A Thought on Parshios Tazria Metzora

"...mi'chutz le'macha'neh moshavo..." "...his dwelling shall be beyond the camp..." (13:46) In discussing the penalties facing the metzora - the spiritually wayward and physically afflicted person - the Torah orders him into virtual quarantine, exiling him to a place outside of the Jewish community. Our Sages notice the word "moshavo" which can mean both a dwelling place and a place of sitting. It is not unlike the word "yeshiva" which can refer to a place of sitting or a place where one dwells in the Tent of Torah. Given that the word can also mean a "sitting place", Chazal derive a number of halachos, rules governing the ritual status of this metzora. If, for example, he is sitting beneath a tree and another person stands nearby, the latter contracts the ritual impurity of the metzora through contagion. Conversely, if a person sits beneath that tree and a metzora stands nearby, no contagion occurs. These laws are associated with the use of the word "sitting" in determining the status of this impure person. Rabbeinu Avigdor develops these principles through careful halachic analysis: he notes that our Sages differentiate standing from sitting, and that they also consider a person who sits on an animal to be sitting if the animal is still, but moving if the animal is in transit even though the rider is in essence sitting still. Now, there is a halacha that we are bound to show respect when a person of great stature passes by. We offer hidur, which means we rise up partially to acknowledge that he is moving past us. When that great person, however, is in a room with us and stands up, we are not bound to offer that gesture of respect in his honor. We are allowed to remain sitting, assuming that we are engaged in something important such as Torah study. The Sages conclude from analysis of our verse's focus on "sitting" and its accompanying rules about sitting versus standing that here too, in the matter of when to offer hidur, that if that distinguished person passes by while riding (in transit), he is still consider "in motion" and we must stand up and show honor for him. Sitting while in motion is not consider sitting, but is consider "walking" or moving. Rabbeinu Avigdor now extrapolates further with these derived concepts: if you are astride an animal and the animal is in transit, what do you do if you need to daven? You are sitting still in one "place" but your steed is in motion. Are you regarded as a person sitting or as a person walking? If the animal stands still, are you regarded as sitting or as standing? In turn, back to that distinguished rider: if the animal is in motion, then he is also in motion and we must stand up for him. What if the animal stands still? Is the rider regarded as standing or as sitting? Since we consider a riding person as a walking person and not as a sitting person, then a person sitting still on an unmoving animal should also be considered as "not sitting". If that is true, then if you need to pray but are sitting on an unmoving animal, you are regarded not as "sitting" but as "standing" just like the animal! The halacha should follow, then, that you can daven while sitting astride a still animal. That would mean that you do not have to dismount and stand still, but can sit still and commence your prayers. In contrast, once the animal starts walking even though you remain in your sitting-still position, you are regarded as a person in motion and should not pray. This is the position, or stance, of Rabbeinu Avigdor. Other authorities differentiate between a moving animal with a rider versus a moving animal being led by someone else while the rider prays. Once again, Rabbeinu Avigdor Ha'Tzarfati Ba'al haPsakim astounds us with his ability to analyze Biblical verses through the lens of Chazal, and to see within their scope some very practical laws for daily Torah life. Good Shabbos. D Fox