The Creator Reveals Our Filth for the Sake of Changing It

At a time when the Israelites were on a high spiritual level tsara’at, leprosy was a reality. It’s clear the Israelites only had the merit to have the whole framework of leprosy when they were on a high spiritual level. It’s an interesting paradox. On the one hand leprosy is not a positive thing. Who wants to have leprosy? On the other hand it is also viewed as a gift.

Rav Ashlag reveals that the Creator only shows us something that needs to be changed when we can do something about it. If we cannot correct it, if we don’t have the capacity, the desire, it won’t be shown to us. Because the Creator knows that we don’t have the capacity to change it.

Rav Ashlag asks why often when we look around ourselves, and certainly when we look out into the world, there are a lot of people that don’t have a desire to change. More than that, they don’t have an understanding of the need to change. Many people don’t see anything wrong with them.

The reason why so many people out there don’t see anything wrong is because the Creator knows they don’t have the capacity to change. The Creator will never show us something wrong about ourselves if we can’t change it.

Rav Ashlag uses the example of a person who has been working outside all day. When he goes to the mirror he sees a dirty person in the mirror. He spends 30 minutes cleaning the mirror. When he is finished he still sees a dirty person in the mirror. He takes a towel and soap and spends all day cleaning the mirror. At the end of the day he still sees a dirty person in the mirror. If he would take the time to clean his own face he would not see a dirty person in the mirror.

The lesson for us is we should be thankful when we see our negativity. What is tsara’at, leprosy? It is the coming out. When a person is pure inside, to whatever degree, then negativity has to be pushed out into the world.

If we are not constantly being shown what is wrong with us it is not a good sign. It is an unfortunate sign that the Creator is saying we can’t correct it, and therefore He cannot show it to us.

If the Creator is not revealing this tsara’at, leprosy to us it doesn’t mean we don’t have things to correct. It means there is so much darkness inside us that the new darkness can stay. It’s not a good thing to not see more filth.

When we see filth outside, it’s not because it is outside. As we see more filth we should be filled with joy and happiness because the Creator sees we are ready to correct. It’s a gift that the Creator gives us. This Shabbat we have to ask and beg that the Creator never gives up on us and that He keeps revealing this gift to us. We have to ask the Creator, beg for the gift to see the filth that is inside; beg the Creator to give us the ability to change ourself.