The haftara for Parashat Metzora, taken from Sefer Melakhim II (chapter 7), tells the story of the siege mounted by the nation of Aram against the city of Shomron, capital of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. The siege resulted in deadly starvation, to the point where mothers were killing their own children to eat their flesh (6:28-29). The Israelite king (identified by Chazal as Yehoram, the son of Achav – Ta’anit 14b) blamed the prophet Elisha for the catastrophic conditions, and when he sent his guards to arrest Elisha, the prophet announced that already the next day there would be a surplus of food in Shomron.
This prophecy was fulfilled through an astonishing discovery made by four metzora’im – people stricken with tzara’at who resided outside the city walls. Facing starvation and thus figuring they had nothing to lose by surrendering to the enemy forces, the four ventured into the Aramean camp, only to find that it had been abandoned, with all the soldiers’ provisions intact. The text informs us that God had created the sound of horses and chariots to mislead the Aramean soldiers into thinking that the Israelites had summoned foreign militias to help lift the siege. The entire force fled, leaving behind their provisions. The four metzora’im ate, drank, and began collecting riches, until it occurred to them that they were being selfish: “What we are doing is not proper. This is a day of tidings, and if we remain silent and wait until the morning light, we will be guilty of sin” (7:9). The men thus decided to inform the city of what they found, and the lives of the city’s residents were spared.
The metzora’im’s recognition of their duty to inform the city’s residents of their discovery is perhaps remarkable in light of Chazal’s identification of these four men as Geichazi and his three sons (Sanhedrin 107b). Geichazi was a close disciple of the prophet, Elisha, and he contracted tzara’at after the incident of Na’aman, the chief commander of Aram. As we read several chapters earlier (5), Elisha was called upon to cure Na’aman’s tzara’at infection, after which the general offered to grant the prophet a gift. Elisha politely declined, despite Na’aman’s persistent offers. After Na’aman left, Geichazi went to Na’aman and falsely claimed that Elisha changed his mind, and decided to accept the gift. When Geichazi returned, Elisha cursed him that the tzara’at disease which Na’aman had suffered should befall him and his offspring. According to the Gemara, Geichazi and his three sons, who were stricken with tzara’at, were the four metzora’im outside the city of Shomron who discovered the riches of the Aramean army.
Although Geichazi was, by nature, a greedy and selfish man, he and his sons recognized while amassing the spoils of Aram that this wealth must be shared with the rest of the people. He was prepared to lie and betray his revered mentor in order to avail himself of the Aramean general’s wealth, but not to keep for himself and his children the spoils of the Aramean soldiers. Rav Yehuda Leib Ginsburg, in his Musar Ha-nevi’im, notes that this episode perhaps highlights the particular gravity afforded to crimes committed against Am Yisrael as a nation. Even a greedy, selfish swindler like Geichazi limited his crooked schemes to individuals, such as Na’aman. He was prepared to cheat individuals out of their wealth, but would not go so far as to indulge at the expense of the kelal, of Am Yisrael as a community. Even when he was given the opportunity to amass great wealth for himself and his children, he abstained, knowing that this would be a crime against his people. This story thus demonstrates the special importance of concern for the general welfare of Am Yisrael, to the point where this value was instilled even within those who had no compunctions about cheating individuals, who still showed respect and regard for the public welfare.