(from Chatam Sofer on Vayikra)
The Plague: Man’s Shame and Pride
The Torah follows the passages about the permissible and forbidden animals (the end of Parshat Shmini) with the laws of purity pertaining to humans (Parshiot Tazria and Metzora). Rav Simlai in the Medrash comments, “Just as man’s formation (“yetzirato”) follows that of the animals, so man’s Torah (laws pertaining to him) follows that of the animals.”
Is this praise of man or the opposite? The Chatam Sofer suggests that it can be both. If man sins, says the Medrash, G-d tells him, “The mosquito preceded you!” They are greater than he. On the other hand, man enters the world as a king, presented with a complete universe, “You have placed everything at his feet.” (Tehillim 8:7) A good person is the height of creation, but one who sins drops below the lowest of the animals.
The Torah expresses this by placing the “Torah” of man after that of all the animals. The laws spoken about in Tazria and Metzora are, according to tradition, related to man’s sins. The Torah saves these until after the laws of the animals. As a rule negative things are saved for last (“Lo makdimin puranut”). This is man’s shame – forced to be last, following all of the animals.
However, sometimes misfortune comes to man despite – even as a result of — his righteousness. There is a concept of “sufferings of love” that G-d brings very great tzaddikim. This represents the other side of man’s Torah being presented last. The tzaddik rises to the apex of creation.
But even plagues that come upon the sinning man are indicative of his high status. These plagues were given to the people of Israel out of love and G-d’s desire to purify and better them, to bring them to teshuva, repentence. These are also mentioned last as a sign of man’s high status. Just as in all matters of holiness we always progress towards the highest level (“maalin bakodesh”), the Torah works up to the section of the plagues.
When man sins he sinks to the lowest level of creation, but G-d’s special concern for helping him repair his faults indicates how high he really is.
[prepared by Eliezer Kwass]
