Parsha Mitzvot: Metzorah: Mitzvah 178 – Concept 457

“Speak to the Children of Israel and say to them: Any man who will have a discharge from his flesh, his discharge is contaminated (Vayikra 15:3).”We are commanded to observe the laws of impurity caused by a man’s running issue (Rambam, Hilchot Mitamei Mishkav u’Moshav – The Laws of Impurity of Reclining and Sitting).

Before Adam sinned, he was as  one of the Ministering Angels, for he was the Highest expression of God’s Creation. No impurity could attach to him. He was so holy that the Angels wanted to sing his praises. After he sinned, and damaged himself, and separated from his wife for one hundred and thirty years, so that he had wasted issue flow from him. It is from this issue that all impurity comes to us. It is only through his mistake that we can naturally cause impurity to come to the world. (Eishel Avraham)

Our nature is to be pure, and that nothing we do in our natural lives can bring impurity. Our world is not as it once was. We are not what we once were. We are not as we naturally can be. Our prayer to, “Purify our hearts,” includes a request to return to our original, elevated and pure natural state.