"This shall be the law of the person afflicted with tzara'ath, on the day of his cleansing: He shall be brought to the kohen." (Vaykira 14:2)
Misguiding Self-Confidence
There is a story of a Jew who would spend every Pesach Seder at his father's side, watching and listening to his beloved father lead the Seder. When his father passed away, the Jew decided that he would lead the Seder for his own family, continuing his father's tradition.
Despite the years at his father's Seder, he never learned how to properly lead a Seder in accordance with all of the detailed laws and customs. He needed to seek rabbinic guidance. However, he thought he was quite capable of leading the Seder without any help or proper preparation.
When Pesach came, the Jew began his Seder by reciting kiddush. Then, he realized, he needed to find the little green book that his father would use to lead the Seder. After looking around, he found the thin, green publication and brought it back to the table, without realizing that what he actually found was not a Haggadah, but a pamphlet with Selichos. Unaware of his mistake, he began, "The merciful King sits on his throne of forgiveness..." and continued reading each Selicha, prayer for forgiveness, as if he was reading the Haggadah!
Then, he remembered that his father would pour out a little wine at each of the words in capital, bold letters. As he was reading, he came across words that were capitalized and bold. He was thrilled and began pouring out a little wine from his cup at each word, unaware that he was reciting the words of Viddoy, the confessional prayer, and not the plagues!
His son noticed that he had poured out wine more than 20 times. Curious, he asked, "Tatte, last year I remember Zeidy only pouring out wine ten times. Why are you doing this more than 20 times!?"
"Don't be ridiculous," his father answered, "don't you know that this is a leap year. During a leap year you need to pour out more!"…
Everyone Needs a Rabbi
This story illustrates how easy it is for someone to make mistakes, to violate halacha, when they do not seek the guidance, advice, and counsel of a rabbi. When someone isn't fluent in a particular set of Jewish law, they need to ask, they need to learn and they need to listen.
While this story is an extreme example, the message is relevant throughout the year to all types of people. There are mitzvos that a Jew performs every single day that each have a very detailed set of Jewish laws that informs him how to properly fulfill the mitzvah. Beyond that, every aspect of your life has applicable halachos that guide a Jew, that teach him how to behave. Without being fluent and familiar with all these laws, a Jew must be self-aware of his own shortcomings and seek guidance from his rabbi.
In Pirkei Avos (1:16) we learn this very idea when Raban Gamliel taught that "you must find for yourself a rabbi and remove yourself from all doubt." Every Jew must find a rabbi they can rely upon, someone who they can learn from and gain clarity when they have doubts, and not decide by his own to do doubtful things.
Don't Bribe Yourself
This applies even to someone who is versed in halacha or can learn by themselves. Inevitably, they will come across a subject that they are uncertain of, that requires a more granular level of scrutiny. When that happens, they will lack objectivity and therefore cannot trust their own judgement. They need a qualified rabbi to help find the clarity and truth.
In this situation, the person needs to remember what Chazal teaches us (Yuvamos 25b) that a person is close to himself; meaning a person is subjective in matters that impact himself and, therefore cannot be trusted. Like we learn in Pirkei Avos (4:14), "Do not rely on your own understanding."
The Seforim Hakedoshim explain, that when a person needs to make a decision that impacts himself directly, he needs to recall what the Torah says in Devarim, "and you shall not take a bribe, for bribery blinds the eyes of the wise and perverts just words." (Devarim 16:19)
Since a person cannot be objective when they have a bias, they are "bribing" themselves by their subjectivity.
This idea is also alluded to in the Mishna (Negaim 2:5) that teaches a person can see the affliction of everyone but their own. It is easy to see the flaws in others while being blinded to one's own identical shortcomings. Biases are blinding. And a person's judgement is always compromised when the outcomes of a decision have a direct impact on their lives.
Heavenly Help
Rabbis who are deciding issues relevant to the Jewish people receive help from the Heavens to ensure that their advice and guidance is the truth and are aligned with the Torah.
A man once travelled to the Rav in the town of Lubavitch with a chicken whose kashrus was in question. On his way, he passed by the Beis Midrash where R' Nechamia Dovbarner and the son of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, the Tzemach Tzedek, were steeped in their learning. These were two scholars of immense capabilities. They saw the man with his rooster and asked him what he was doing. He related his concern and that he was on his way to see the Rabbi. After the man continued along his way, these two Torah scholars discussed the question and determined that the rooster was not kosher.
Afterwards, they heard that the rabbi ruled that the rooster was, in fact, kosher. Shocked, the Rebbe's son went to his father and expressed his concern that the Rabbi of the town was improperly labeling things kosher when they were not. Quite the accusation.
The Rebbe pulled out a particular book of Jewish law and proved that the rabbi was in fact correct in his ruling. His son was shocked: how could two Torah scholars who were far more versed in Torah law get this wrong while the rabbi whose knowledge was not comparable get it right!?
The Rebbe answered, "A rabbi of a place has special assistance from Heaven to ensure that they find a truthful answer to the questions they are asked."
The son of the Chasam Sofer, zt"l, once asked his father how he could bear the responsibility of answering all of these halachic questions, many of which were monumental questions that had profound ramifications?
The Chasam Sofer answered: "Since I am the one being asked the questions, I have help from Hashem to always rule properly. Even if someone challenges my ruling with five different sources proving the opposite, I will be able to find the proof that will support my ruling."
To Turn to Purity, Seek a Rabbi
Our pasuk is teaching us this lesson:
"This shall be the law of the person afflicted with tzara'ath (leprosy)" - when someone is touching sin, is engaged in behaviors that are contrary to Torah and Halacha, then "on the day of his purity" - they want to turn their life around, to connect to Torah and Mitzvos, to connect to purity he must be, "brought to the priest." He needs to take upon himself to bring every question to a Rabbi.
When a person chooses a rabbi who will serve this critical role in their life, he will be able to grow, to connect, to align his behaviors with the Will of Hashem. Then he can return to the path of purity and righteousness.
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