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The first symptom of tzara’at of the skin is a white spot on the flesh, and is examined by a priest. If the priest examines it, and the snow-white spot does not contain white hair, and it is not any lower than the skin, and it is dark, the priest must quarantine him for seven days.

Lev. 13:26

We are taught that a priest whose eyesight is impaired is disqualified from examining or judging cases of tzara’at. From the perspective of Kabbalah, an impairment of eyesight indicates that the full power of sight has not been sufficiently limited, i.e., reduced and adjusted to the physical limitations of our world. The priest whose eyesight is impaired thus “sees” the spiritual dimension of reality more than he sees its physical dimension.

Since he principally sees the inner essence of the person he is examining, and our inner essence is intrinsically good, he cannot see the person’s faults (which are manifest as the tzara’at on his skin) at all. He is thus disqualified both from deciding whether the person does indeed possess such a fault and, later on, whether the person is cured of it.

Similarly, while we are always instructed to see only the good, inner essence of others (and of ourselves), when we are called upon to help others (or ourselves) overcome some spiritual shortcoming, we need to focus our vision objectively, evaluating the situation in its own context in order to be of genuine assistance.

Daily Wisdom 3