all those
little bumps, and those are all the hair follicles. So, he goes around for a
few days with his head shaved and gets that hair follicle lesson. He realizes
that no one can hurt him, no one can harm him, and there is no reason to speak
lashon harah, negatively about anybody. Ultimately, one of the reasons we speak
negatively about others is because we think that if we put them down, it will raise us up. But no one can take
anything away from you. Everyone has their own source.
There’s
a very similar Midrash in this Parasha.
The Midrash tells us that there was a Kohen going out on a business
trip. He was sharing different tricks and techniques for deciding if a person
has Sara’at, ( as is the Kohen’s job) with his wife, and he told her this line:
There
is not a hair that G-d did not create its own personal follicle for, so they
don’t have to borrow from each other.
“Well,”
his wife said, “If that’s the case, why are you going on this business trip?
Stay home and rely on your G-d.” And he
did.
This is not to say that you’re not allowed to
go on a business trip, but that’s the story.
The wife told her husband to realize the lesson of the hair. This is a
tremendous concept, to realize, always, that I have a direct line of support. I
have a direct line of sustenance, and no one can interfere with me.
There
is a story told from about 200 years ago, of a couple who went to ask a rabbi a
question. They had a very large family and couldn’t imagine how they could
possibly afford to have another child. The rabbi told the couple that every
child comes with his own source of parnassa.
Don’t think that it’s you, only one man working, that is supporting each
of your children; No. Each child has his
own source of parnassa.
The rabbi
told them that the child will bring along the beracha, and sure enough that’s
what happened. The child brought beracha.
You
think you’re supporting your children, but your children are really supporting
you. They’re bringing you beracha.
Not
long ago, a great man in our community, Mr. Eddie Missry Ah, passed away. I remember that at one his weddings, a rabbi
got up to speak. His daughter’s name is
Sadie, and the rabbi said that Eddie used to call her “Sadie-pots.” Why?
Because when she was born, he had just closed one business and was about to
start another - a pot business. He
believed that she brought Baracha to his new business, so he called her
Sadie-pots. This is a nice Emunah lesson
from a wonderful man, Mr. Eddie Missry whom I owe a lot to.
He
was a great man. He constantly gave me
Rabbi Miller materials and sent out all kinds of paraphernalia. One year,
before Rosh Hashanah, he drove me and his friend Louie Massry from Deal to
Brooklyn to hear a pre- Rosh Hashana speech by Rabbi Miller. It was the only time I was zoche to hear
Rabbi Miller in person, in his shul.
BeEzrat
Hashem we should continue strengthening our Emunah in these principles, and
realize that everybody has their own source of Parnassa Everyone has their own source of success.
Every hair has its follicle. (Maybe that’s why men go bald...So they can look
in the mirror and see all the follicles)
Let us strengthen ourselves in this important
message that we learn from the Mesora - leper.
There’s
no need to put anyone down, because
everyone is on their own.
Have
a Shabbat shalom.
