A Prescription for Life and Death
By Rabbi David Polsky
A person visiting his doctor is foolish if he thinks his doctor’s diagnosis is what hurts or heals him. Yet, a Metsora (leper, for lack of a better term), is not considered impure until he visits a kohein who declares him as such. The Metsora similarly cannot become pure again until the priest declares his purity. Although these laws seem to ascribe magical powers to the priest, the Chofetz Chaim believes that the Torah is teaching us a deeper message. According to rabbinic tradition, tsaraat (leprosy) is not a disease like any other but rather a punishment for evil speech. The power of the priest’s declaration of purity or impurity conveys the power of speech. Good speech has the ability to comfort or endear, while bad speech possesses the ability to hurt and wound. As the Torah states, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue” (Proverbs 18:21).