Hidden Rewards

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Fascinatingly, the Midrash in Vayikra Rabbah tells us that Tsara'at HaBayit comes as a reward. Now how can this be possible? You lose your home and it's a reward? Explains the Midrash. When the Canaanites were fleeing from the Holy Land, they hoped that one day they would return to their homes. And so they hid their most valuable possessions inside the walls of those homes. And so Hashem identified those homes by placing the discolouration on the walls.

Consequently, once the homes were raised to the ground, the owners were able to find that hidden treasure.

I believe that there is a powerful message here for all of life. Sometimes things go wrong, and we cry out to God and we say: 'Why have you cursed us in this fashion?' Little do we realise that actually we are taking a few steps backwards in order to move hundreds of steps forwards. Sometimes the greatest of treasures in life come through difficulty and travail. This is how the Gemara in Masechet Brachot puts it, Kol man d'avid Rachmana l'tav avid. Whatever God does, he does for the good.

Birkas Asher (Vayikra 14:34) Rashi notes that the affliction of the house was actually a good thing since it revealed the treasure hidden in the walls by the Canananites though that implies that the phenomenon happened only when they were first conquering Israel, This requires further study.. In addition there is an additional question as to why the benefit of finding treasure was only for those who spoke lashon harah. The Maskil l’Dovid explains that when the Jews first came to Israel it was not a punishment but a reward

Or HaChaim (Vayikra 14:34) When you come to the land…and I will give a plague of "leprosy," etc. How can one describe the plague of "leprosy" breaking out on one's house as good news so that the Torah describes it as a gift from G'd? Why did the Torah not merely write: "when the walls of your houses develop certain stains, etc." in the same way as the Torah described such a skin disease in 13,9? Vayikra Rabbah 17,6 was conscious of this and explained that the Canaanites who heard that the Israelites were approaching hid their valuables inside the walls of their houses. When the walls would display signs of "leprosy," the Jewish owner would investigate and discover the hidden treasure. This is homiletics, of course. Rabbi Levy explains in that same Midrash that when G'd wishes to reprove us He does not immediately inflict pain on our bodies, but He first afflicts our houses, and in the event this does not help He afflicts our clothing. Only if we fail to respond to these two warnings does G'd inflict the plague on our bodies, i.e. our skin. When viewed in this light the affliction on the house is indeed a "gift" i.e. a demonstration of G'd's loving concern for us.