On cold, Lower East Side winter mornings, Jew and non-Jew alike could be seen huddling in the warmth of the small foyer of the beis midrash. Long before card access, key codes, fingerprint and facial recognition gates, someone from the streets could often be seen loitering in the vestibule of Mesivta Tiferes Yerushalayim—right outside the “MTJ” beis medrash. It was sometimes difficult to perceive whether the building was a homeless shelter or the renowned yeshivah of the gadol hador, Rav Moshe Feinstein.

One day, an apparently homeless person came in, found a seat and proceeded to make himself comfortable while perusing “the Daily News” in the yeshivah hallway. The next day, one of the administrators devised a plan to keep the vagrants and meshulachim out of the premises and restore a proper “religious” environment. All he needed was the approval of the rosh yeshivah. He approached Reb Moshe and explained how the yeshivah’s reputation and ability to raise funds was suffering from harboring all the unwanted “guests” and loiterers. He then presented his intention for reconfiguring the beis midrash space.

Reb Moshe listened attentively, and in his serene voice, responded: “I understand the reasoning, and the need to remove them. However, one thing has not yet been explained to me. Once we remove them, where will they go?”

The administrator immediately understood that the honored guests would not be leaving.

~

Our sedra, as well as the following parsha, Metzora, deals with laws of tumah vetaharah—ritual impurity and purity, including the process and procedure of identifying negaim—lesions of tzaraas, a “spiritual disease’ that could afflict people’s bodies, clothing or homes. If a suspicious blotch appeared on the skin or surface of ones’ belongings, the kohen would examine it to determine if the affliction was tzaraas …

וְאִם־פָּרוֹחַ תִּפְרַח הַצָּרַעַת בָּעוֹר וְכִסְּתָה הַצָּרַעַת אֵת כָּל־עוֹר הַנֶּגַע מֵרֹאשׁוֹ וְעַד־רַגְלָיו לְכָל־מַרְאֵה עֵינֵי הַכֹּהֵן: וְרָאָה הַכֹּהֵן וְהִנֵּה כִסְּתָה הַצָּרַעַת אֶת־כָּל־בְּשָׂרוֹ וְטִהַר אֶת־הַנָּגַע כֻּלּוֹ הָפַךְ לָבָן טָהוֹר הוּא … וְרָאָה הַכֹּהֵן אֶת־הַבָּשָׂר הַחַי וְטִמְּאוֹ הַבָּשָׂר הַחַי טָמֵא הוּא צָרַעַת הוּא:

“If the eruption spreads out over the skin so that it covers all the skin of the affected person from head to foot, wherever the priest can see—if the priest sees that the eruption has covered the whole body—he shall pronounce as pure the affected person, who is pure from having turned all white. But as soon as un-discolored flesh appears in it, that person shall be impure; when the priest sees the un-discolored flesh, he shall pronounce the person impure. The un-discolored flesh is impure; it is leprosy,” (Vayikra, 13:12-15).

Reb Meir Simcha—the “Meshech Chochmah”—comments on the repetitive emphasis of the Kohen’s “seeing”—וראה. The kohen is charged to diagnose much more than the specific skin affliction; the Torah instructs וראה—“he shall see” the context, the bigger picture surrounding the issue presented to him. He must look at “who” is presenting the issue, “when” are they asking for a diagnosis and “what” will be the ramifications of his psak.

In the diagnosis, there are halachic dispensations made for a bride and groom, for a person during Yom Tov, and for the furniture and vessels inside a house that may or may not be rendered tamei. All of this, including the timing and backstory of the individuals involved must be seen by the עיני הכהן—the “eyes of the kohen,” the compassionate “big picture,” the deeper understanding of the person and the context of the affliction. As author Chuck Klosterman once quipped, “In and of itself, nothing really matters. What ‘matters’ is that nothing is ever in and of itself.”

Big people see the big picture.

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The Torah describes another aspect of the purification process:

וּבָא אֲשֶׁר־לוֹ הַבַּיִת וְהִגִּיד לַכֹּהֵן לֵאמֹר כְּנֶגַע נִרְאָה לִי בַּבָּיִת׃ וְצִוָּה הַכֹּהֵן וּפִנּוּ אֶת־הַבַּיִת בְּטֶרֶם יָבֹא הַכֹּהֵן לִרְאוֹת אֶת־הַנֶּגַע וְלֹא יִטְמָא כּל־אֲשֶׁר בַּבָּיִת וְאַחַר כֵּן יָבֹא הַכֹּהֵן לִרְאוֹת אֶת־הַבָּיִת׃

“The one to whom the house belongs shall come and tell the Kohen, saying, ‘Something like a plague has appeared upon my house.’ The Kohen shall order the house cleared before he comes to examine the plague, so that nothing in the house may become impure; after that the Kohen shall enter to examine the house,” (14:35-36).

More than simply a technical purification procedure, Meshech Chochmah explains the process is one of the inner work of tikkun hamiddos. One of the seven root causes enumerated by Chazal for “negaim” is miserliness (Kesubos, 5b). The individual suffering from the “nega” here is described as “the one to whom the house belongs;” he is identified solely by his physical possessions. According to the Gemara (Yomah, 11b), a house might be afflicted with leprosy as a repercussion of the owner refusing to lend his vessels to others, falsely claiming that he does not have them. The stingy behavior results in their possessions being removed from their home for all to see when they are forced to empty them, due to leprosy.

Rav Yitzchok Adlerstein further suggests a meaningful lesson based on the Meshech Chochmah’s approach. As the Kohen completes the process of cleansing the leperous home, he gathers together a mixture of erez (cedar wood), eizov (hyssop), a strip of crimson wool and the live bird offering, and dips them in the blood and the fresh water, וְהִזָּה אֶל־הַבַּיִת שֶׁבַע פְּעָמִים— “ … and he shall sprinkle the house seven times,” (14:51). While the pasuk does not explicitly identify which part of the house should be sprinkled, Chazal specify that the sprinkling is directed toward the lintel of the door, as if declaring that, “The owner has learned from his mistakes and this door will now remain open to others; a spirit of giving and generosity is replacing the previous miserliness and smallness.”

May we “see” each other with the eyes of the Kohen, eyes of chesed, broad vision and deeper understanding. May we learn from our mistakes and afflictions, and open our doors and hallways to guests, and always rejoice in the unstainable purity of our Godly souls.

Rav Judah Mischel is executive director of Camp HASC, the Hebrew Academy for Special Children. He is the mashpiah of OU-NCSY, founder of Tzama Nafshi and the author of “Baderech: Along the Path of Teshuva.” Rav Judah lives in Ramat Beit Shemesh with his wife Ora and their family.