Parashat Metzo'rah forms a sequel to
Parashat Tazri'a and is defined by the words: “the Torah of the leper for the
day of his cleansing" (Lev. 14:2).
Just as it was the priest who diagnosed the state of leprosy in the
first place, so was it he alone who could determine if "the affliction/plague/infection
- of leprosy is healed" (v. 3 literal translation, emphasis added).
This “affliction,” “plague” or “infection” (a word which some of the English
translations omit altogether) is “nega.” It stems from the root n.g.a
(noon, gimmel, ayin), with the primary meaning being "to touch." The most famous 'touch' in Scripture,
one that had a significant influence on all the afflictions we are dealing with
here, is found in B’resheet (Genesis) 3:3:
"But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden,
Elohim has said, `You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you
die'" (italics added). The Children of Yisrael were likewise charged not
to touch Mount Chorev
Referring back to the person being cleansed…
It is now incumbent upon him to take two living and clean birds, cedar wood,
scarlet and hyssop for his offering. One of the birds was to be killed in an
earthen vessel over “living” ('running,' in English) water. The living bird is
to be taken with the cedar wood, the scarlet and the hyssop, all of which are
to be dipped in the blood of the dead bird, over “living” ('running') water
(ref. 14:4-6). Interestingly, "living" is mentioned four times in
this short passage. As to the "Scarlet," it is “tola'at
shani” - literally a "worm of scarlet" (i.e. the worm
from which the dye was extracted). In Parashat F’kudey (Ex. 38:21-Ch. 40, see
for example 39:1) the term “worm of scarlet” – tola’at shani – was rendered scarlet thread – possibly signifying the blood of the atonement and was mentioned
along with the gold, the blue, and the purple. Here too some of the translations
employ “thread” or “yarn of scarlet.” The usage of “worm” (in reference
to “scarlet”) points to a very humble status (e.g. Ps. 22:6; Is. 41:14). “Hyssop”
is the translation (actually a form of transliteration) of “ezov,”
symbolic of the lowliest of plants, especially when compared to the cedar. In
Mlachim Alef (I Kings) 4:33 we read: "…from the cedar tree of Lebanon
For this cleansing routine to take place,
the priest had to go outside the camp to the place where the afflicted person
was quarantined (14:3). In the previous Parasha we noted that the phrase
"outside the camp" (“the city, or “the gate”), has a dual
connotation. In Vayikra (Leviticus) 4:12 and 6:11, there was "a clean
place outside the camp." Here in 14:40, 41, and 45 reference is made to
"an unclean place outside the city." Both places are singled
out, and are in fact related. The priest who goes outside the camp comes in
contact with the unclean, or afflicted person, much like our High Priest who
(in order to cleanse us) had to come to our contaminated world so that eventually
we could join Him "outside [His] camp" (ref. Heb. 13:13).
On the “eighth day,” after the seven day
watch (ref. 15:13-14) and the concurrent bodily purging, the person undergoing
the cleansing comes forth with his offerings. Surprisingly, this selfsame
individual had to go through a ritual similar to the dedication for service of
A’haron and his sons (cf. Ex. 29:20, 21; Lev. 8:23, 24). And thus we read: "And
the priest shall take the lamb of the trespass offering and the log of oil, and
the priest shall wave them as a wave offering before YHVH. Then he
shall kill the lamb of the trespass offering, and the priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering and put it
on the tip of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed, on the thumb of
his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot. And the priest shall pour some of the oil
into the palm of his own left hand. Then
the priest shall sprinkle with his right finger some of the oil that is
in his left hand seven times before YHVH. And the priest shall put some of the oil that is in his hand on the tip of the right ear
of him who is to be cleansed, on the thumb of the right hand, and on the big
toe of his right foot, on the place of the blood of the trespass offering” (Lev.
14:25-28). Atonement is thus granted, as well as anointing for 'hearing,'
'doing,' and 'walking' (see Hebrew Insights into Parashat Tetzaveh re Ex.
29:20).
Since quite a substantial offering was being
expected of the person being cleansed, provision was made "if he is poor
and cannot afford it…" (14:21). "Cannot afford" is
expressed by a typical picturesque idiom, "his hand is unable to reach,"
as "hand reaching" (of this type) denotes financial well being. "To reach," stemming from the root
n.s.g (noon. sin, gimmel), also means "to pursue, or overtake."
"When you have come into the land of
Canaan, which I give [“natan”] you as a possession, and I put [literally
“give”, natan ] the leprous plague [“nega,” referred to above] in a house in
the land of your possession” (14:34), is a non-ambiguous declaration that shows
clearly that the cause of the “nega” (which, as we noticed last week was not a
mere natural phenomenon) is YHVH Himself. Do take note - the above is dealing
specifically with a built up structure. The usage of the verb “natan,”
employed here twice for “give” and "put," reinforces therefore
YHVH's involvement in the matter, and the fact that He is also its primary
cause.
A house so plagued is to be "emptied
out" of its content (14:36). “Pina,” of the root p.n.h (pey,
noon, hey, meaning "to turn"), is the verb used here. In Parashat Trumah (in Ex. 25:20, 30), we
have already encountered p.n.h, in relationship to the faces of the cherubim
placed on the Ark of the Covenant, and the "showbread" ("bread
of the face"). In the course of "emptying out" the house there
is a “turning” - that is, "making way" and by implication a
“clearing” or an “emptying out." The act of emptying out one's house (and
taking it apart, if need be, see 14:40-45) has a further symbolic meaning. We
thus read in 2 Corinthians 5:1: "For we know that if
our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from Elohim, a
house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." According to Midrash
Rabba 17:7: "And I will put the plague of tza'ra'at in the house of the
land of your possession (14:34) - this refers to the Temple
"Scale"
is “netek,” from the root n.t.k (noon. tav, kof), meaning “to pull
off, draw, disconnect, or remove." Ee’yov
(Job) laments: "…my purposes are broken off – “nitku”…” (Job 17:11
italics added). And again in Jeremiah, "my tent is plundered; all my
chords are broken…” (10:20, italics added). The swelling is called “s'et,”
of the root n.s.a (noon, sin, alef), meaning "to lift, carry
or hold up." S'et, as such, according to B.D.B Lexicon is
"exaltation, dignity or swelling". [2] Ee’yov (Job - 41:25),
speaking of Leviathan, says: "When he raises himself up, the mighty
are afraid" (italics added). “Scab” is the translation of “sapa'chat,”
which is of the root s.f.ch (samech, fey, chet), meaning "to join,
or add." It can also refer to that which is overgrown. In Chavakuk
(Habakkuk) 2:15 we read, “Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbor, joining
him to your wineskin, even to make him drunk, that you may
look on his nakedness!” (Italics added). Finally, the "bright spot"
is “baheret,” of the root b.h.r (bet, hey, resh), which means "bright
or brilliant," used almost exclusively in relationship to a
physical condition. However, one reference in Ee’yov (Job) 37:21 seems to indicate
a light so bright that cannot be gazed at.
Lining up the terms, according to their
respective connotations, will create the following picture: A breaking
or removal (possibly from the Almighty), will lead to the attitude of loftiness
resulting in rebelliousness and pride, followed by wrong attachments.
From there the path is open to what may appear as effulgence but is actually
nothing more than a blinding (false) light. The entire body of instructions is
finalized by the words: "…to teach on the day of the unclean, and on the
day of cleansing; this is the Torah of the tza'ra'at" (14:57, literal
translation). Thus, this long passage, which starts in verse 34, is solely for
the purpose of teaching (“le'horot”) the Torah (as it pertains to
the issue at hand). Torah impartation, therefore, is what it takes to
counteract the sequence portrayed above and its dismal results.
The next section of the Parasha (chapter 15)
deals with unclean discharges omitted by the body (which are the natural
outcome of the sequel of conditions described above). "This was an emblem
of the corruption of nature, and of all evil things that are in or flow out of
the evil heart of man, which are defiling to him [3] (see Mat. 15:18).
"If a woman has a discharge of blood
for many days, other than at the time of her customary impurity [her regular
menstrual cycle], or if it runs beyond her usual time of impurity, all the days
of her unclean discharge shall be as the days of her customary impurity. She
shall be unclean [for as long as she has the discharge]… Whoever touches those
things [which she has handled] shall be unclean…" (15:25, 27). This
injunction makes the episode recorded in the Gospels, of Yeshua healing the
woman with the issue of blood, most remarkable (ref. Matt. 9:19-22; Mark
5:25-34; Luke 8:43-48)! Yeshua does not appear to be alarmed by the fact that
an unclean woman has touched him. In fact, He does not even refer to her as
such. As much as Yeshua respected the regulations of Torah (being the Torah
incarnate), it was the Torah of Life and NOT the “letter” which He advocated
and practiced. Yeshua ministered the life of the (Re)New(ed) Covenant, as
defined by 2nd Corinthians 3:6: A "new covenant, not of the letter but of
the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life."
Toward the end of Parashat Metzora we read: “So you shall cause the sons
of Israel to be estranged – vehizartem,
root of zar, stranger, foreigner - from their uncleanness, so that they do not
die in their uncleanness when they defile My dwelling place that is among them”
(15:31, literal translation). As those who form the abode of YHVH, the
Israelites are to be “strangers” to uncleanness. These words truly encapsulate
the spirit of the Torah injunctions; a spirit that the Elohim of Yisrael wishes
to impart to His people.
[1] New Studies in
Vayikra Part 1, Nechama Leibowitz, trans. Aryeh Newman.
Eliner Library, Department for Torah Education
and Culture in the Diaspora.
Hemed Books Inc., Brooklyn , N.Y.
[2] The New Brown,
Driver, Briggs, Gesenius Lexicon, Francis Brown
Hendrickson. Publishers, Peabody , Mass.
[3] Gill Commentary, Online Bible
