My son-in-law came to us for Shabbos and was wearing a new pair of glasses. The lenses had a reddish hue. He explained that these are special glasses for people who are color blind. His eyes see the correct colors, but his brain doesn’t interpret the colors properly. These special lenses filter out certain colors and “trick” the mind to see the colors correctly. Whether this works for him has yet to be determined. It takes some time to work and it doesn’t work for everyone.
The concept of viewing something and being able to interpret it in different ways is the theme of the metzora in parshas Tazria/Metzora. The Torah discusses at length the various afflictions of tzaraas— a leprous-like condition which can affect the skin or even the walls of one’s home. Many times the diagnosis by the Kohen isn’t certain and the “patient” must be secluded for a week before the Kohen takes a second look at the nega (skin affliction) to see if the coloring has changed to determine if it was tzaraas. The wording the Torah uses to describe this changing of color is “eino;” for example, “nega amad beinav”—the affliction retained its color and also “Lo hofach hanega es eino”— the wound did not change its color. Why does the Torah use the word “eino” which normally means “his eye” to refer to the color of the nega?
The Pnei Menachem explains the Torah is emphasizing that the punishment and healing of nega tzaraas is all dependent on the eyes of the person diagnosing the nega and how he is viewing things. The Gemara says that tzaraas comes as a punishment for ayin rah— an evil eye, and for speaking lashon hara— malicious speech. Tzaraas is healed by gaining a more positive perspective on how to view things. When one develops a positive eye or way of viewing things, he will then see the positive qualities of other people and no longer feel the need to speak negatively about them. The person with nega tzaraas needs to go to a Kohen to analyze the nega since the Kohen is a symbol of chesed and ayin tova—a positive eye or viewpoint.
The Arizal notes that the word “nega” has the same Hebrew letters as the word “oneg”—delight (ayin, nun, gimmel). The Lev Simcha quotes Rav Koretz who explains that the difference in the spelling of the word “nega” and “oneg” is the placement of the letter “ayin.” Placing that letter at the beginning of the word (on the left side) spells oneg (ayin, nun, gimmel)—enjoyment. Placing the letter “ayin” at the end of the word (on the right side) spells nega (nun, gimmel, ayin) — affliction. One can look at the same situation and see either an affliction or a delight, depending on one’s perspective.
A few years ago, a student of mine and my daughter had to be admitted to the hospital on Erev Pesach. The father was staying with his daughter in the hospital for Pesach. He called my father-in-law, Rabbi Singer, in tears, saying that this year’s Seder—without the rest of his family— was going to be the most depressing he ever had. By the time he got off the phone with Rabbi Singer, he had an entirely new perspective. This was going to be his best Seder! Hashem is with him and his daughter in the hospital, and he will be bringing the Pesach Seder to all the other patients who may overhear him. He gained a whole new perspective and felt he was indeed going to have his greatest Seder ever.
The Sefer Yetzira says there is nothing above “oneg”— delight, and nothing below “nega”—affliction. The greatest level a person can achieve is oneg, while the lowest level is nega. It’s all in how a person views the situation.
We might not have special color-blind glasses that help us see things differently, but every week we have Shabbos. There is a mitzvah on Shabbos to have oneg Shabbos. Shabbos is a gift from Hashem that lifts us up! Shabbos has the ability to help us change our critical, negative “eye” and motivate us to view our experiences and interactions in a positive and beneficial way.
Rabbi Baruch Bodenheim is the Rosh Yeshiva of Passaic Torah Institute (PTI)/Yeshiva Ner Boruch. Rabbi Bodenheim can be reached at [email protected]. For more info about PTI and its Torah classes, visit www.pti.shulcloud.com
