Rav Soloveitchik explained that a metzora, as opposed to an avel, is ostracized from the community. Part of the definition of the metzora status is exclusion, as implied and reflected by the command of “badad yeisheiv.” A mourner, however, is still included within the community, who, in fact, bears an obligation to embrace him and support him during his time of anguish.
Many commentators have noted the similarities that exist between the requirements of a metzora, as outlined in Parashat Tazria (13:45-46), and those that apply to a mourner. Specifically, both must rend their garments and allow their hair to grow (see Vayikra 10:6 and 21:10), and just as a metzora must live in isolation outside his city, a mourner is confined to his home.
At the same time, however, there is one crucial difference between the two observances. In the case of a metzora, there is a requirement of “badad yeisheiv,” that the metzora must live in solitude, and not engage in any form of social activity. According to some views, a metzora may not even reside together with other metzora’im. When a person observes aveilut, however, although he must remain in his home, he is not barred from social contact. To the contrary, the community is obligated to care for and visit the mourner, to ensure that he is not left to deal with his loss on his own.
Rav Soloveitchik developed the contrast between a mourner and a metzora in one of his published lectures (Shiurim Le-zekher Abba Mari, vol. 2, pp. 192-194), in reference to the distinction between these two statuses with respect to Yom Tov. Mourning observances are suspended on Yom Tov, because, as the Gemara (Moed Katan 14b) explains, the public festival celebration overrides the private, personal obligations of mourning. A metzora, by contrast, is not permitted to reenter his city or go to Jerusalem to offer the festival sacrifices; in this case, the public mitzva of the holiday celebration does not override the individual’s personal restrictions. Based on an in-depth analysis of numerous sources, Rav Soloveitchik explained that a metzora, as opposed to an avel, is ostracized from the community. Part of the definition of the metzora status is exclusion, as implied and reflected by the command of “badad yeisheiv.” A mourner, however, is still included within the community, who, in fact, bears an obligation to embrace him and support him during his time of anguish.
This distinction, Rav Soloveitchik explained, directly affects the respective statuses of these individuals with respect to Yom Tov. The nature of the Yom Tov festivity, according to the Rav, is “amida lifnei Hashem” – standing before the Almighty. It is the experience of being in God’s presence that triggers the obligation of simcha on the festivals. And thus although a mourner on a personal level feels distant from God as a result of his loss and the trauma he endures, he is nevertheless part of Am Yisrael who collectively experiences the joy of amida lifnei Hashem. As such, the public festivity overrides his personal restrictions. The metzora, by contrast (and the Rav applied this concept as well to a menudeh – excommunicate), is, by definition, excluded from the community, and is likewise distanced from the Mikdash. As such, he cannot experience amida lifnei Hashem, and must therefore continue his observance of the tzara’at restrictions even on Yom Tov. (See also Rav Reuven Ziegler’s discussion of the Rav’s approach in his VBM series, “Introduction to the Philosophy of Rav Soloveitchik.”)