“והצרוע אשר בו הנגע בגדיו יהיו פרמים וראשו יהיה פרוע ועל שפם יעטה וטמא טמא יקרא. כל ימי אשר הנגע בו יטמא טמא הוא בדד ישב מחוץ למחנה מושבו.” (ויקרא י”ג, מ”ה-מ”ו)
רש”י: וטמא טמא יקרא – משמיע שהוא טמא ויפרשו ממנו.
Rashi: And “impure, impure” he should call out—to inform people that he is impure (in order that) they distance themselves from him.
The Torah requires the metzora to behave in a manner that runs contrary to human nature. We always try to show our “better side”, to display our finer qualities while concealing weaknesses. We certainly would never advertise our deficiencies to others; to the contrary, we do our utmost to hide them. And even if a failing is well known, we nonetheless avoid sharing it with others or even speaking about it. Yet here, the metzora himself is required to announce his impurity—something not found by other forms of tuma’a.
If we take a step back, we see that all the halachos mentioned in the pesukim above relate to the manner in which the metzora presents himself to the world. “His clothes should be tattered…” Clothing is worn not only for warmth; it is used equally as a means of expression. More specifically, people use clothes to cover the parts of us which should not be revealed. Tattered clothing is obviously unfit for that purpose. “And his head should be unshorn…” Hair is an even more intimate expression of the person. It grows from him, but still, it is not the person himself. When hair is overgrown it conceals the face, which reveals a person’s inner self and emotions. (The Hebrew word for face is “פנים”, which also means “inner”.) “And he should wrap his face until his upper lip.” The mouth is a person’s main vehicle of expression, used to express thoughts, ideas, desires and feelings. The metzora must cover his mouth, thus limiting his expression. In short, the metzora loses all the forms of control a person has over his expression in the world.
The requirement for the metzora to announce himself as “tamei, tamei” is a further advancement of this same idea. Not only is the metzora unable to modify his presentation in the
world, he actually must present himself to his surroundings in the way he would least like to: “tamei, tamei”.
The final step in this progression is that the metzora “dwells alone, outside the encampment.” Thus, he cannot express himself at all—he has no audience to appreciate or even notice him.
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Why is it that the metzora must undergo this particular experience— why is his ability to express himself so fundamentally disturbed? Chazal identify lashon hara as the sin which leads to tzara’as. The prohibition to speak lashon hara, we know, applies even though every word spoken is completely true (Chafetz Chaim Klal 1, Siman 1). This is not only a matter of respecting our fellows’ pride. It is a matter of allowing a person to express himself in the world as he chooses. A man already exists before he is brought into this world— why is he brought here if not that his person should be revealed within the world? When someone speaks of another in a way that is degrading or belittling, in effect he is tampering with the way his friend is revealed, forcing him into a role he did not choose. It is therefore appropriate that the baal lashon hara should suffer in the same way, as his entire expression in the world is taken from him.
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It is important to remember that not everything that is true is meant to be expressed. Chazal praise the tzniyus (modesty) of Rachel Imeinu. What was her tzniyus? The Gemora relates that Yaakov Avinu knew that when he would marry Rachel, Lavan would try to trick him and switch his bride. Yaakov therefore gave Rachel simanim—secret symbols, in order that she should identify herself to him. However, “when the night (of the wedding) arrived, Rachel said, ‘now my sister will be shamed’, and she told (Leah) the simanim.” (Megillah 13b) Rachel’s action was doubtlessly selfless, even heroic, but why should it be considered tzanua? Tzniyus means that not all that is true is meant to be revealed. It was true that Leah was not Yaakov’s preferred wife, and there was a reason for that. But still, it was meant to remain hidden, not to be revealed. Similarly, lashon hara, while true, injures the victim’s expression in the world, as it reveals an aspect of the person which should remain unseen.