A vort from the Rebbe on this week's parsha, Parshas Tazria Metzora. The main theme of the parshos Tazria Metzora is about a מצורע, a person who has a נגע and he becomes טמא. And the דין is that he only becomes טמא after he goes to the כהן and the כהן says you are טמא. And if not through the כהן, the person doesn't become טמא even if he has all the סימנים, all the signs of a מצורע. And as Rashi uses the lashon, גזירת הכתוב הוא שאין טומאת נגעים וטהרתן אלא על פי כהן. It's a gezeiras hakasuv. This דין that you have to have a כהן to make him טמא is a gezeiras hakasuv, which means it's not a logical thing, the Torah just says so, we don't understand the reason. Nevertheless, we know what the Rambam says in the end of Hilchos Temurah, that even when it comes to חוקים and גזירות התורה, which means מצוות, things in the Torah which we don't understand the reason, nevertheless, the Rambam says, whatever you could explain and give a reason for it somehow, it's כדאי you should do it. Even though generally it's a gezeiras hakasuv, but you should try to explain it. So the Rebbe explains on the reason why in order to become טמא with a טומאת צרעת, you have to have a כהן. We know that טומאת צרעת is the worst טומאה. The דין by a מצורע is that after he becomes a מצורע, the פסוק says he has to sit מחוץ למחנה, בדד ישב, he has to sit all alone, he can't sit with other people. He's basically thrown out of all the camps of Yidden, that means it shows what kind of low טומאה that is. And the Rebbe says that's the reason why in order to pasken that that this person is in that level, you have to have a Kohen. What's the specialty of a Kohen? We know the pasuk says תומיך ואורך לאיש חסידך, when it talks about a Kohen, it calls the כהן איש חסידך, איש החסד. A Kohen represents chesed, kindness, which is ahavah, love. We see takeh that when the Kohanim duchenen and they make a berachah, they say that they have a mitzvah to bentch the אידן באהבה, with love. So the Kohanim represent Ahavat Yisrael. A Kohen is a person who loves every single yid. Only a person who has real Ahavat Yisrael has the authority of paskening that this person is a metzora, that he belongs מחוץ למחנה, etc., etc. Because before you pasken such a thing on an yid, you have to make sure that this is real. Otherwise, sometimes you pasken like that because that's your nature, other things, sometimes you didn't do enough research, etc., etc. Only a person who it's very hard for him to pasken such a thing on an yid, cause he's איש החסד, how could he pasken on an yid that the yid belongs מחוץ למחנה and he's so low? Only a person like that, we know will do the proper research and will do it only out of love for that other yid, but sometimes it comes to a point where there is no choice and you have to pasken that, then we accept his pesak. But if you wouldn't be איש החסד, you have no right to pasken because we're never sure that this is real. And that's why the din is that in order to pasken the din that this person is a metzora, you have to have only a כהן, איש החסד. And the Rebbe explains this is the peshat in the pasuk in Parashat Shoftim. When the pasuk talks about Kohanim, the pasuk says like this: בם בחר ה׳ אלקיך לשרתו, ה׳ chose them to serve Him, ולברך בשם ה׳, and to bentsh in the name of Hashem. So the Torah identifies the Kohanim, people who bentsh, bentshing is ahavah, giving a bracha, and then the pasuk continues: ועל פיהם יהיה כל ריב וכל נגע. And based on them will come every נגע. So the Rebbe says the pshat is like this: Why is it that the נגע comes through them, which means to pasken that this person has a נגע has to come through a kohen? Because their job is ולברך בשם ה׳, because their job is to bentsh, which means they are people who bentsh, they are people who have ahavah. And therefore, they are the only ones that are we trust that when they pasken that this person is a metzora, we accept a metzora. And then later on, when it comes to make him טהור, obviously we understand why it's a kohen, because a kohen is איש החסד, so he will definitely try everything to make sure that the person comes back into the fold and is not מחוץ למחנה anymore. And we take the lesson from here how hard it is to push to pasken on somebody that he is מחוץ למחנה, you have to be very careful when you do it, and sometimes, if you have to, you do it, but you do it right away with the intention that soon you will try your best to make him come out of that stage and come back into the מחנה ישראל.