David Katz: Naaman is the subject of chapter 5 of Kings 1 and we meet him as a great man according to scripture; he is a general in the army, he has people very close to him, and exactly like the content of our Parasha Tazria – he suffers mysteriously. Yet on the flip side he has a deep relationship with God, and he rises to its challenge. The story quickly transfers from introducing Naaman and his relationship to wars and Kings, and soon in we find out that he desires to engage a Prophet of God, in order to properly treat his ailment of Tzaaras. We know now just a bit, as to who he was before we meet him as a man with tzaaras; an archer he may have been – but most importantly, he is a man on God’s radar, and one of history’s greatest moments begins to occur through the budding brotherhood. Naaman then by definition, is – was – will be the paradigm of a servant of God, one of the Greatest Gerim who ever lived. The most interesting element however is – he came and went. Naaman is returning, and he is being real and speaking of reality; it doesn’t happen overnight. In truth, we don’t know all that much about Naaman – the mysterious man who killed Ahab – an open act from God, nor do we really have to. ‘Naaman shot his bow’ and there is a principle that when using this word [Tumo in Hebrew] comes to imply that no wrong could possibly be done. One can clearly see that Hashem had big plans for Naaman and that he is a man of destiny; that is why he is associated with the mission of Elijah, for Pinchas is Elijah, and nobody knows what it is to act for God better than Pinchas [the man with the spear]. [T]he first endeavor is to find out why Hashem allowed the hit in the first place (He knew the caliber of what was within Naaman – and his offspring).
Enter Elijah and his efforts to restore some order in the Northern Kingdom could now commence. We are Naaman.
Haftorah for Tazria: And Naaman came with his horses and with his chariots, and he stood at the doorway of Elisha’s house.
Eli Touger: Our Sages ask: "What is Mashiach's name?" and reply "The leper of the House of Rebbi." This is very difficult to understand. Mashiach will initiate the Redemption, and is associated with the pinnacle of life and vitality. How can his name be linked with leprosy (tzaraas), which is identified with death and exile?
This difficulty can be resolved based on the statements of Likkutei Torah, which explain that a person affected by tzaraas will be:
A man of great stature, of consummate perfection….Although such a person’s conduct is desirable, and he has corrected everything,… it is still possible that on the flesh of his skin there will be lower levels on which evil has not been refined. This will result in physical signs on his flesh, in a way which transcends the natural order….
Since the filth on the periphery of his garments has not been refined, therefore [blemishes] appear on his skin…. Moreover, these blemishes reflect very high levels, as indicated by the fact that they are not considered impure until they have been designated as such by a priest.
The passage implies that there are sublime spiritual influences which, because of the lack of appropriate vessels (as evidenced by the "filth on the periphery"), can produce negative effects. For when powerful energy is released without being harnessed, it can cause injury. This is the reason for the tzaraas with which Mashiach is afflicted.
Nevertheless, there are still blotches of evil "on the periphery," for the world is still scarred by injustice and strife. And thus the light of redemption cannot yet become manifest; this is reflected in the leprous blemishes which are visited on Mashiach himself. For as the prophet states: "He has borne our sicknesses and endured our pain… with blemishes, smitten of G-d, and afflicted." Mashiach endures suffering, not for his own sake, but for the Jewish people as a whole.
For that passage explains that leprous blemishes reflect "very high levels," their source being transcendent spiritual light that are associated with Mashiach. Nevertheless, for this light to be expressed in a positive manner, suitable vessels are required.
In the light of Mashiach, Metzora is not a negative factor but, as explained above, an expression of transcendent G-dliness.
