PARSHAS TAZRIA
Gevuros Shlomo

(13:2) When a man (אדם) will have on the skin of his flesh se’eis or sappachas or baheress, and it will be a lesion of tzara’as on the skin of his flesh, he shall be brought to Aharon the Kohen or to one of his sons, the Kohanim.

The Mesorah writes that there are four verses in the Tanach which contain the word אדם:

“When a man will have on the skin of his flesh”.

“When a man dies in a tent” (Bamidbar 19:14).

“When any man of you brings a sacrifice to Hashem” (Vayikra 1:2).

“You save man and beast, Hashem” (Tehillim 36:7).

It seems to me that these four verses can be connected according to the teaching of the Midrash that is brought in the Yalkut Shimoni on Tehillim 25:

Wisdom, Prophecy, the Torah, and Hashem were all asked: What should be the punishment of a sinner?

Wisdom answered: “Sinners shall be pursued by evil (they should suffer affliction)” (Mishlei 13:21).

Prophecy answered: “The soul that sins shall die” (Yechezkel 18:4).

The Torah answered: He should bring a guilt offering and it will atone for him.

And Hashem answered: He should repent and it will atone for him.

From this Midrash we can see that the connection between the four verses which contain the word אדם is that they allude to the four answers that were given.

Corresponding to Wisdom’s answer that he should suffer affliction it says “when a man will have on the skin of his flesh”.

Corresponding to Prophecy’s answer that he should die it says “when a man dies in a tent”.

Corresponding to the Torah’s answer that he should bring a sacrifice it says “when any man of you brings a sacrifice”.

And corresponding to Hashem’s answer that he should repent it says “You save man and beast, Hashem”.

Because the answers given by Wisdom and Prophecy are bad for the person who sinned, and the answer given by the Torah that he should bring a sacrifice is bad for the animal that has to be sacrificed.

But Hashem’s answer is good both for man and animal. Thus the posuk “You save man and beast, Hashem” means that with the words of Hashem both man and beast are saved.