Page 322 - VAIKRA

Tzara’at is an affliction that purifies a person from his sin. This is the
reason for the juxtaposition of parashat Tazria, which discusses the
mitzvah of milah, to parashat Metzorah.Just as brit milah connects the
infant to the covenant of Avraham Avinu with Hashem, likewise tzara’at
purifies a person and reconnects him to Hashem.
Tzara’at does not appear immediately upon a person’s flesh. It spreads
progressively. A person must awaken to doing teshuvah upon the first
signs of the affliction in order to avoid worse punishment.
When the students of Rabbi Akiva saw their teacher accepting the yoke
of Heaven with great joy as he died, they asked him to what extent must
one give up his life joyfully. Rabbi Akiva explained to them that all his
life he agonized whether he would be able to fulfill the verse “You shall
love Hashem, your G-d… with all your soul” with the proper intentions,
sacrificing his life in sanctification of Hashem’s Name, or whether his
recitation was only lip service. However, when the opportunity to sacrifice
his life presented itself, and he, indeed, accepted the decree with love, he
was overjoyed with the confirmation that his intentions when reciting this
pasuk had always been absolutely sincere.

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