The Ailment of

Tzaraat צרעתIN PRE-MESSIANIC TIMES

www.AboutMoshiach.com An introduction toSIGNS of Moshiach

Part 2

Contents

Part 1 – Tzaraat & its deeper meaning

Part 2 – How Tzaraat is applicable before Moshiach comes

Part 3 – Terminal Tzaraat

Summary from Part 1Literal Sense of Tzaraat Deeper Sense of Tzaraat

Not seen since Biblical Times Because very high level required (perfection with no bad left inside)

The cause is ill speech Because the Metzora is so high he has problems with expressing his high levels.

On the skin Only external (inside – all good). What people see.

Bright white spots White is good but too bright is problematic (dazzles).

Very impure He has immense spiritual energy – can do a lot of damage if not conveyed appropriately.

Expulsion from community Because he’s too high he cannot fit in amongst others.

“The Torah (is the process) of the Metzora’s purification”

Teaching Torah will enable the Metzora’s purification.

Purification also through Cedar-wood and hyssop

Metzora to remain a cedar but adopt humility of hyssop.

Not all Tzaraat instances are impure

Tzaraat in reality is a good thing. Just needs to be in a pure form.

So what’s Tzaraat got to do with Moshiach?

You guessed it.

Moshiach will be a Metzora.(Talmud, Sanhedrin 98a & 98b and Rashi there)

What’s changing at the end of days to bring Tzaraat from ancient times

back into play?

• Think bigger.• True, it’s been less and less likely to find

people who would meet the Tzaraat criteria.• But the journey of the world is heading right

toward a state of Tzaraat…

Global Perspective

The hefty criteria for Tzaraat are:

1. Perfection (in the realm of Good)

2. No mixture of bad inside (in the realm of Evil)

Remember

1. Global Perfection• Each generation accomplished one piece of

the puzzle – • The puzzle of a perfect world. • So by the time Moshiach comes the puzzle

would be virtually complete. • Perfection in a global/historical sense.• The world will have fulfilled the 1st criterion of Tzaraat.

How Would We Know?

• How can you tell the world is nearing the age of perfection?

• Just look for the Positive Signs of Moshiach.• (To be illustrated on AboutMoshiach.com in due course, G-d willing)

2. No Bad Within World

• Throughout the ages• Evils have been surfacing• And getting cleansed. • By the time we get to the end,• The world is all good – • At least under the surface.• Hence the world will have fulfilled this 2nd

Tzaraat criterion also.

How Would We Know?

• How can you tell all evils have been cleansed? • When you see Deep Evil celebrating.• Refer to the Deep Evil slides for more details.

Tzaraat Comes to the World

• So before the Coming of Moshiach,• The world will fulfill the Tzaraat criteria • (1) perfection and (2) no evils inside.

That calls for Tzaraat…

What sort of “Tzaraat” can the World experience?

Messianic Tzaraat

• Like the Metzora who has become much higher than the community –

• The Messianic Times will involve great spiritual revelations,

• Above and beyond what the world could normally handle.

• That’s the “Tzaraat” the world will face with the Coming of Moshiach.

Question is:

How will this “Messianic Tzaraat” be expressed in the world?

Two Extreme Reactions

• Like the Metzora can either be very welcomed or distanced by the community –

• Messianic Tzaraat could either kindle and captivate the world,

• Or the world can reject and repel it.

Pure Messianic Tzaraat

• If the Messianic Tzaraat will be welcomed by the world,

• The Messianic Age will then commence.• That’s like the pure form of Tzaraat.• A positive wow.• We hope and pray for this…• And it will ultimately be achieved.

Impure Messianic Tzaraat

• However if Messianic Tzaraat is rejected – • The onset of the Messianic Age gets delayed.• In the meantime we have extreme impurity – • Like the impure form of Tzaraat.• A negative wow (Oy Vey)

The Effect of Impure Messianic Tzaraat

• There are many problems before Moshiach comes…

• The birth pangs of Moshiach.• But if the solution to these problems is

rejected – • The problems are exacerbated…

Moshiach – a “Metzora”

• Bringing Messianic Tzaraat into the world is Moshiach’s job.

• Hence he is labelled as a “Metzora”.• Intrinsically –• Because even though initially it may be in the

impure form,• Ultimately it’ll be in the pure form.• Either way, Messianic Tzaraat is what he’s about.

Inside Skin Outside

The Person

Increasing good, Decreasing bad

Once perfection achieved –>

His high levels become physically visible on his skin

Others are exposed to his high levels.

And either reject or embrace.

The World

Working toward spiritual perfection of the world,

throughout history. Not so visible (“inside”).

Once achieved –>

Messianic Tzaraat becomes physically visible in the world. Through Moshiach &

his generation

The world (“outside”) is exposed to Messianic Tzaraat.

They either reject or embrace.

Summary So Far

Now, why would Messianic Tzaraat be rejected?

• Well, why was the Metzora rejected by the community?

• They couldn’t grasp his high levels.• There was a gap.

• And at the end of days:• We have the impending Messianic Tzaraat on

the one hand (inside),• The world as we see it on the other (outside),• And a gap in between…

There’s a Gap

The Gap in

The Realm of Good

Inside Skin Outside

Messianic revelations ready for sharing…

What are you talking about?Not interested!

The Gap in

The Realm of Evil

How it is inside Skin What you see outside

Cleaned up of all evils Deep Evil amassed for all to see

No Insight

• Why this big gap?• Because we reside on the “outside”.• So we see the exact opposite of Messianic

Times (Deep Evil).• And anyway, what is this Messianic Age that’s

coming up? • What does the “inside” looks like?• We have no insight.

So how on earth will we welcome Moshiach and his Tzaraat –

and what’s more –

with excitement??

Need to close the gap.

Torah

• The remedy of the Metzora is Torah.

• Because it’s the only medium by which

• The highest (= most foreign) spiritual concepts,

• Can be expressed in worldly terms and “move” even a truck driver from Pennsylvania.

Moshiach will also need to use Torahto cure Messianic Tzaraat.

Torah About Moshiach

• Moshiach will need to do a lot of explaining: • Torah teachings to bring the lofty Messianic

Tzaraat within reach of the lowest common denominator.

• Dress it in the worldly contexts that we know.• So we can relate to it and embrace.• And not reject and estrange.

Humility of Moshiach

• The Metzora was well versed in Torah. • His problem was lack of humility.• Although Moshiach will be so great – • As alluded in his “riding with the clouds of Heaven”

(Daniel 7:13) – • True greatness is coupled with humility (Talmud Megila 31a)

• And the greater – the more humble. (Zohar Intro 11)

• Indeed, Moshiach will also need to be “a pauper riding on a donkey” (Zechariah 9:9) –

• A reference to his humility.

Visual Illustrations

• It’s hard to explain a foreign concept without some visual aid.

• True we can’t see the Messianic theme that’s been cooking under the surface, • But we can see the skin – • The pre-Moshiach generation.

Drastic Symptoms

• And when this skin starts changing,• In a loud, acute, and unheard-of fashion,• That’s Messianic Tzaraat being expressed on it.• The Messianic Times are no longer just

abstract, futuristic, fairy-tale theory.

Religious Signs

• Torah scholars generally have a lot on their shoulders.

• And when it comes to Messianic Tzaraat • And its cure (Torah-about-Moshiach) – • Torah scholars are also responsible.• Not only Moshiach.• Hence Messianic Tzaraat is reflected on them• Viz. the “bad”, religious-type signs of Moshiach.

Learning is 2-Way

• Moshiach and the scholars are accountable for Messianic Tzaraat –

• To purify it.• But are we going to sit and watch?• Closing the gap is not a one-way street.• We can start putting 2 and 2 together.

Transformation• Lucky Tzaraat is not a terminal illness.• The Metzora can become pure. • He has a remedy! (Torah)

• Those Bad (impure) Signs of Moshiach• Can also be transformed into good (pure).• There’s a remedy (Torah about Moshiach).

How Does it Look Now?

• The Torah about Moshiach• Coupled with humility • Will heal the gap• And enable the flow of the impending

Messianic energy into the world.• The impure Tzaraat (Gola) will be purified

(Geula).

Summary Person (Part 1) World (Part 2)

What is Tzaraat? An unnatural disease that comes to the person

Unnatural maladies that come to the world

When is it applicable? When the person reaches completeness

When the job of spiritualising the world has been completed.

Why does it come? Expressing his lofty state to people in the other extreme – big gap

Expression of the lofty Messianic levels to the masses. A huge gap.

Where expressed? In the skin – the outer, visible parts are infected with extreme impurity

In the last generations of Gola (the skin of the entire working history)

The remedy: Torah teaching & humility

Torah teaching & humility about Moshiach

There’s actually one other type of Tzaraat...

When the whole thing turns white…

Coming next

Some Appendices

“What’s his [Moshiach’s] name?... The white-one of Rebbi’s family” –

as it says (Isaiah 53:4):

“Surely our diseases he did bear, and our pains he carried; whereas we esteemed him as plagued, smitten of G-d, and afflicted.”

…שמו? חיוורא דבי רבימה

שנאמר (נ״ג ישעי-ה)

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“Metzora” (Rashi et al)

“Nega” (Tzaraat instance)

Talmud, Sanhedrin 98b:

“Metzora” (Rashi et al)

“Nega” (Tzaraat instance)

Summary from Deep EvilTrend When Moshiach

ComesTzaraat Implications

TorahIncreasing Peak with the Torah of

MoshiachImmense positive energy that needs to be expressed in the world

Goodness

Adding more and more in different times, places and circumstances to build a spiritual puzzle

Puzzle complete

The two Tzaraat criteria are fulfilled

Evil

Decreasing under the surface

Under the surface all clean

Increasing on the surface Deepest evils on the surface How will these energies

be accepted?Personal Ability

Decreasing Rock bottom