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A person suspects that he has tzaraat (“leprosy”). What's his next move?

by Rabbi Yossi Marcus

  

Library » Miscellaneous » Health Issues » Tzaraas ("Leprosy") | Subscribe | What is RSS?

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If a person developed a white spot on his skin that was not duller than the membrane of an egg and at least the size of a bean called a gris (approximately ¾ of an inch) he would go to a kohen to have it checked out.

The kohen would then check for “signs of impurity.” These included any one of the following:

1. Two white hairs growing in the white area.

2. A spot of regular colored skin within the white area.

In such cases, the kohen would declare the individual impure and the individual would be placed in isolation for some time and undergo a purification process until he was healed.

The kohen would then check for “signs of impurity”... In such cases, the kohen would declare the individual impure and the individual would be placed in isolation for some time and undergo a purification process until he was healed...
If no such signs appeared, the individual was in limbo—neither pure nor impure. He was kept in a house for seven days after which the kohen would check him again. If any of the signs appeared, or if the spot had grown, the individual was pronounced impure. Otherwise, he would remain quarantined for another seven days, after which the kohen would check him again. If he still had no signs of impurity, he would immerse himself and his clothing in a body of water and would then be considered pure.

What’s happening here according to some commentaries is that the white sign shows that the person needs some spiritual work to be done. He needs introspection and healing. The various signs or lack thereof are expressions of whether he’s making spiritual progress, etc. That’s why he’s isolated so that he can introspect and perhaps be shocked into clearing up his spiritual roadblocks. When this is done he becomes pure.

TAGS: tzaraas, leprosy

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