The Laws of Tzara’at

Parshat Tazria and Parshat Metzora focus primarily on the laws of tzara’at. Throughout these two parshiyot, the Torah outlines the intricate laws of these strange lesions: how a kohen (priest) identifies if it is indeed tzara’at, what happens to a person when he does have tzara’at, and the steps one needs to take to purify oneself from tzara’at. The Torah spends so much time going through the laws of tzara’at, basically two whole parshiyot. The length, breadth, and depth to which the Torah goes into these laws seems like a lot. What is so important about these laws that requires the Torah going into so much detail?

And what’s crazy is that for all the detail the Torah goes into about tzara’at, the most important details are left out, which are how and why one gets tzara’at in the first place. The Torah’s silence on this has actually led to some wild theories about what tzara’at really is. There’s even a wide-spread, but mistaken, belief that tzara’at is leprosy and all the laws are meant to prevent the spread of this contagious disease. This notion is inaccurate – tzara’t is not a physical disease as evidenced by the fact that it can appear on inanimate objects, like clothing and buildings, which is something that physical diseases can’t do. Rather, tzara’at is a unique, spiritual malady, and if that is true, it would make sense for the Torah to emphasize to us why someone would get tzara’at or what lessons we are meant to learn from these laws. But despite the lengthy discussion about tzara’at in these parshiyot, the Torah never comes right out and tells us. 

However, if we look closely at the laws of tzara’at, particularly the consequences of getting tzara’at and the bizarre purification process, and see them with fresh eyes, we can put together an understanding of the deeper spiritual significance of tzara’at. 

The consequences of tzara’at

The Torah is very explicit that there are two important consequences of having tzara’at: isolation and tumah (impurity). Firstly, a metzora, someone who has tzara’at, is commanded to sit outside the camp by himself. He’s separated from the rest of the community. It kind of feels like a cruel way to treat someone who's probably freaking out about these skin lesions…leave your home, go beyond the city limits, and just sit all alone with no one to talk to! Why should this solitary confinement be the consequence for a metzora?

Secondly, the other result of tzara’at is that the metzora becomes tameh (impure). There are of course, many things that the Torah defines as tameh, but there is something unique about how intensely tameh the metzora is. Well, it’s not entirely unique, because there’s one, and only one, other item that has the same serious degree of impurity as a metzora: a corpse. Why would a metzora and a dead body have the same status? Is there something about a metzora that is dead or dead-like? 

The purification process

The real key to unlocking the deeper meaning of tzara’at emerges when you examine a part of the tzara’at laws that is often overlooked: That is, the purification process a metzora goes through after they are cleared from having tzara’at. After the metzora sits outside the camp in isolation, he must be examined by a kohen (priest). If he is given the go ahead that his tzara’at has gone away, then he begins the purification procedure. The process involves taking two birds, cedar wood, scarlet string, and a hyssop branch. One of the birds is slaughtered and its blood is added to a bowl of fresh water. Then the other ingredients are dipped into this bloodied water and sprinkled on the metzora. After this, the remaining bird is set free, and the metzora is purified, but must still stay outside his tent for seven days. This procedure seems so strange. It’s the kind of thing you’d expect to find in a witchcraft manual, so what is it doing in the Torah? Why in the world did the Torah outline this strange process? What is the deeper meaning behind it?

The Deeper Meaning

Rabbi David Fohrman explores all these questions and develops a whole new, fascinating understanding of the deeper meaning behind tzara’at. Watch this video in which he suggests that the strange purification process has resonances to another, earlier procedure the Israelites did involving some of the same ingredients. His unique analysis will reveal incredible meaning hidden just beneath the surface of the text. Subscribe now to enjoy all of Rabbi Fohrman’s mind blowing divrei Torah.  

Parshat Metzora in Nutshell

Parshat Metzora begins with the purification process for the metzora. This process involves three stages: the ritual sprinkling using two birds, a piece of cedar wood, a scarlet thread, and a hyssop branch. In the second stage, the metzora must shave off all his hair. In the final stage, the metzora brings various korbanot, offerings. After detailing the purification process, the parsha discusses cases of tzara’at found on a house or building. The final chapter of the parsha teaches the laws of four types of bodily emissions that cause a state of tumah: ba’al keri, niddah, zav, and zavah.