וְהַצָּרוּעַ אֲשֶׁר־בּוֹ הַנֶּגַע בְּגָדָיו יִהְיוּ פְרֻמִים וְרֹאשׁוֹ יִהְיֶה פָרוּעַ וְעַל־שָׂפָם יַעְטֶה וְטָמֵא טָמֵא יִקְרָא׃
As for the person with Tzara’as( the person afflicted with a skin condition called Tzara’as) his clothes shall be rent; his hair shall be disheveled; the upper lip shall be covered over; and that person shall call out, “Impure! Impure!”. (13:46)
This person, stricken with Tzara’as becomes tamei (ritually impure) and he announces that to everyone. Rashi cites the Talmud in Moed Katan 5a that he does this to warn people to keep their distance so that they don’t become tamei through contact with him.
The Talmud in Sotah 32b gives another reason. By announcing that he is tamei, the person stricken with Tzara’at is letting the public know about his plight so that people will pray on his behalf. The Talmud concludes based on this that anyone who is undergoing a misfortune should inform the public so that they will pray on his behalf.
It’s interesting to note that the stricken person does not ask others to pray for him. He just needs to publicize his misfortune and on their own the public will pray! It’s quite possible that some members of the public don’t even know him. Nonetheless, whenever we just hear of someone’s plight we should pray that the Almighty have mercy on them. This is part of the mitzvah of ואהבת לרעך כמוך, you shall love your friend as yourself.
There is a story involving the saintly Rabbi Yisroel Meir Kagan, of blessed memory, who was known as the Chofetz Chaim that illustrates what it means to pray on behalf of others. The story is told of a young yeshiva student who was contemplating ending his study of Torah to pursue other endeavors. It was suggested that before making a final decision that he consult with the Chofetz Chaim. So he traveled to the Chofetz Chaim’s home. When he entered he observed the Chofetz Chaim pacing back and forth, tearfully reciting Tehillim (Psalms). It struck him how the rest of the household was tranquil while the Chofetz Chaim was obviously distressed. He inquired as to what was happening and was told that a stranger came by and asked the Chofetz Chaim to pray on behalf of his sick relative. Here was the Chofetz Chaim praying for a complete stranger, pleading with the Almighty with a broken heart! The young man was overwhelmed by this expression of love for a fellow Jew. To him it became clear that this can only be cultivated in a person through the study of Torah. He continued studying Torah as a disciple of the Chofetz Chaim (from Rabbi Zelig Pliskin’s “Love Your Neighbor”).
This lesson is so pertinent to the times we live in. We are very much aware of so much misfortune around the world. So we need to pray.
We should never hesitate to pray because Hashem wants to hear our prayers.
The more we pray the better. But we must remember that although we don’t always have the opportunity for lengthy or formal prayers, short, personal prayers are very powerful. They just need to come from the heart as best as we can.
May Hashem accept our prayers and may we see the fulfillment of the prayer we recite Monday and Thursday after Torah reading, “Our brethren, the entire House of Israel who remain in distress and captivity, whether on sea or on land, may God have compassion on them, and bring them from distress to relief, from darkness to light, from servitude to redemption, at this moment, speedily, very soon.”
Shabbat Shalom!
Yitzchak