Mind and Body
In his commentary to Parshat Tazria, the Netziv (Haemek Davar on Vayikra 13:44) explains that ‘the reasons for contracting Tzora’at on the body are not the same as those associated with Tzora’at on the head. Tzora’at on the body arises from the sins of desire (i.e. lust) that leads the body astray, while Tzora’at on the head comes for sins of the mind (i.e. heretical ideas).’
Having stated this distinction between body and head, the Netziv then explains that the reason why the Torah makes specific reference to cases of Tzora’at both on the back and the front of the head (see Vayikra 13:40-43) is because people come to heretical conclusions because of two very different reasons.
One is in response to confused philosophical analysis which then leads to errors in belief. According to the Netziv, this occurs in the front of the brain. However, a further way is through the absence of philosophical analysis which leads a person to develop their own faulty ideas about God and Judaism which, according to the Netziv, occurs in the back of the brain. Having made this point, the Netziv explains that because the Torah first speaks about Tzora’at on the back of the head, it comes to teach us that ‘errors in emuna [stemming from confusion] are much more common, and much worse, than mistakes resulting from erroneous intellectual analysis.’
As #theVirtualRabbi, I often find that clients who experience a spiritual crisis do so when their beliefs about God do not align with their personal life experience.
However, all too often it becomes clear that their beliefs about God are very confused due to the fact that they have had little serious exposure to Jewish philosophy.
And so the way I support these clients is by teaching them Jewish sources which address Jewish belief which thereby help them resolve some of the confusing beliefs which they have been holding onto. To find out more, and to book a free spiritual coaching discovery call, visit https://webyeshiva.org/about-virtual-rabbi.