In Tazriya, Perek י״ג Pasuk ב talks about leprosy and skin discoloration. The topic continues throughout the entire perek
אָדָ֗ם כִּֽי־יִהְיֶ֤ה בְעוֹר־בְּשָׂרוֹ֙ שְׂאֵ֤ת אֽוֹ־סַפַּ֙חַת֙ א֣וֹ בַהֶ֔רֶת וְהָיָ֥ה בְעוֹר־בְּשָׂר֖וֹ לְנֶ֣גַע צָרָ֑עַת וְהוּבָא֙ אֶל־אַהֲרֹ֣ן הַכֹּהֵ֔ן א֛וֹאֶל־אַחַ֥ד מִבָּנָ֖יו הַכֹּהֲנִֽים׃
When a person has on the skin of his body a swelling, a rash, or a discoloration, and it develops into a scaly infection on the skin of his body, it shall be reported to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons, the priests.
Why does a person get leprosy/what does it mean when a person gets leprosy?
Why is it so necessary to have a whole Perek going into so many details and explanations about the process? Also, why are there rules that a Priest may not preform a Bris Milah if the child has any of those skin conditions, What is the reasoning for this? There are some real life cases in the Torah where someone had leprosy where was it and why did they get it?
Rav shamshon Raphael Hirsh says that leprosy shouldn’t be seen as a medical condition but rather as a personal spiritual problem that one needs to fix . A person gets leprosy when they have a religious problem like speaking lashin hara . As proof, he says that tzarat was treated by a priest not a doctor. (Leprosy can also show up in walls and clothes which would be another way of showing that it isn’t a medical problem but rather a spiritual one)
Rashi says that when a person gets leprosy it means they got scabs. i like this opinion because its simple and just makes sense, its straight from the pasuk.
ReplyDeleteabby p
Ariella Rosencrantz
ReplyDeleteSeforno describes leprosy as a form of skin cancer today. He also describes it as being a punishment for sin.
I think this is a good opinion because it helps me understand what leprosy would be today.
Source: https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/tzaraat-a-biblical-affliction/
The Gemara in Arachin explains that you get tzarras as a punishment for doing the following things- lashan hara, murder, vain oaths, illicit relations, arraigned, theft and stinginess. I find it interesting how I only really associated tzarras with lashan hara but there are many other reasons of why someone can get it. - Nealy Saks
ReplyDeleteThe Ohr Hachaim explains that only Jews could get this affliction, as it was only skin deep. With gentiles, you could tell it was different because it would further than the skin. That’s how we know it would not mess with our personality/ spirituality.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a good way to put a positive(ish) spin on such a horrible affliction
-Naomi Kutin
is a Heavenly punishment for selfish behavior Leprosy isn designed to help someone who sinned do teshuvah and correct his ways.
ReplyDeleteEven though in the Torah the halachot of tzaraat, are discussed first, Hashem is still merciful.
Someone who gets tzaraat is receiving a sign from Heaven so he goes to the Cohen But still an actual person who has tzaraat already received two reminders from Hashem. This means he is stubborn and does not want to do teshuva so he needs to be brought to the Cohen.
ReplyDeleteThe medical definition of Leprocy is a disease of the skin. It is contagious and you get it from person to person. This doesn’t fit with the passuk because we know that you get tzaraat from speaking lashon hara
-Kayla Markovitz
Rabbi Howard Cohen teaches that what we can learn about tzaraat is the internal “disease”, not the physical affects it had on people. The haftarah helps us to better interpret the main subject of the Torah portion. Tzara’at shouldn’t be read as a skin rash; rather, its about social and spiritual problems that threaten the wholeness the nation and the community. We see in the Haftorah that selfishness leads to isolation, while acts of sharing and generosity cultivate a sense of belonging and inclusion.
ReplyDelete-Meira Cohen
A source on chabad.org A person who has Tzara’at is someone who looks like a Roman citizen and part of society but really he is corrupt and a bad influence onto others. Therefore, the ruining of his clothing and growing out of hair is a way of removing any misleading positive judgements about him. The reason he has to change something about his entire body is to make it very clear that he is a bad person and has Tzara’at.
ReplyDeleteSource: https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/2821705/jewish/Dvar-Torah-Questions-and-Answers-on-Tazria.htm
Genie Tokayer
ReplyDeleteThe word “Vehayah” introduces Tzarat but Vehaya symbolizes simchah (according to Midrash Rabbah Vayikra 11:7). Why is joy connected with being afflicted with leprosy?
Leprosy is a form of punishment to those guilty of lashon hara (Arachin 15b).
A violation of the Torah is a serious matter, and the violator deserves to be penalized. The speaker of lashon hara should be happy that his penalty spares his internal organs and is only skin deep.
This is an interesting answer because the consequences of Lashon Hara are very severe so it’s intresting that this opinion says that one should be happy it’s not even worse I like this answer.
Eden Schechter
ReplyDeleteRabbi Howard Cohen
The person who gets tzarat is called a motzira, which loosely translates to one who spreads slander. The punishment for "speaking slander" is being isolated from the rest of the community, for rehabilitation. There's a story in the haftorah of 4 men walking who have been exiled from the city due to it being under siege from the Arab army. The decide nothing can be done from their side so they abandon their home and go to their enemies. But when they approach the camp they realize that it's deserted. Their first reaction in to run into the homes gathered all the valuables they can gold, silver, and other items of wealth. One of the 4 men points out that the abandonment of the camo is critical to their city. He says that they weren't acting properly and that they'll be judged as sinners, and go to the King's palace. The 4 men are inflicted with tzarat because of the sins of some unstated previous acts of selfishness. As a result of their “rehabilitation” the four men are redeemed, the enemy is scattered and the city of Samaria is saved from attack. Tzarat isn't just a skin disease rather, it is about social and spiritual diseases that threaten the wholeness and integrity of the community. As in the haftarah, selfishness leads to isolation, while acts of sharing and generosity cultivate a sense of belonging and inclusion.