FROM THE TORAH
Leviticus 12:1-15:33
In the preceding Sedra Shemini, the Eternal charges Moses and Aaron with rules to teach the Children of Israel: how to distinguish between the sacred and the common, the pure and the impure, the “clean” and “unclean,” what is permitted and what is forbidden, the authorized and the spurious, in the central sanctuary and in the smaller “sanctuaries” that constitute life throughout the camp. In this week’s double Sedra of Tazria and Metsora these distinctions are continued, as they relate to the essential mysteries of the body and environment in health and disease. Determination of infection is supervised by the Kohen. Purification is prescribed to follow recovery from infection and certain discharges for the recurring pattern, introduced in Sedra Shemini, of seven days followed by an eighth day of sacrificial atonement also under the supervision of the Kohen.
Birth
PURITIES OF CHILDBIRTH
12:1-8
The Eternal charges Moses to impart to the Children of Israel that when a woman bears (Tazria) a male child, she shall be impure for seven days, as the period of isolation for her menstrual indisposition (cf. Leviticus 15:19ff.). On the eighth day (cf. Leviticus 9:1; 14:9) the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. For thirty-three days she continues in blood purification: she may not touch any holy thing nor enter the Sanctuary until the completion of her purification days. If she bears a female child, then she shall be impure for two weeks as during the period of her isolation, and for sixty-six days she continues in a state of blood purification.
At the completion of her purification days, whether for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring a year-old lamb for a burnt offering and a dove or turtledove for a sin offering to the Kohen at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. The Kohen shall offer it before the Eternal and seek atonement for her that she may be purified from the flow of her blood. If her means do not suffice for a sheep, then she shall take two turtledoves or two doves, one for the burnt offering and one for the sin offering.
Detection of Tsara’at
TSARA’AT OF PERSONS
Basic Protocol
13:1-8
The Eternal speaks to Moses and to Aaron as follows:
If a person should have in his skin a swelling or an eruption or a bright spot such that it becomes a tsara’at-like affection in his skin, he should be brought to Aaron the Kohen or one of his sons the Kohanim to be examined. If the Kohen observes that the hair of the affected spot has turned white and the affection appears to be deeper than his skin, it is the affliction of tsara’at, and the Kohen who examines him shall declare him impure.
If, however, the bright spot is white while the aforementioned symptoms are not present, the Kohen shall isolate the affection for seven days. If, after examining him on the seventh day, the Kohen observes no change, he shall isolate him for another seven days. If, upon examining him on the following seventh day, the affection has faded and not spread, the Kohen shall declare him pure, it is a benign rash, he shall wash his clothes and be pure. But if, thereafter, the affection has spread on the skin, it should be shown again to the Kohen. If the Kohen confirms that the rash has spread, he shall declare him impure, as it is tsara’at.
Chronic Affection
13:9-11
If, notwithstanding the symptom of whitened hair in a white swelling of the skin, there is also some healthy flesh in the swelling, it is chronic tsara’at and the Kohen shall declare him impure without isolating him, as he is known to be impure without isolation.
Entire Body
13:12-17
If the tsara’at should so erupt in his skin that it covers his entire body, the Kohen shall declare the affected person pure, as he has turned all white. But at such time as healthy flesh appears in it, the Kohen shall declare him impure, it is tsara’at. If the healthy flesh again turns white, he shall be examined by the Kohen, who upon confirmation shall declare him pure.
Inflammation
13:18-23
If he should have an inflammation in his skin which subsequently heals, but there then appears in the place that was inflamed a white swelling or a white bright spot streaked with red, he shall show it to the Kohen. If the Kohen observes that it appears to be lower than the rest of the skin and that its hair has turned white, the Kohen shall declare him impure. It is a tsara’at affliction that has broken out in the inflammation. But if the Kohen does not observe the two symptoms and it is faded, the Kohen shall isolate him for seven days. If it should spread in the skin, the Kohen shall declare him impure; it is an affliction. If the bright spot does not spread, it is the scar of the inflammation, and the Kohen shall declare him pure.
Burns
13:24-28
If there is a spot in his skin that was burned with fire, and the burned spot is bright, white streaked with red, or white, and the Kohen sees that the hair in the bright spot turned white and it appears to be below the other skin, it is tsara’at broken out in the burn, and the Kohen shall declare him impure. But if the Kohen does not observe the two symptoms and it is faded, the Kohen shall isolate him for seven days. The Kohen shall examine him on the seventh day: if it has spread in the skin, the Kohen shall declare him impure. It is the affliction of tsara’at. But if the bright spot does not spread in the skin and is faded, it is swelling from the burn, and the Kohen shall declare him pure, because it is the scar of the burn.
Head or Beard
13:29-37
If a man or a woman should have an affection on the head or in the beard, the Kohen shall examine it. If it appears to be deeper than the rest of the skin and there is thin yellow hair in it, the Kohen shall declare him impure; it is netek, tsara’at of the head or the beard. But if the netek affection does not appear to be deeper than the rest of the skin, yet there is no black hair in it, the Kohen shall isolate the netek affection for seven days. If, upon examination on the seventh day, the Kohen sees that the netek has not spread and does not have yellow hair in it and does not appear to be deeper than the rest of the skin, the subject shall shave himself but not the netek, and the Kohen shall isolate the netek for another seven days. On the following seventh day, if the Kohen sees that the netek has not spread in the skin and its appearance is not deeper than the rest of the skin, the Kohen shall declare him pure. He shall wash his clothes and be pure. But if, after his purification, the netek spreads in the skin and the Kohen sees it, the Kohen need not look for yellow hair; he is impure. If he sees that the netek has remained unchanged and black hair has grown in it, the netek is healed, he is pure, and the Kohen shall declare him pure.
Benign Affection
13:38-39
If a man or woman has many bright spots throughout their skin, the Kohen shall examine them. If he finds the whiteness to be dull, then a benign bohack has broken out in the skin and the subject is pure.
Baldness
13:40-44
A man who loses the hair of his head is bald; he is pure. A man who loses the hair of his head from the corner of his face is bald of forehead; he is pure. But if there should be in either of those baldnesses a white affection streaked with red, a tsara’at-like eruption, and the Kohen should see an affected swelling, white streaked with red, in his head baldness or in his forehead baldness, of the appearance of tsara’at in the skin, the man is afflicted with tsara’at, he is impure; the Kohen shall declare him impure. The affliction is upon his head.
Public Signs and Isolation
13:45-46
The clothes of one afflicted with tsara’at shall be rent, his head shall be bare, and his moustache shall be covered. “Impure! Impure!” shall be proclaimed. He shall be considered impure as long as the affliction is upon him. He shall dwell apart, outside of the camp.
TSARA’AT OF GARMENTS
13:47-59
If there is a tsara’at-like affection in a garment of wool or linen, whether in the warp or in the woof, or in a skin or anything made of skin, streaked with green or streaked with red, it should be shown to the Kohen, who, upon seeing the affection, should isolate it for seven days. If, on the seventh day, the Kohen sees that the affection has spread in the cloth or skin, it is a malignant tsara’at; it is impure. It shall be burned in fire.
If the Kohen sees that the affection has not spread, he shall order that the affected cloth or skin be washed and isolate it for another seven days. If, after the item has been washed, the Kohen sees that the affection has not changed color and has not spread, it is impure. It shall be burned in fire. It is altogether a pechetet. But if he sees that the affection has faded, he shall tear it out of the cloth or skin. Then, if the affection occurs again in the item, the affection is eruptive, and the item shall be burned in fire. On the other hand, if the affection has disappeared, the item shall be washed again and be pure.
Solution for Tsara’at
PURIFICATION OF THE AFFLICTED
14:1-20
The Eternal imparts to Moses instruction for “one afflicted with tsara’at” (Metsora) at the time of his purification. In order for him to be brought to the Kohen, the Kohen must go outside of the camp (cf. Leviticus 13:46) to see that the tsara’at affliction that was in him has been healed. The Kohen shall then order on behalf of the one to be purified two pure live birds, cedar wood, scarlet material, and hyssop.
He orders the slaughtering of one of the birds over fresh water in an earthen vessel. He then takes the living bird together with the cedar wood, scarlet material and hyssop, and dips them in the blood of the bird that was slaughtered over fresh water. He sprinkles upon the subject seven times, to purify him, and releases the living bird over the open field. The subject washes his clothes and shaves off all of his hair. He bathes in water and is pure. Afterwards he returns to the camp but dwells outside of his tent for seven days. On the seventh day he must shave off all of his hair, including that of his head, his beard, and his eyebrows, wash his clothes, bathe in water, then he is pure.
On the eighth day (cf. Leviticus 9:1; 12:2-3) he shall take two male lambs without blemish, one female lamb of a year without blemish, and three-tenths of a measure of fine flour, a meal offering mixed with oil, and one log of oil. The purifying Kohen shall position them with the subject before the Eternal at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting.
Taking one of the male lambs as a guilt offering together with the log of oil, the Kohen shall wave them as a wave offering before the Eternal. He shall slaughter the lamb in the holy place where he slaughters the sin offering and the burnt offering, because, like the sin offering, the guilt offering belongs to the Kohen; it is most holy. The Kohen shall put some of its blood upon the subject’s right ear lobe, right thumb, and right big toe. The Kohen shall then pour some of the log of oil upon his own left palm, then he shall dip his right finger into it and sprinkle some of the oil seven times before the Eternal. He shall then apply some of the residue of oil from his palm upon the right ear lobe of the subject, upon his right thumb, and upon his right big toe, on top of the blood of the guilt offering. What is left of the oil that is in the Kohen’s palm he shall put upon the head of the subject, and the Kohen shall seek atonement for him before the Eternal. Then the Kohen shall perform the sin offering and seek atonement for the subject from his impurity, and afterwards he shall slaughter the burnt offering and offer it and the meal offering upon the Altar, seeking atonement for the subject, who shall be pure.
PURIFICATION OF THE POOR AFFLICTED
14:21-32
If he is poor and his means do not suffice, then he shall take one male lamb for a guilt offering for waving to seek atonement for him, one-tenth of a measure of fine flour mixed with oil for a meal offering, and a log of oil, and two turtledoves or two doves, to the extent that he can afford, one for a sin offering and one for a burnt offering. He shall bring them on the eighth day for his purification to the Kohen at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting before the Eternal. The Kohen shall take the male lamb as a guilt offering together with the log of oil and wave them as a wave offering before the Eternal. He shall slaughter the lamb for the guilt offering and apply its blood and the oil as prescribed previously for the purification of the afflicted. Then, depending on which he can afford, one of the turtledoves or one of the doves will be the sin offering and the other will be the burnt offering, together with the meal offering, and the Kohen will seek atonement for the one to be purified before the Eternal.
TSARA’AT OF HOUSES
14:33-53
The Eternal imparts to Moses and Aaron the following rules regarding home affections. When you come to the land of Canaan, which I am giving to you as a possession, and I place a tsara’at-like affection in one of your houses there, the homeowner shall tell the Kohen what he sees. The Kohen shall then order all of the possessions to be removed from the house before he inspects the affection, so that nothing in the house is then held impure. Afterwards, the Kohen shall come to inspect the house. If he finds that the affection consists of green-streaked or red-streaked depressions in the walls of the house, deeper than the rest of the wall, the Kohen shall go out to the entrance of the house and close the house for seven days. Anyone who enters the house when it is thus closed shall be impure until the evening. One who sleeps or eats in the house must wash his clothes.
When the Kohen returns on the seventh day, if he sees that the affection has spread in the walls of the house, he shall order the removal of the stones that contain the affection to an impure place outside of the city. The inside of the house shall be scraped all around, and the coating that is thus removed shall also be dumped in an impure place outside of the city. The discarded stones and coating shall be replaced.
If then the affection returns and erupts in the house, the Kohen shall come and see it: it is a malignant tsara’at; the house is impure. All of the house shall be demolished and removed to an impure place outside of the camp.
If the Kohen comes and sees that the affection has not spread in the house, the Kohen shall declare the house pure because the affection has healed. He shall take two birds and cedar wood, scarlet material, and hyssop, for purification of the house. One of the birds he shall slaughter over fresh water in an earthen vessel. He shall take the cedar wood, the hyssop and the scarlet material, together with the living bird, and dip them in the blood of the bird that was slaughtered and the fresh water and sprinkle it on the house seven times to purify the house. He shall then release the living bird outside of the city in open country. The Kohen shall seek atonement for the house, and it shall be pure.
SUMMARY
14:54-57
Such is the instruction for the affection of tsara’at and for the netek (cf. Leviticus 13:29-37), for tsara’at of a garment and of a house, and for swellings, eruptions and bright spots, to distinguish between the impure and the pure.
Other Bodily Impurities
MALE DISCHARGES
15:1-18
The Eternal charges Moses and Aaron to impart to the Children of Israel the following rules:
Any man with a discharge from his flesh is impure. Whether his discharge is running or is stopped up, any bedding on which he lies and any object on which he sits shall be impure. Anyone who touches the man or who touches his bedding or sits upon the object shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and shall be impure until the evening. If the man with a discharge spits upon one who is pure, the latter shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and shall be impure until the evening. If the man with a discharge mounts a saddle, the saddle shall be impure. Whoever touches something that was under the man with a discharge shall be impure until the evening, and whoever carries it shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be impure until the evening. If the man with a discharge touches someone without first rinsing his hands in water, the person whom he touched shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be impure until the evening. Any earthen vessel touched by the man with a discharge shall be broken; any wooden implement shall be rinsed with water.
When the man with a discharge becomes clear of his discharge, after seven days of clearness he shall wash his clothes and bathe his flesh in fresh water and shall be pure. On the eighth day he shall provide two turtledoves or two doves to the Kohen before the Eternal at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. The Kohen shall make of one of them a sin offering and of the other a burnt offering. The Kohen shall seek atonement for him from his discharge before the Eternal.
A man who discharges semen shall bathe all of his body in water and be impure until the evening. Cloth or leather upon which semen falls shall be washed in water and be impure until the evening. When a man emits semen into a woman, they shall bathe in water and be impure until the evening.
FEMALE DISCHARGES
15:19-30
A woman who has a discharge of blood from her body shall be in her isolation for seven days. Whoever touches her shall be impure until the evening, and whatever she lies upon or sits upon shall be impure. Whoever touches her bedding and whoever touches anything that she has sat upon shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be impure until the evening. Anyone in contact with the bedding or with the object when she sits upon it, shall be impure until the evening. If a man should lie with her, her impurity shall be upon him: he shall be impure for seven days, and any bedding upon which he lies shall be impure.
If a woman has an untimely discharge of blood for many days or a timely discharge of blood that exceeds the usual period of her isolation, she shall be impure, as in the usual period of her isolation, for as many days as the discharge of blood lasts. Any bedding upon which she lies all the days of her discharge shall be as the bedding during her usual period of isolation, and any object upon which she sits shall be impure as during her usual period of isolation. Whoever touches them shall be impure: he shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be impure until the evening.
When she is clear of her discharge, she shall count seven days and then be purified. On the eighth day she shall provide two turtledoves or two doves to the Kohen before the Eternal at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. The Kohen shall make of one of them a sin offering and of the other a burnt offering. The Kohen shall seek atonement for her from her discharge of impurity before the Eternal.
SUMMARY
15:31-33
Separate the Children of Israel from their impurity that they not die from polluting My Tabernacle that is in their midst. Such is the instruction concerning him who has a discharge and him who has an emission of semen by which he becomes impure, concerning her who is indisposed in her menstrual isolation, and concerning anyone, male or female, who has a discharge and a man who lies with an impure woman.
Maftir for Shabbat Rosh Chodesh
Numbers 28:9-15
The Eternal orders Moses to command the Children of Israel
to present to Him His offering of food,
fire offerings of a pleasing aroma,
each at its appointed time:
SABBATH
28:9-10
On the Sabbath day, along with the regular burnt offering and its libation, a burnt offering of two year-old lambs without blemish, two-tenths of a measure of fine flour mixed with oil as a meal offering, and its libation.
NEW MOONS
28:11-15
On your New Moons, a burnt offering of two bulls of the herd, one ram, and seven year-old lambs, without blemish. For the meal offering, three-tenths of a measure of fine flour mixed with oil for each bull, two-tenths of a measure of fine flour mixed with oil for the ram, and a tenth of a measure of fine flour mixed with oil for each lamb. Their libations shall be of wine, a half-hin for each bull, a third of a hin for the ram, and a quarter of a hin for each lamb. In addition there shall be a sin offering of a goat and its libation along with the regular offering.
FROM THE PROPHETS
Haftarah for Shabbat Rosh Chodesh
Isaiah 66:1-24
Vindication of the Charedim
CRITIQUE
66:1-9
Thus says the Eternal:
Heaven is My throne,
the earth a stool for My feet;
what house, then, can you build for Me,
what place for Me to rest?
I brought all of these things into being
but choose to regard
the afflicted of body and spirit,
who trembles (chared) at My word.
What of him who brings the required sacrifices?
He slaughters an ox? He slaughters a man.
He sacrifices a lamb? He breaks the neck of a dog.
He brings a meal offering? He offers the blood of a pig.
He seeks remembrance through incense? He blesses idols.
Their misdeeds shall I return upon them,
for I called and no one answered,
I spoke and they heeded not;
they choose to do that which is evil in My sight.
Hear, O tremblers (charedim), the word of the Eternal:
Your brothers who disparage you
because of your devotion to Me
taunt you,
“Let the Eternal appear
so that we can witness your rapture (simcha)!”—
your brothers shall be confounded.
Hear the sound of discomfiture
from the city, from the Temple:
It is the sound of the Eternal
imparting recompense
to His enemies!
Zion shall deliver her child
even before she labors—
who has seen anything like it?
A land brought forth in one day!
A nation born at once!
Shall I who bring forth
not deliver?
Shall I who deliver
hold back?
Zion has not travailed
before she delivers her children.
“SIMCHU ET YERUSHALAYIM…”
66:10-11
Yes, enjoy your rapture, O Jerusalem,
and delight in her, all who love her!
Experience joy with her,
all who mourn over her,
that you may suck to satisfaction
from her comforting breast,
that you may drink deeply
of her glorious abundance.
“THE WEALTH OF NATIONS”
66:12-19
The Eternal promises to extend to her
prosperity (shalom) and the wealth (kavod) of nations
like a river overflowing.
You shall be carried on their side
and dandled on their knees.
As a man whom his mother comforts,
thus shall I console you;
in Jerusalem shall you find comfort.
When you see this,
your heart will rejoice,
your bones shall blossom;
His servants shall recognize the hand of the Eternal,
His adversaries shall know His indignation.
For the Eternal is coming with fire and sword,
His chariots like a storm,
executing judgment of all flesh,
multiplying the slain.
Those who sanctify and purify themselves,
one by one into the garden,
to eat swine and filth and mouse,
shall find their end together.
Their idolatrous thoughts and deeds
bring Me to gather all nations and tongues
to behold My grave Presence,
and those of them who escape to other nations—
to Tarshish, Pul, Lud,
drawers of the bow,
Tuval and Yavan,
distant coasts,
where they have not known My fame—
shall make it known to those nations.
RETURN OF THE EXILES
66:20-21
Then all of your exiled brothers
shall be brought back from those nations
as an offering to the Eternal;
they shall be brought on
horses, chariots, wagons, mules, dromedaries,
to My holy mountain of Jerusalem,
as the Children of Israel bring their offerings
in pure vessels to the House of the Eternal.
And I shall take also some of them
for Priests and Levites.
NEW ORDER
66:22-24
For as long as the new heavens and the new earth
that I make
shall stand before Me
shall your offspring and your name endure,
and it shall be
that on every New Moon and every Sabbath
all flesh shall come to worship before Me,
declares the Eternal.
They shall go out and behold the transgressors’ corpses,
their worms not dead, their fire not abated,
a horror for all flesh.
CONSOLATION
66:23
It shall be
that on every New Moon and every Sabbath
all flesh shall come to worship before Me,
declares the Eternal.
FROM TALMUD AND MIDRASH
Leviticus Rabbah 14:1
The Place of Man
First:
“This (which precedes) is the Torah (Instruction)
for beasts and birds and every living creature
that moves in the water and swarms upon the earth,
to distinguish between what may be eaten
and what may not be eaten.”
(Leviticus 11:46-47, end of preceding Sedra Shemini)
Then:
“If a woman conceives and bears a child,
male…or female…son or daughter…
this is the Torah for her who has given birth
to a male or to a female.”
(Leviticus 12:1-7, beginning of present Sedra Tazria)
Said Rabbi Simlai: Just as the creation of humans (Genesis 1:26-27) came after the creation of animals (Genesis 1:20-25), so does the Torah of humans (Leviticus 12:1-7) follow the Torah of animals (Leviticus 11:46-47).
“A Psalm of David:
Eternal One, You have searched me
so that You know me…
You beset me [tsartanee]
behind [achor] and before [kedem],
and You place Your hand upon me.”
(Psalms 139:1-5)
Rabbi Yochanan interpreted:
“You uphold me [n’tsartanee]
preceding [achor] and future [kedem];
otherwise You place Your hand upon me!”
If a person is virtuous,
he inherits two worlds:
this world (the preceding) and the world to come (the future);
but if not,
he will have to give a full accounting of his deeds before the Eternal
and risk God’s hand upon him!
Rabbi Samuel bar Nachman interpreted:
“You formed me [y’tsartanee]
behind [achor] and before [kedem]…”
When the Holy One, blessed be He, created the first person,
He made it androgynous (with both components combined)!
Resh Lakish interpreted:
“You formed me [y’tsartanee]
behind [achor] and in front [kedem],
and You placed Your hand upon me.”
When the Holy One, blessed be He, created the first person,
He made it with two faces (one on each side, behind and in front),
then He sawed it in half to produce two humans:
one male and one female!
Rabbi Elazar interpreted:
“You created me [y’tsartanee]
after [achor] and before [kedem]…”
Man was created after the other creations since the first day (Genesis 1:1-25)
and before the other creations on the last (sixth) day of creation,
wherein God called for the earth to produce,
“every kind of living creature, cattle, moving things and wild beasts” (Genesis 1:24),
“living creature” necessarily referring to Man,
who then preceded “cattle, moving things and wild beasts!”
Resh Lakish interpreted:
“You created me [y’tsartanee]
after [achor] and before [kedem]…”
Man was created after [achor], that is, on the last (sixth) day of creation,
and
Man was created before [kedem], that is, on the first day of creation,
wherein “the spirit of God hovered” (Genesis 1:2)
over the human King Messiah (cf. Isaiah 11:2)!
If a person is virtuous, it may be said to him:
You, a person, like the Messiah, preceded all of the work of creation;
but if a person is not virtuous, it may be said to him:
The mosquito preceded you, even a worm preceded you!
Rabbi Ishmael son of Rabbi Tanchum interpreted:
“You beset me [tsartanee]
as last [achor]” of all the works of creation
and
“as first [kedem]” of all to be punished in the Flood,
as “every being was destroyed, from man to beast…” (Genesis 7:23)!
Rabbi Yochanan added:
Even the praise of Man for the Holy One, blessed be He, comes after praise by beasts:
“Praise the Eternal from the heavens…
praise the Eternal from the earth,
you crocodiles, and all deeps…
beasts, and all cattle,
creeping things and winged birds,”
and only after them,
“kings of the earth and all peoples!”
(Psalms 148:1-10)
Leviticus Rabbah 15:4
Have no fear!
“Judgments are issued against scorners,
and flogging is for the back of fools.”
(Proverbs 19:29)
The laws of tsara’at are promulgated against transgressors…
It is common in the world that one riding upon a donkey may strike it for its disobedience and also even when it is not disobedient. But with respect to the laws of tsara’at, the judgments and the punishments are executed against transgressors alone.
This may be likened to one who visits the king in his palace and is terrified when she sees various instruments of torture. “Have no fear,” says the king; “those are used against my slaves, but you have come to eat and drink and be happy!” Thus, when Israel heard the laws of tsara’at, they were frightened. Moses reassured them, “Have no fear; these laws appertain to the other nations, but you are destined to eat, drink and be happy, as was said, ‘If a person should have in his skin…’ (Leviticus 13:2), not ‘If a person among you should have….’”
“Many are the pains of the wicked,
but the one who trusts in the Eternal—
lovingkindness will surround him!”
(Psalms 32:10)
Rabbi and Rabbi Ishmael son of Rabbi Yosi were studying the Megillah of Lamentations on the Eve of Tisha B’av which was also Erev Shabbat. They had to stop in honor of the Sabbath and decided to resume their study the following Sabbath afternoon where they had left off, at the verse, “Our very breath, the anointed of the Eternal, was captured in their pits, under whose shadow we determined to live among the nations” (Lamentations 4:20). On his way home Rabbi suffered a minor injury and ascribed to himself the verse, “Many are the pains of the wicked” (Psalms 32:10).
Rabbi Ishmael son of Rabbi Yosi said to Rabbi: Even if we were not planning to study that verse (cf. Lamentations ibid.), you could have ascribed it to yourself (Margoliot: “This happened to you, Rabbi, because of our sins,” as the righteous suffer for the sin of the generation, for thus is written, “Our very breath, the anointed of the Eternal, is captured because of the pits (the sins) of his generation”!), and now that we are planning to study that verse, how much the more so!
But Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Tanchum of Bozrah in the name of Rabbi Jeremiah parsed the same verse:
“Many are the pains,
but the wicked one who trusts in the Eternal—
lovingkindness will surround him!”
Even the wicked, if he repents—the Holy One, blessed be He, will accept him!
Leviticus Rabbah 15:5
The Sins of the Parents…
Before the laws of tsara’at, in our Sedra we find, “When a woman bears a male child…” (Leviticus 12:2), then the laws of tsara’at begin: “If a person should have in his skin a swelling…” (Leviticus 13:2). Why does woman’s bearing a child lead into the laws of tsara’at?
Rabbi Tanchum son of Rabbi Chanilai taught: We may learn the answer from the allegory of a she-ass who was injured and was then cauterized: her son came out with a flame mark. Who caused the foetus to come out with a flame mark? The fact that the mother was cauterized! Likewise, who caused the human foetus to be afflicted with tsara’at? His mother when she did not attend to the days of her impurity!
Rabbi Avin taught a similar lesson but implicitly with respect to both parents: It may be compared to an herb garden with a fountain in it. As long as the fountain flows, it produces mildew. Likewise, whoever goes near his wife when she is impure makes children with the skin affections of tsara’at! On this Rabbi Avin cited: “The parents have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge” (Jeremiah 31:28)! and the children may cite concerning their parents: “Our parents sinned and are no more, but we bear their iniquities” (Lamentations 5:7)!
Leviticus Rabbah 15:6-7
The Blessing of the Giver
“When a woman bears a child, at the completion of her purification days…
if her means do not suffice for the prescribed offering of a sheep,
then she shall take two turtledoves or two doves…
—by all means she should bring the offering to the Kohen!”
(Leviticus 12:1-8)
Why, then, does there follow immediately:
“If a person should have…a tsara’at-like affection in his skin,
he should be brought to Aaron the Kohen…”
(Leviticus 13:1-2)
The Holy One, blessed be He, is teaching us (by this juxtaposition)—
I first said to you: Bring the offering of childbirth to the Kohen;
and if you do not bring it, then I shall make you appear before the Kohen
by reason of the tsara’at-like affection!
Similarly, the Eternal instructed Moses:
“Whatever holies the Children of Israel bring to the Kohen shall be his ;
whatever a person gives to the Kohen shall be his!”
(Numbers 5:9-10)
–and then immediately following He says:
“Any man whose wife goes astray…”
(Numbers 5:11ff.)
The Holy One, blessed be He, is teaching us (by this juxtaposition)—
I have said to you: Bring your gift to the Kohen;
and if you do not, then I shall make you appear with your wife before the Kohen
by reason of your suspicion of adultery!
Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish explained this in reference to the Eternal’s repetition:
“Whatever holies the Children of Israel bring to the Kohen shall be his”—
shall belong to that particular Kohen;
“whatever a person gives to the Kohen shall be his”—
shall redound to him (the giver) as a blessing!
(Numbers 5:9-10)
Thus does Rabbi Levi teach:
Blessings bless those who bless, and curses curse those who curse—
“Whole and honest weights and measures shall there be for you” (Deuteronomy 25:15):
If you have “whole and honest weights and measures,”
then property to buy and sell “shall there be for you!”
“There shall not be for you differing weights and measures…” (Deuternomy 25:13-14):
If you have “differing weights and measures,”
then your property will dwindle until “there shall not be for you” anything to buy or sell!
Rabbi Yochanan interpreted the mitzvah of challah, a loaf of dough set aside for the Eternal (Numbers 15:17-21), to be followed immediately by the Eternal’s warning against idolatry—
“If you go astray and fail to perform any of these commandments…”
(Numbers 15:22ff.)
—teaching us thereby that whoever upholds the commandment of challah, it is as if he is stamping out the sin of idolatry, and whoever foregoes the commandment of challah, failing to set aside the gift due to the Eternal, he has ignored his God and thereby perpetrated the sin of idolatry. How is that? Like the merchant who deceives with dishonest weights and measures, he will eventually have nothing left to buy or sell, as the Eternal charged Moses to say to the Children of Israel:
“You shall not make with Me gods of silver,
and gods of gold you shall not make for yourselves.”
(Exodus 20:20)
Interpret:
“You shall not make with Me gods of silver or gods of gold”—
and if you do—“you shall not (be able to) make (anything) for yourselves!”
If he does, he will not have enough left to make even idols of wood or stone, whereas “challah” or “whatever a person gives to the Kohen shall be his”—shall redound to him (the giver) as a blessing (Numbers 5:10)!
Leviticus Rabbah 15:8,9
The Ultimate Purifier
“If a person should have in his skin a swelling
or an eruption or a bright spot
such that it becomes a tsara’at-like affection in his skin,
he should be brought to Aaron the Kohen
or one of his sons the Kohanim to be examined…”
(Leviticus 13:2-3)
A person can recognize all afflictions except for his own. Rabbi Meir adds: Also except for his relatives’.
So who examined the afflicted areas of Miriam when she was punished with tsara’at (cf. Numbers 12:1-15)? If you say Moses, he was not a Kohen! If you say Aaron, he was a relative! Said the Holy One, blessed be He: I am the Kohen; I isolate her, and I purify her! That is what is meant by the words, “And the people did not continue on their journey until Miriam was readmitted” (Numbers 12:15). How could that be, when, “At the command of the Eternal, the Children of Israel would journey; and at the command of the Eternal, they would encamp” (Numbers 9:18)? The people was bound to the Divine Presence, and the Divine Presence waited for her!
Said Rabbi Levi in the name of Rabbi Chama son of Rabbi Chaninah: Moses was quite distressed over this commandment. Does it befit the honor of Aaron my brother, he thought, to examine skin affections for tsara’at? The Holy One, blessed be He, responded: Don’t you think that he is well compensated from the twenty-four different gifts to which the Kohanim are entitled (e.g. first fruits: cf. Deuteronomy 26:1-10)? This is expressed in a proverb: If you enjoy the palm’s heart, expect to be struck by its stick!
In this world the Kohen examines for spots of tsara’at, but in the world to come, says the Holy One, blessed be He: I shall purify you! This is what is written: “Then I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be pure…” (Ezekiel 36:25).
Talmud Arachin 15b
Slander Infects the World
Resh Lakish taught: How can we understand the verse, “This shall be the teaching regarding the metsora” (Leviticus 14:2)? This shall be the teaching regarding the motsi shem ra (“one who brings out an evil name/report”)!…Whoever speaks leshon hara (“slander/gossip”) piles transgressions up to Heaven, as was said, “Those who wickedly utter oppressive words, who speak as if none were on high, they place their mouth against Heaven, the words of their tongue proceed over the earth” (Psalms 73:8-9).
Rav Chisda taught that Mar Ukba said: Of whoever speaks leshon hara, the Holy One, blessed be He, says that he and I cannot coexist in the world, as was said, “Whoever slanders his fellow in secret…him can I not endure” (Psalms 101:5)—read the word for “him” (vocalized oto) as the consonants are actually written (ito), “’with him’ can I not endure”: there is not enough room in this world for both I (the Holy One, blessed be He) and the slanderer!
Talmud Arachin 16a
Causes of Tsara’at
Rabbi Samuel bar Nachmani reported that Rabbi Yochanan taught: Negaim (generic term for “plagues,” repeatedly associated with tsara’at in our Sedra and in the preceding Sedra Tazria) occur for seven offences:
(1) Leshon Hara
“Whoever slanders his fellow in secret—him shall I smite…” (Psalms 101:5), and the verbal root which we translate here as “smite” [tsadey-mem-tav] is rendered in Aramaic by Targum Onkelos (Leviticus 25:30) with the same root [chet-lamed-tet] that is applied in Hebrew by the Talmud (Megillah 8b) to the metzora! Therefore we may understand that one who slanders another in secret—the classic example of leshon hara—shall be smitten by God with tsara’at.
(2) Murder
“David said…’Let there fall upon the head of Joab (for his murder of Abner) and all of his father’s house that there not be lacking…a metsora…’” (II Samuel 3:29).
(3) False Oath
When the prophet Elisha cured the Aramean general Naaman of tsara’at, he accepted no reward. But his servant Gehazi visited Naaman and, on his own, collected money and clothing from him. Elisha asks Gehazi, “Where did you just come from?” and Gehazi lies, “Your servant went nowhere.” Elisha says to him, “But didn’t my heart go to witness where you went and what you attached; the tsara’at of Naaman shall attach to you and to your offspring for ever, and he went out from before him a metsora white as snow” (II Kings 5:25-27)!
(4) Sexual Offence
“When Abram comes to Egypt, the Egyptians see how beautiful his wife (Sarai) is..the woman is then taken to the house of Pharaoh.” Abram had anticipated this problem and asked Sarai to say that she is his sister, because he feared that if the Egyptians knew that she is his wife, they would kill him. “Abram fared well because of her…, and the Eternal struck Pharaoh and his house with great negaim (see above) over the affair of Sarai, wife of Abram” (Genesis 12:14-17).
(5) Arrogance
King Uzziah developed a strong military machine, “but in his strength he became arrogant to the point of corruption, attempting to coopt the function of the Kohanim in burning Incense upon the Temple Altar.” When Azariah and his fellow Kohanim confronted Uzziah, “tsara’at broke out upon his forehead before the Kohanim in the House of the Eternal over the Altar of Incense.” Seeing this sign of defilement, the Kohanim thrust Uzziah out of the Temple. (II Chronicles 26:16-20)
(6) Robbery
“When I place the nega [plural negaim,” see above] of tsara’at upon a house…, the one who owns the house shall report it to the Kohen, and the Kohen shall order that the house be emptied of its contents…” (Leviticus 14:34-36). In explanation, an early Sage taught: He gathered wealth and possessions that were not his, so the Kohen shall come and disperse them!
(7) Envy
“When I place the nega [plural negaim,” see above] of tsara’at upon a house…that you own, the one who owns the house shall report it to the Kohen…” (Leviticus 14:34-35). Since the verse already speaks to the owner of the house (“that you own”), why does it repeat, “the one who owns the house?” According to a teacher from the School of Ishmael, the repetition of ownership reflects the possessiveness of the owner, who regarded all that was in his house as his exclusive and absolute possession. Therefore, the owner kept all of his possessions concealed and refused to let others use them, claiming that he did not have whatever they requested, so “the Kohen shall order that the house be emptied of its contents…” (Leviticus 14:36): The Holy One, blessed be He, thereby exposes him when the Kohen orders his house emptied (cf. Talmud Yoma 11b).
Mishnah Avot 4:4
Secret Transgressions Exposed
Rabbi Yochanan ben Beroka teaches: Whoever profanes the Name of Heaven in secret is punished for it in public.
Leviticus Rabbah 16:2,6
The Elixir of Life
“The Eternal imparts to Moses Torah (instruction)
for the metsora (one afflicted with tsara’at)…”
(Leviticus 14:1-2)
“Who is one to enjoy life,
loving days, to see good?
Keep your tongue from evil,
and your lips from speaking guile.
Avoid the bad
and do good;
seek peace and pursue it!”
(Psalms 34:13-15)
There was a merchant who went from town to town in the vicinity of Sepphoris, announcing as he went: Who wants to buy the elixir of life? People would flock to him. Rabbi Yannai was sitting, teaching Torah, when he heard the merchant deliver his offer. He called to him: Come up here and sell it to me! The merchant called back: Neither you nor anyone like you would need it!
But Rabbi Yannai persisted, and finally the merchant went up to him and took out for him the Book of Psalms, showing him the verse, “Who is one to enjoy life, loving days, to see good?” and then showing him what is written after it: “Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking guile. Avoid the bad and do good; seek peace and pursue it!” Said Rabbi Yannai: Solomon also makes such a statement, saying “Whoever guards his mouth and his tongue guards his soul from troubles” (Proverbs 21:23)!
Now Rabbi Yannai reflects: All of my life I have read the same verses in Psalms, but I didn’t understand what they meant until this merchant came and made it known. Who wants to buy the elixir of life? “Keep your tongue from evil…!”
And it is for that reason that Moses cautions Israel by saying to them, “This shall be your Torah (your instruction, your formula, your medicine, your elixir, your prophylactic) against becoming metsora…,” for to him metsora is an abbreviation for motzi shem ra, “one who uses his tongue for evil.” That makes him metsora (slander afflicts him with tsara’at), and this is the Torah as immunization that the Eternal imparted to Moses, the elixir of life.
Five times is “Torah” associated with metsora:
“This is the Torah of the affliction of tsara’at…” (Leviticus 13:59)
“This shall be the Torah of the metsora…” (Leviticus 14:2)
“This is the Torah for one who has the affliction of tsara’at…” (Leviticus 14:32)
“This is the Torah for every affliction of tsara’at…” (Leviticus 14:54)
“This is the Torah of tsara’at.” (Leviticus 14:57)
Five times “Torah” teaches us:
Whoever uses his tongue for evil
transgresses the entire five books of the Torah!
Talmud Kiddushin 31a, 40a
Talmud Chagigah 16a
God’s Footstool
Rabbi Isaac said: Whoever commits a transgression in secret—it is as if he pushes away the feet of the Shechina (Divine Presence), as was said, “Thus says the Eternal: Heaven is My throne, the earth a stool for My feet…” (Isaiah 66:1).
Rashi: For one who transgresses in secret assumes that the Omnipresent is not present where he is hiding and therefore He is not aware of what he is doing. By thus narrowing (in his own mind) His parameters, it is as though he is pushing the divine feet aside.
But it was taught in a baraitha (an older, more authoritative teaching, contemporaneous with the Mishnah) that Rabbi Ilai the Elder said: If one finds that his evil impulse is in danger of overpowering him, let him travel to a place where he is not known, clothe himself in black, and do what his heart desires; only let him not profane the Name of Heaven in public!
The Gemara resolves: Rabbi Isaac has not contradicted the authority of the baraitha, as his teaching applies to one who can overcome his evil impulse, while the teaching of Rabbi Ilai the Elder in the baraitha applies to one who is unable to overcome his evil impulse. Tosafot: It would be better that one fulfill his evil desire in secret than in public! But:
It was taught in a baraitha: Whoever fails to protect the honor of his Maker—it would have been better for him not to have entered the world! What is the baraitha teaching about? Rav Joseph’s answer is that it refers to one who commits a transgression in secret. The same resolution as above is applied by the Gemara here: The baraitha applies to one who can overcome his evil impulse, while the teaching of Rabbi Ilai the Elder applies to one who is unable to overcome his evil impulse.
Tosafot: Rabbenu Chananel has a problem with the implication of Rabbi Ilai the Elder’s teaching, that one is permitted thereby (even in secret) to commit a transgression! He believes that Rabbi Ilai could not have meant that. He understands his meaning as follows: The shock caused by travel to a distant place, the uncomfortable lodging arrangements required, and the donning of black garments, together will deter his evil impulse and thereby prevent him from committing the intended transgression!
Talmud Rosh Hashanah 22b-23b
Yerushalmi Rosh Hashanah 2:1
Lights of Rosh Chodesh
When testimony of witnesses to the New Moon crescent was accepted in Jerusalem and Rosh Chodesh was sanctified, torches would be raised along a line of promontories, beginning on the Mount of Olives, then at Sartava in the hills of Samaria overlooking the Jordan Valley, followed by Agrippina in the Lower Galilee, then to Auran east of the Jordan, and ending at Beit Baltin between the borders of the Land of Israel and Babylonia. As the burning torch on the previous mountain became visible, those on the next mountain would kindle their torches and wave them back and forth, up and down, until they saw the torches afire on the mountain ahead, and so on for each promontory. From Beit Baltin the torch signaled to all of Babylonia: Pumbeditha was lit up as everyone would hold a torch in his hand and raise it up on the roof of his house.
Later, Rabbi discontinued the display of torches because of false signals from the Samaritans. But those who lived in Tsefat, having received notification of Rosh Chodesh by messengers, continued to display torches when they learned that Rosh Chodesh was sanctified, just to announce and celebrate.
Various commentators report on the subsequent practice of kindling lights in the synagogue and at home on Rosh Chodesh, such as Pri Chadash to Shulchan Aruch, Orah Chayim 419 (Hezekiah da Silva, Italy & Land of Israel, 17th cent.): “There is one who wrote that there is the practice of kindling extra lights in honor of Rosh Chodesh.” See Sefer Hamoadim, Vol. 5, p. 14.
Tanna d’Vey Eliahu Rabbah 26:2
Sanctify God’s Name Among the Nations
“You shall love the Eternal your God…”
(Deuteronomy 6:5)
This is fulfilled when you make
the Name of Heaven
beloved to your fellow creations:
You should take care in your business dealings with your fellow men while you openly study Biblical and Rabbinic books. Then, seeing all of this, people will say, “Fortunate is he who has studied Torah, see how fair are his deeds, how fine are his ways! Let us undertake to learn Torah ourselves and to teach it to our children.” Thereby is the Name of Heaven sanctified by him.
Whereas one who does not take care in his business dealings while he openly studies the sacred books will earn a bad reputation for the study of Torah and will discourage others from learning and teaching it. For this the Torah was not given, but only to sanctify His great Name, as was said, “You are My servant, O Israel, through whom I shall be glorified” (Isaiah 49:3).
From this teaching they said: One should stay far from any type of stealing from either an Israelite or from a Gentile, from anyone whom you encounter in the marketplace. For one who steals from a Gentile will in the end come to steal from an Israelite, and one who swears falsely to a Gentile will come to swear falsely to an Israelite. One who denies the truth to a Gentile will in the end deny the truth to an Israelite, and one who sheds the blood of a Gentile will come to shed the blood of an Israelite. The Torah was given not for this but to sanctify His great Name:
“Among the nations
whom I gather…
I shall establish a sign
by sending some of those
who escape the fire and the sword
to places where they have not known My fame,
and they shall make it known to those nations!”
(Isaiah 66:18-19)
SHABBAT SHALOM!
Sedra Summary 