CHAPTER 12
1. Then YHWH spoke to Moshe, saying,
2. "Speak to the descendants of Israel, saying, ‘If a woman has been sown with seed [thazria] and given birth to a male, then she shall become ritually impure for seven days, as in the days of the separation of her infirmity, she shall be ritually impure.
Separation: from intimacy (during her monthly bleeding cycle), which is meant to build anticipation for its restoration. The Hebrew word for “male” means to mark, give prominence to, or remember. To have a son means that one’s name is remembered. Here, it is a reminder that what is being dealt with during the “seven days” (7,000 years) of redemption history is the fact that we no longer have a direct line of communication with YHWH because Chawwah listened to the serpent (“whisperer” in Hebrew). Ever since then there have been things within ourselves that whisper to the selfishness latent in us. Every son born in Israel reminds us of that first woman’s selfishness, which stemmed from the sin of wanting to be in Elohim’s position. But YHWH also promised that the woman’s seed would defeat the serpent’s. (Gen. 3:15) Then we can be like the original Adam again, totally open and innocent in our relationship with YHWH. Here is the first step: YHWH put a covering of skin on Adam and Chawwah—in part a thickening of flesh over their hearts that has to be cut away, pictured by this outward, literal cutting:
3. "‘Then on the eighth day, the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.
The eighth day is when vitamin K and prothrombin (immune and blood clotting factors) are at their all-time highest levels in a boy's life, making it the very best time to promote quick healing. Every boy is allowed to live through one Sabbath cycle before undergoing this surgery. With the birth of each male, the possibility of redemption increased.(See note on v. 1.) Circumcision is a symbol of a commitment to raise this son as part of YHWH’s covenant with Israel. It forms a permanent reminder of the covenant right in his own body, and specifically in his procreative organ, where the voice of selfishness speaks most loudly in a male. It reminds us that the covenant is to be passed down through all generations. It pictures the putting off of the flesh, and is linked symbolically to the sealing of what remains as eternal after the seven "days" of a thousand years each in which the present creation exists. (See note on 9:1.)
4. "‘And she shall remain in the blood of her cleansing for thirty-three days, and she shall not touch anything holy, nor shall she enter the sanctuary until the days of her cleansing are completed.
Only the first seven days is she considered impure; then begins a process of repurification. Normally blood is a thing of impurity, but here it cleanses. She is relieved even of her responsibility to attend the festivals in the Temple, etc., without incurring guilt, so that she is able to give this time solely to the baby. The first word in Scripture that has the numeric value of thirty-three is k’ekhad (“as one [of us]”) right in that context, in Gen. 3:22. Chawwah’s temptation was to try to take YHWH’s position. We can indeed become like Him, but not in this way. He wants us in our innocence—not ignorance, but trust--and since the serpent cast doubt on YHWH’s intentions, we have had a very hard time trusting YHWH. Taking the serpent’s hint, Chawwah said, in effect, “It is my life and I need to be the one to make my own decisions.” She could not see her evil inclination for what it was. So YHWH imposed on her a husband’s rule. (Gen. 3:16) Today this is seen as a curse, but it was a great blessing, if she wants to see the redemption come about. Had Adam taken responsibility immediately and put an end to her wrongdoing through confession rather than blame-shifting, they would still be alive today, and would still be in the “eighth day”. The total purification time is 40 days. One word in Scripture with the numeric value of 40 is walad (“boy child”)! The woman’s part in redemption is to bring the reminder of sin; the son’s part is to eradicate it. YHWH gave us the covenant as a context to work together to accomplish what we could not do alone.
5. "‘But if she gives birth to a female, then she shall be ritually impure for two weeks, as in her separation, and she shall continue in the blood of her cleansing for sixty-six days.
Thus her cleansing lasts 80 days in all. One Hebrew word whose numeric value adds up to 80 is l’tamey, which means “for the uncleanness”. Why does everything double for the female? Because she is introducing another female cycle, built upon her own, into the world--a flow of blood which can defile others while she is alive. Only humans can do that; animals can only defile a person when they die, if he touches their dead body. But if one touches an “unclean” person, he is barred from entering the Temple for a whole day. While the Torah has a law about a rebellious son (Deut. 21:18ff), there is none about a rebellious daughter; apparently such a thing was not even expected, and may be due to having more time with her mother so early in her life. Her mother raises her much more closely than a son, who will before long have his father as his stronger role model. (Gibor) Might the title of the passage (“seed” in regard to a woman) hold a clue as to why she is off-limits for a longer time for a woman? The first time the term “seed” is used in regard to human beings, it is about the seed of the woman in particular. (Gen. 3:15) Physicist Arthur Custance found that the eggs in a woman are immortal until fertilized, and one such egg was meant to be supernaturally transformed into a man without human fertilization, thus allowing him to be on the same footing Adam had. Might this keeping of the woman off limits for a longer time when she has passed on these immortal eggs to another carrier have also somehow protected this egg ironically called “seed”?
6. "‘And when her days of cleansing are fulfilled for a son or daughter, she shall bring a year-old male lamb to serve as an ascending offering, and a young pigeon or turtledove to the priest at the door of the Tent of Appointment as a sin offering.
It is easy to understand why she should bring the ascending offering; it says, “YHWH is greater than I and worthy of my all.” But why a sin offering? Did this newborn baby sin? Not in a measurable way, but by virtue of inheriting the poisoned and corrupted blood of Adam, we are all born already "missing the mark" and needing reconciliation, and through this offering the whole community can receive YHWH’s favor until the physical world is actually restored. Since our first mother, everyone's relationship with YHWH has been clouded. It may be that had Chawwah not sinned, women would not even bleed during childbirth (for all shed blood must be atoned for), but would have had a very easy delivery like most animals do. Participating in this circumcision and associated offering is identifying with that and agreeing to do all we can to correct Chawwah’s error. The priest represents YHWH to the people, so the offerings are presented to him to demonstrate their response to YHWH Himself. Pigeon: Not the species we have in many cities of the West, but actually another type of dove distinct from the turtledove.
7. "‘And he shall bring it near into the presence of YHWH, and shall effect a covering for her, and she shall be cleansed from the flow of her blood. This is the instruction regarding her who gives birth, whether to a male or a female.
Flow: Heb., source, fountain, or wellspring, from the term for "dig". This suggests being cleansed from the inside out. While a normal menstrual cycle renders one "unclean", the blood shed after giving birth can actually be said to cleanse her. (v. 5) Yet now she needs to be cleansed from the blood as well. As crucial as the cleansing via Yeshua’s blood is, we need to move on to what it made possible: drawing near again.
8. "‘Now if her hand is unable to reach a lamb, then she must bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons, one to serve as an ascending [offering] and one as a sin offering, so the priest can effect a covering over her; then she will be cleansed.'"
Is there something dirty about having a baby? Not inherently, but a ritual is far bigger than merely a religious or social custom. A ritual is something repeated—possibly every day, every year, every generation, or every time there is a birth or death. It is akin to what is habitual, and indeed we do habitually fall into uncleanness. We cannot see ritual impurity (tumah) or purity (taharah), but we can do something—whether it is a particular action or just staying away from certain places--to bring us from one unseen state to the other. We may not look or smell any different. One might even have just stepped out of the bath, yet be ritually unclean, or be covered with mud, yet be “clean”. Nothing appears to change, but it does. Things we do physically can affect unseen realities. Yeshua was so in touch with it that he could sense when someone “unclean” had touched him. (Mark 5:30) We could just leave it at the level of ritual and think it is enough to be obedient, but there is a deeper meaning, and it is not incomprehensible. Ritual impurity is a picture of selfishness. We need to ascend out of it; hence, the ascending offering. She was rising out of her uncleanness in a rebirth also symbolized by the ritual washing she would undergo at this time, prior to entering the Temple. Unable to reach: i.e., she cannot afford a lamb. Yeshua's mother Miryam may have been this poor, because we are told that she brought this offering. (Luke 2:24) The gift of gold by the sages from the east had not yet been brought. Had David’s and Shlomoh’s royal line become so impoverished? The throne had been usurped by others. Ascending offering: This is to praise YHWH for the safe delivery of this child. She was rising out of her uncleanness in a rebirth also symbolized by the ritual washing she would undergo at this time, prior to entering the Temple. Cleansed: literally, made like new or brightened up. In our day, even in the Land of Israel no one is ritually pure until the ashes of another red heifer are present. The dove symbolizes the Spirit of Being Set Apart (Mat. 3:16), which is our down-payment (Eph. 1:14) so that our best efforts (based on YHWH’s instruction) to bring the Kingdom about, though inadequate, can be accepted in the meantime.
CHAPTER 13
1. Then YHWH spoke to Moshe and Aharon, saying,
2. "If a person has a swelling-up, a scab, a bright spot on the [bare] skin of his flesh, and it becomes in the skin of his body [like] the plague of leprosy [tzara'ath], then he shall be brought in to Aharon the priest, or to one of his sons the priests.
Yeshua even included “cleansing lepers” as one of the signs that his disciples should use to herald the Kingdom's arrival. (Mat. 10:8) This "leprosy" is not the specific flesh-devouring disease that bears this name today (also known as Hansen’s Disease), but a skin ailment more like psoriasis, yet it was not this either. Instead, it is a form of “uncleanness” that comes out in physical manifestations. The symptoms were just like several common occurrences, until they took on specific characteristics for which the priests had to watch, because they were signs of something deeper:
3. "Then the priest shall examine the mark in the [bare] skin of the flesh, and if the hair within the marked [area] has turned white, and the plague is, in appearance, deeper than the skin of his flesh, it is a plague of tzara'ath, and the priest must inspect him and pronounce him ritually impure.
The fact that it is more than skin-deep means it is more than just a surface blemish, though anything like this should alert us to the need to examine ourselves to make sure that is all it is. One would come to the priest to determine whether this skin blemish came from a deeper cause. He is the only one who can diagnose it, after examining the facts. He is not a doctor who treats the symptoms. He has the difficult job of sending some people outside of the camp if the diagnosis is positive. The cure can come from nowhere else, because these physical manifestations have spiritual rather than physical causes. In the three Biblical incidents in which someone was stricken with the disease, it punished the sin of being unsatisfied with what YHWH has created one to be, and defying those whom He has put in the coveted positions: when Miryam spoke against Moshe (Num. 12:10); when Elisha's servant Gehazi was greedy for the wealth Naaman offered, and misrepresented his authority (2 Kings 5:20ff); and when King Uzziyah tried to usurp the priests' position (2 Chron. 26:16ff). The root words for the three symptoms listed in v. 1—lifting up, attachment, and shining brightness-- signal us to especially beware of the threat of inward uncleanness. We are specifically told that Uzziyah’s heart was “lifted up”, precipitating the sin that earned him this plague. Attachment to the wrong things (as with Gehazi) takes us away from concern for the community, and when we are in a position of bright personal glory, we should be especially suspicious that this temptation lurks nearby. The first place this term “plague” (striking) was used was in Gen. 3:3, where Chawwah told the serpent more than what YHWH is recorded as having actually said: “You shall not eat of the fruit of this tree, nor even TOUCH it.” This was probably a “fence” that Adam himself added to the command to keep her one step away from disobeying the actual command, but this plague is linked all the way back to the first sin, in which Chawwah wanted to usurp even YHWH’s position, doing things the way she saw fit rather than according to YHWH’s instruction. Turned white: It looks pure! But the man whose name was “white” (Lavan) turned out to only favor Yaaqov because of how he could benefit him. Skin is part of the curse; it diminished the light with which Adam and Chawwah had been clothed, because their refusal to take responsibility and seek a remedy for their disobedience had already dimmed their reflection of YHWH. But this “bright spot” that comes from a deeper place means that some of Adam and Chawwah’s rebellion is showing through.
4. "But if the bright spot--the white place--that [which is] in the skin of his body--does not appear to be deeper than the skin, and its hair has not turned white, then the priest shall quarantine the plague for seven days.
Quarantine: Sometimes we must submit to personal inconveniences for the sake of the whole community, even if the examinee came on his own volition, for contact with what is unclean will make others unclean. If it is still a “maybe”, the waiting period is an important factor in the process of sorting the clean from the unclean. Just the fact that other people had to fill in for him so that the aspects of community life for which he was responsible would still get done should be enough to make him eager to resolve the issues and get back in order. The time of Yaaqov's trouble is a "week" (of seven years) at the beginning of the Messianic Kingdom. In the Hebraic mindset there are three categories of people: the righteous, the wicked, and the "sinners" who have not yet made their decision which way to go, but have drifted along in lukewarmness. David speaks of "teaching sinners YHWH's way", while YHWH sets Himself firmly against the wicked. At the very beginning of this apocalyptic season, some are separated away and pronounced "clean" or righteous, for they have prepared themselves in this age. Others are destroyed by plagues and disasters, having "still refused to repent". (Rev. 9:20; 16:9) The remainder are "shut out" of the wedding and coronation celebration for a "week" (literally a "seven"), and are pressed to decide one way or the other, for at the end of the book of Revelation only two categories remain--righteous and wicked, pictured here by "clean" and "unclean”. (22:11). If the character flaw runs "deeper than the flesh", it is to be dealt with in a different manner. If it "rolls off one's back" and does not adhere, it will not have a lasting effect; one member being confined for just seven days will teach others to work harder to make up for his being temporarily gone. Such a pronunciation will change someone’s life drastically, so he must therefore be fully convinced that his understanding is accurate. But if there is any doubt, one must err on the side of caution rather than following one’s natural inclination to not make “waves”.
5. "‘Then the priest shall inspect him on the seventh day, and if the spot indeed appears to him to have stabilized, and has not spread throughout the skin, then the priest shall quarantine him for seven more days,
It takes courage to confess and expose oneself to this long period of testing so that the rest of the camp can remain pure. One cannot mingle with the community as long as the signs of selfishness are on him. To be sure it had not spread, the borders of the spot would have to be marked so they could be compared with its borders a week later.
6. "then the priest must inspect him again on the seventh day, and if the spot has indeed faded and has not spread through the skin, the priest can pronounce him ritually pure [clean]; it is [only] a lesion. He must wash out his clothes, then be ritually pure.
Sometimes the scabs, scars, or swellings have no connection to an underlying selfishness. In this case the problem proves to be only “skin deep”. But if it looks like selfishness, one must prove that the suspicion has no basis, and by spending 14 days in solitary confinement with nothing else to do but ponder whether this emanates from a deeper problem, though one might not find this particular sin in himself, he will certainly find some negative things within his heart from which he needs to be purified. Such times of silent reflection are a blessing, not a curse, if they are effective in helping us examine and root out what is rising up in us, what we are wrongly attached to, or where too many of Adam and Chawwah’s faults are showing through. You will also identify strengths you have that you can use to help others. The Hebrew word for clothes here is from a root word meaning “deceit”, which also needs to be washed away.
7. "But if the lesion spreads very far in the skin after he has been inspected by the priest, he must be inspected a second time by the priest.
Like leaven, selfishness tends to spread and affect others if given the occasion. When discovered it must be dealt with decisively on the spreading edge, and its effects minimized.
8. "And the priest shall look, and if the lesion has indeed spread throughout the skin, the priest shall pronounce him ritually unclean; it is tzara'ath.
It is not tzara’ath unless the priest declares it so; otherwise it is merely a skin disease to be treated as appropriate to the nature of the disease, but this is a red flag from YHWH of a deeper problem, and has a special set of lessons we are to learn from the process of inspection and correction.
9. "When the mark of tzara'ath is on a person, he must be brought in to the priest,
Here, someone else notices the problem and brings him to the priestly authority for inspection. If you know someone threatens the purity of the congregation, do not wait for him to confess it himself; report it with the proper witnesses, protecting the other’s dignity, never with gossip or ridicule, but with the goal of restoring him. Ideally, if it is merely pointed out to him, he would judge himself, but if not, you must see him through the process. Yet while others can identify his selfishness, only he can do something about it.
10. "and the priest shall look, and if there is indeed a white swelling in the skin, and it has turned the hair white, and tender, raw flesh is in the swelling,
Tender, raw: both words stem from the word for "alive"—the “quick”. “Flesh” is an idiom for our natural tendencies, untaught by YHWH’s instruction. Whenever “live flesh” shows up, there is impurity, for “flesh” is a Hebrew term emphasizing our natural strength, which has been made mortal and corrupted through what Adam and Chawwah illegally ate. The condition of one's flesh is easy to judge in this case because it is right at the surface.
11. "it is a dormant tzara'ath in the skin of his body, and the priest shall pronounce him unclean; he shall not quarantine him, because he is [already determined to be] ritually impure.
Dormant: or festering. This is simply a flaring up of what was once kept at bay; the source and motive are already known, since it has been judged once already. It comes back later when one’s guard is down, seemingly with no warning. One may have made confession outwardly, but had not cut deeply enough to remove the whole problem, and it keeps coming back--usually at the worst times. There is no need to examine it in detail again. This should have been dealt with long ago.
12. "But if the tzara'ath breaks out abundantly throughout the skin, and the tzara'ath covers all of the skin of the plagued [person], from his head all the way to his feet--whatever is visible to the priest's eyes--
13. "then the cohen shall inspect [him], and if the tzara'ath has in fact concealed all of his flesh, he shall pronounce the plagued [one] clean. It has all turned white; he is ritually pure.
This seems backwards; how is he now suddenly clean, when if it was only partially present he was unclean? It is because at this point no flesh is showing, being scabbed over. The striking has had its intended, instructive effect rather than causing us to simply pity ourselves. The stroke can be a wake-up call, a corrective prodding back toward the right direction, rather than a punishment. If one listens to it and "comes to the end of himself", having “no flesh left”, he dies to self. Even if he has been far more sinful than most, he can become pure in YHWH's eyes, for he has recognized his inclination to selfishness, and can now do something about it, and will humble himself and ask for help. Yeshua told a parable about a wicked man who recognized his wretchedness, and went home justified, while a very religious man who focused on himself (for that is what ritual impurity depicts) did not. (Luke 18:10ff) It was this kind of “leprosy” that initially proved Moshe’s authority was not for the sake of self (Ex. 4:6). The stroke can be a wake-up call, a corrective prodding back toward the right direction, rather than a punishment. So see it as a gift, for each time we examine ourselves we can overcome another imperfection—and this should make us very alert and watchful lest the process should start again. On the other hand, that he has become so completely consumed by it means that either the problem was too drastic to do anything about or he has not dealt with it soon enough when he could have. Now that it has run its course, he can no longer cover it up or lie about it; he has to become humble, and he has no choice but to change his ways. So he can come back into the community, but if he let it get this far, people will remember this and he may be excluded from some positions as anyone with a poor record of honesty would be.
14. "(while on the day [in which] raw flesh appears in him, he is unclean.
Appears: or "is seen"--i.e. as soon as it affects others. One is unclean as soon as he stops dying to self. Our experience is so inconsistent—back and forth, on-again, off-again. Our flesh can come back to life when we get back into our old routines after having “mountaintop spiritual experiences” in which we have gotten more into synchronization with YHWH and His community. Then it is “back to square one”.
15. "And the priest shall inspect the raw flesh and shall pronounce him [ritually] impure; the raw flesh is impure; it is tzara'ath.)
16. "Or, if the raw flesh reverses and changes to white, then he shall report to the priest,
The turning white is a picture of the flesh being restored to light, thus reversing the curse on Adam and "repairing the world". "Thin-skinned" oversensitivity that takes things too personally has been done away with. Report to the priest: He needs to be the one to ask whether what appears in him is harmful to the community, rather than just leaving his sleeves down and hiding it. This type of discipline is for his restoration if he receives it rightly.
17. "and the priest shall inspect him, and [if] the spot has indeed turned white, the priest shall pronounce the plagued [one] clean; he is clean.
18. "Now when the flesh has in its skin an inflamed sore, but it has been healed,
Inflamed: or heated; often identified as an infection.
19.
"and in place of the inflammation, [there is] a bright white spot [which is also] very reddish, then he must present himself to the priest,
"and in place of the inflammation, [there is] a bright white spot [which is also] very reddish, then he must present himself to the priest,Bright spot: or white patch; possibly a scar or blister. Very reddish: the root word is reduplicated; the spelling suggests “blood-red” or, more poignantly, “Adam-red”, and related to the word for “ground”, the dust out of which Adam was taken before his soul was enlivened with YHWH’s breath, and to which he was told he would return when he went wrong. Adam is showing through. (Gen. 2:7) When Adam’s spirit was fully intact, he had direct communication with YHWH, bringing life even to the lowest aspects of his being. Though much lower than YHWH, he was perfectly one with Him. Once he severed that connection, only soul and perishable dust were left. His line of communication was cut; YHWH had to come looking for him! YHWH wanted to resuscitate him, but he made excuses instead. Now that he knew two kinds of reality instead of only one, he did not want to be seen as evil, and would not confess his responsibility. He would not accept the re-connection YHWH offered, so all he remained was living dust. (Gen. 3:19)
20. "and if, when the priest looks, it appears to have indeed sunk lower than the skin, and the hair in it has turned white, then the priest must pronounce him unclean; it is a plague of tzara'ath that has broken out within the inflamed sore.
Surface selfishness (a mere brush with it) can reveal our tendency to not prefer one another.
21. "But if the priest looks at it, and beholds no white hairs in it, and it has not sunken lower than the skin, but has grown more faint, then the priest must quarantine him for seven days.
22. "But if it has spread very far throughout the skin, the priest shall declare him unclean; it is a plague.
23. "However, if the bright spot has remained as it was and not spread, it is the scar of the inflammation; the priest may declare him clean.
As it was: "in its place"; Aramaic, "stationary". Though we taste the effects of selfishness, if we are able to discipline ourselves to stay in our place within Israel, the potentially-evil results can be restrained and no harm come from it to others.
24. "Now [as to] flesh in which the skin has a burn from fire, and the burnt flesh has become a bright white spot [or one that is] somewhat reddish,
25. "when the priest examines it, and the hair has indeed turned white within the bright spot, and it appears to be deeper than the skin, then it is tzara'ath in the burn. It has broken out, and the priest shall declare him unclean; it is the plague of tzara'ath.
The burn looks very much like “leprosy”, but just because we know the cause of the burn does not mean we do not have to have it inspected, because it is always possible that both conditions are present. One could be conveniently used as a cover-up for the other, and someone might even go so far as to deliberately burn himself if he sees the signs of “leprosy” beginning to appear and he does not want the stigma. While many judgments in Torah can be carried out at lower levels such as one’s ruler of ten or fifty, this affliction is from YHWH Himself and must be inspected at the highest level; no other option is permitted.
26. "But if the priest inspects it, and there is no white hair in the bright spot after all, and it is not lower than the skin, but it has faded, then the priest shall quarantine him for seven days.
27. "Then the priest shall inspect him on the seventh day; if it has continued to spread, the priest can pronounce him unclean; it is the plague of tzara'ath.
28. "But if the bright spot remains in its place, not spreading throughout the skin, but is somewhat faint, it is a swelling of the scar, and the priest shall declare him clean, because it is a scab from the burn.
Scars elevate us if we learn from the times we are chastised. They remind us not to repeat our errors. Scar tissue helps us survive, but is weaker than ordinary flesh, so it is better to avoid them from the start.
29. "[As for] a man or woman who has in himself a plague on the head or jaw,
30. "then the priest shall inspect the plague, and if it indeed appears to be deeper than the skin, with a thin, yellowed hair in it, the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is a skin eruption, that is, a tzara'ath of the head or jaw.
Skin eruption: from a word meaning "to pull away" like a scab. One part of the body pulling away from another and leaving a raw spot is a picture of what is described in Prov. 18:1. "For the sake of his own lusts one separates himself, thus laying bare all that is substantial (or sound)." If one prefers to be away from the community and off on his own, that in itself is the punishment! Deeper than the skin: thus killing the hair follicles as well, showing that this is no longer a small problem--a picture of utter moral decay. Thin hair: one that has withered. Yellowed: This is not an ordinary blonde hair, but one that shines in an abnormal way. The Hebrew word for hair comes from a word meaning "be terrified", in the sense of bristling with fear. So a withered hair pictures one whose fear of YHWH has faded away--common when one is selfish.
31. "But if the priest looks at the wound of the scab, and it does not appear deeper than the skin after all, yet there is no black hair in it, then the priest shall quarantine the one plagued by the scab for seven days.
Black [or dark] hair: the norm in the Middle East. We could substitute “healthy” or “ordinary”.
32. "Then the priests shall inspect the plague on the seventh day, and if the skin eruption indeed has not spread, and there is no shining hair in it, and the skin eruption appears no deeper than the skin,
33. "then he shall shave himself, but he shall not shave the scab. And the priest shall cause the one who has the skin eruption to be quarantined for seven more days,
Shave himself: the Aramaic Targum Onqelos interprets it, "shave in the surrounding areas of the scurf, but that [hair] which is attached to the scurf he should not shave." This would reveal the exact borders of the affected area, and show easily whether the scab had spread beyond where it was the week before. If the priest was inspecting numerous people during the course of the week, he would probably not always remember how large the affected area had been seven days earlier.
34. "Then the priests shall inspect the scab on the seventh day, and if the skin eruption has indeed not spread throughout the skin, and it does not appear to be deeper than the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him clean. When he has washed his garments, then he shall be [ritually] clean.
35. "But if the eruption spreads further in the skin after his purification,
36. "and when the priest inspects him, the eruption has spread through the skin after all, the priest need not [even] look for the yellowed hair; he is unclean.
Only this one sign is necessary to prove that the plague was not really gone; no further evidence need even be sought for. We can still go back to the same selfish habits, and the process of purification needs to begin another whole round.
37. "But if in his eyes, the skin eruption has stabilized, and black hair has started growing in it [again], the eruption has been healed. He is [ritually] clean and the priest shall declare him clean.
In his eyes: as best he can tell; in his opinion.
38."Now, man or woman, if there come to be shiny spots--white blisters--in the skin of their flesh
"Now, man or woman, if there come to be shiny spots--white blisters--in the skin of their flesh39. "after the priest has [already] inspected it, but the bright spots in the skin of their flesh are [only] a dull white, it is a pale eruption that breaks out from the skin; he is clean.
The impurities of what we take in come out in the skin. But one is only declared unclean if the priest has inspected him. "Where there is no law, there is no transgression...Where there is no law, sin is not counted." (Rom. 4:15; 5:13) If the authority has not "shined his light" on someone and "audited" them, we are not their judge either. Once one knows the truth, he is responsible.
40. "Now if a man's head grows smooth, he is [only] bald; he is [still] ritually clean.
Grows smooth: LXX, "should lose the hair". I.e., this is nothing to worry about.
41. "And if his head grows bare from the edge of his face, he has a receding hairline; he is clean.
From the edge of his face: LXX, "in front". Receding hairline: a different Hebrew word from bald, meaning specifically a high forehead. This has nothing to do with selfishness; in fact, many become less selfish when the hair is gone, and it can instead be a sign of maturity!
42. "But if there comes to be a reddish-white mark on the bald spot, it is a tzara'ath breaking out on his bald spot or receding hairline,
43. "and the priest shall inspect him, and if the swelling of the mark on his bald spot or receding hairline is indeed reddish-white like the appearance of tzara'ath in the skin of the flesh,
44. "then he is a leper; he is ritually unclean--impure; the priest shall declare him to be unclean; the plague is on his head.
It is more significant when the ailment is on one’s head, the seat of our thoughts and intentions.
45. "And the leper who has the spot on him shall [go around with] his garments torn and his head uncovered, and he shall cover his upper lip and call out, "Unclean! Unclean!"
"Cover his upper lip": the custom of a mourner. He also has “no say” in the community. Most of our selfishness manifests itself through our mouths. The beard, which the Mishnah says is "the glory of a man's face", is hidden; this also had an epidemiological purpose, to prevent the spread of the plague. Head uncovered: Aramaic, "hair disheveled"; unkempt, or uncut. There is no dignity for one who is confirmed to be selfish. It also exposes the fact that he has the disease so others can keep their distance. Torn garments are also signs of mourning and repentance. This would catch everyone’s attention and show them that he is remorseful, and this is the way healing can come. Call out: for the same reason the tombs on the way to Yerushalayim were whitewashed as the pilgrim festivals approached (alluded to in Matithyahu 23:27)--they kept people who did not wish to be defiled from coming close to them. No other person in a ritually impure state is required to do this; only lepers. Everyone has temptations, but like those on the sex-offender lists today, when one lets it get the better of his judgment, others must be warned. Someone who has let his flesh take over has to constantly proclaim his selfishness to the whole community. He cannot hide or cover it up and pretend it is not true; he must confess, or healing will never come. But if this was something with a physical cause, which he could do nothing about, this would be rather cruel, so this part of the ritual, though embarrassing, is actually a reminder that there is still hope of restoration.
46. "And during the days that the spot is on him, he is ritually impure; he shall live in isolation. He is unclean; he must dwell outside the camp.
Outside the camp: he may even have to move his tent there. This type of uncleanness is more about being separated from the community than being separated from YHWH’s presence. The bulk of the Torah is not religious as such, but about keeping the corporate entity intact, and it is the responsibility of the whole community to keep certain things out so it can remain whole. If we cannot solve our interpersonal problems within the normal authority structures, we have to call in a third party, or it will become infectious, spreading further. Today when we have no priesthood, it behooves us all the more to be skilled in interpretation of Torah. Selfishness is rewarded with its own logical conclusion: becoming solitary and being cast out of the community that he did not think he wanted to be a part of. Outside the camp, one is more vulnerable to enemy attack. Isolation: The one thing YHWH said was not right about His creation was a man being alone. (Gen. 2:18) So this is the worst thing that can befall someone. The priest cannot cure this, but puts him in a position where he has to look at himself and ask where he really stands: Is he on the outside or the inside? What is it that makes him feel alone, though he is in the midst of a community? A bitter attitude? A lack of trust? Don’t let the past keep you permanently leprous. YHWH also scattered Israel to many separate places when we would not be unified, and the Torah, which is written for a people, not many persons, could no longer be walked out properly until YHWH began to allow us repentance. There are some clues to understanding in the rearrangement of the letters in the word tzara’ath: ratzah means “desire” and ta’aratz means “to be afraid”—both often causes of sin. Tara’atz means “He will dash in pieces”—the end result if we do not deal with our rebellion. But when the letters are put in alphabetical order in Hebrew, they spell ‘atzereth—the conclusion or summing up on the eighth day of Sukkoth (23:36) which allows for the fruits of the seven days to be preserved and carried onward. If we train ourselves and get our flesh back in order, the seven days of inspection can have a positive result.
47. "And the garment in which there comes to be a mark of tzara'ath--in a garment of animal hair or a garment of plant fiber,
The simplest translation of these two types of garments is "wool or flax" (i.e., linen).
48. "whether in the warp or woof of flax, wool, or anything made of [an animal] hide,
Warp: something one's hand is set to, imposed upon, or hand-made; woof: what interweaves with the warp. Hide: or leather; literally "skin".
49. "if the mark turns greenish or reddish in the garment or skin, whether in the warp or woof or anything made of a hide, it is a mark of tzara'ath, and it shall be shown to the priest,
50. "and the priest shall inspect the mark and quarantine the plague for seven days.
Garments represent our works, but this particular word for garment means the outermost one, which conceals the bodily shape and often has marks that identify one’s station in life, who he worships (via the tzitzith), or who he belongs to. Most people would have only one (which shows how much someone has meant to one if one tears his garment when mourning), and it doubled as one’s blanket at night (Ex. 22:27), so having to turn it over to the cohen for longer than he would to a creditor means he would not only be uncomfortable, and therefore unable to avoid looking for the deeper cause of his affliction, but it would also temporarily deprive him of his customary identity, and force him to think deeply about who he really is without the cloak that covers up his flaws. Now the integrity of his covering is in question; looking at it this way gives us many possible applications.
51. "And he shall inspect the mark on the seventh day, and if the mark has spread throughout the garment, hand-made or woven item, skin, or work of leather, the mark is a malignant tzara'ath; it is unclean,
Malignant: embittering, erupting, or corroding, or simply active. It is contagious and will ruin anything it spreads to. Garments are a picture of our works(white ones symbolizing righteousness), but the Hebrew term can also mean a cloak of deceit or treachery. Are our actions coming from the flesh or from Kingdom motivation? Sometimes our works affect more people than we ourselves do; thus a garment can be unclean while the person wearing it is not: his heart may be right, but his works need to change, be cleaned up, or done away with. If what we wear leads people to put us in a category that we do not actually fit (such as one who is morally loose), we need to alter the way we dress to communicate the right thing.
52. "and he must burn the garment, hand-made or woven item, any leather article, because it is a malignant tzara'ath; with fire it must be burned.
53. "But if the priest looks, and the mark has not spread through the garment, hand-made or woven item, or any article of leather after all,
54. "then the priest shall give [the] order, and they shall launder the item that has the mark in it, and quarantine it for another seven days.
55. "Then the priest shall inspect the mark after it has been laundered out, and if the mark has neither changed in appearance nor spread, it is unclean; you shall burn it with fire. It has eaten away a hollow spot, a bare place either on the inside or outside.
Even if it is not getting worse, if it is still there after reasonable treatment, we must get rid of it altogether. If our unsound works do not change, they are worthless to YHWH. Bare place...inside or outside: can mean the smooth side or the fluffy/unworn side, but these are the same Hebrew words for bald spot or receding hairline in the verses above. These skins were not designed to go bald like some human skin is.
56. "But if the priest looks, and the mark has indeed faded after it was laundered, then he shall tear it out of the garment, skin, hand-made or woven item.
The garment can be spared, but not in unaltered condition. Something must be removed and possibly replaced. The hole or patch would always remind us that at one time there was something there that we could not solve without an outside entity being called in to deal with it from an angle we could not identify on our own. Some scars cannot be healed in this life, and remain with us as Yeshua’s did—a testimony to how others’ evil deeds affect even the righteous, but there are still ways to live joyfully in spite of painful memories.
57. "Then if it still appears in the garment, hand-made or woven item, or any article [made] of leather, it is spreading; with fire you must burn what had the mark in it.
Skin, a garment, and a house are all coverings that are very hard to replace. This process teaches us not to neglect what is most important or we are likely to lose something very valuable or at least part of it.
58. "But [as for] the garment, hand-made or woven item, or any article of leather from which the mark goes away when you launder it, when you wash it a second time it will be clean.
Repentance is not enough; submission to the test of its genuineness is also required. “Not because of righteous works that we have done did He spare us, but by the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Spirit of Holiness.” (Titus 3:5)
59. "This is the instruction in regard to pronouncing a mark of tzara'ath (in a garment of wool or flax, or hand-made or woven item, or any article [made] of leather) [either] clean or unclean."
TORAH PORTION
Thazria
(Leviticus 12-13)
INTRODUCTION: This portion holds some concepts which sound rather unusual to the modern mind, partly because YHWH’s ways are not our ways and His commands for Israel’s physical lives teach us about realities that are beyond the physical and cannot easily be explained any other way. On the other hand, modern medicine is catching up with these ancient teachings about quarantining certain conditions, which keeps other people from being exposed to them and saves lives. And modern hospitals tell a woman who has just given birth to abstain from relations for six weeks so she can fully recover—not far off from YHWH’s 40-day command here. And the 8th day for her son is also the healthiest time in his whole life to have the procedure YHWH requires done on him. YHWH is the master of weaving together into the same commands both ideal physical conditions and deep spiritual teachings, as well as the bonus of prototypes of what Messiah would be. YHWH’s concern for the inability of some women to afford the required offerings shines through as well, and gives us another insight into the level to which the royal line of David had been allowed to sink by Judean society by the time his long-awaited descendant finally showed up.
The unusual skin condition described in the second chapter of this portion also weaves together both the literal and figurative meanings of “flesh”, showing where many of the things most toxic to our neighbors actually do originate. It also helps show us how to sort out which problems are only “skin deep”. The inspections by the priests also hold an amazing prophecy about the end of the age, when those who do not clearly fit into the category of “righteous” or “wicked” are given an extra “seven” to see which way their loyalties will prove to go when given the ultimate tests. But the Scriptural examples of people who actually had this disease show us that it is not actually of physical origin; it is the result of the other aspect of our “flesh”—yet because things in that dimension are just as contagious if not more so than those in the visible realm, the isolation of this kind of carrier is even more important in Israelite law than carriers of the more familiar maladies. And the strange verdict that once someone is totally covered with this disease, he is now “clean”—what do we make of that? And how does the Hebrew tell us something about these red spots that doesn’t come through at all in a translation? How do we arrest the spread of the uncleanness? And can garments get this disease too? How does that fit in with all of this? Such are the wonders beneath the surface of this many-faceted passage…
More Than Skin Deep
In this portion, we see some examples of how modern science is catching up to what Moshe (possibly informed directly by YHWH) knew some 3,500 years ago: Doctors tell a woman who has just given birth to refrain from marital relations for “six weeks” (pretty close to the 40 days of separation commanded in Leviticus chapter 12). And (at least when wisdom is allowed to outweigh the “right” to not be inconvenienced) people with communi-cable diseases are quarantined—the then-revolutionary concept in chapter 13. Who can count how many lives this practice has saved over the centuries?
The one examining the disease needs to determine whether it is spreading. They didn’t have permanent markers when this was written, so we were directed to shave the hair around, but not directly in the affected area. (13:33) That way they could easily see if it spread beyond where it had reached at the last inspection.
But look at it from a different angle: one of the identifying symptoms of this unusual disease (which seems, in examples cited later, to stem from spiritual rather than physical factors, yet is still contagious) is that it goes deeper than the surface. (13:3, 20, 25, 30)
This tips us off that there are other, analogous applications for these principles—because we all have things beneath the surface that we struggle to keep hidden. They say “beauty is more than skin deep”. But so are many ugly things that can bubble up from the depths of the human heart.
But if they stay hidden, they just fester and get worse. Then when they inevitably do build up, they burst and spill over onto other people in a way that does even more damage. So they have to be dealt with.
At some stages, if there is one symptom present, we don’t even need to look any further to declare the sufferer contaminated (13:11, 26); but if it has stopped spreading, the patient is again free to intermingle with others (13:28) after taking a few precautions.
So what are the remedies outlined here? How do we stop the spread?
First, as with every recovery program, we have to admit we have a problem. And, as in ancient times, we all need someone more objective than ourselves to help us do the dealing. (13:2) We don’t have priests right now, but start with those who know YHWH’s standard best—those who get a Sabbath day’s perspective. (13:4) It also helps if they know you well and can predict what you might tend to want to hide.
What gets “under your skin”? Pay special attention to things that “touch a raw nerve” (13:10), because there is something old there (13:11) that causes a reaction disproportionate to the “straw” that set it off. Isolate what it is that you are really reacting to, and leave yesterday in the past.
And when someone else has hit bottom and is genuinely changed by the punishment that naturally follows his selfish decisions, accept this as sufficient; don’t remind him of what he used to be, but let him have a fresh start just as you would want one. (13:13)
Study Questions:
1. What is the difference between “uncleanness” (Lev. 12:2) and the “blood of purification” (12:4)? Why does one need to be cleansed from a flow of blood (12:7)?
2. This Torah portion’s name has to do with seed. Might the command for a woman to be “off limits” twice as long after the birth of a daughter than after the birth of a son (12:4-5) relate somehow to the first time the term “seed” is used in regard to human beings--the seed of the woman in particular? (Gen. 3:15) What might the connection be?
3. What does Lev. 12:8 tell us about the condition of the family in which the royal seed of David resided by 1,000 years after David? (Luke 2:24)
4. Why is one brought to a priest rather than a doctor for analysis of this particular skin disease (and only this one)? (13:2-3) What does Lev. 13:20 tell us about the source of this disease? What do B’Midbar/Numbers 12, 2 Kings 5:15-27, 2 Chron. 26:16-20 show? What do those who were struck with it have in common? What do you therefore need to be careful about?
5. Why wait seven days to determine what the diagnosis is? (13:3-8) What other types of determination might this be a picture of?
6. What does the white hair (13:25) remind us of which tells us why tzara’ath makes someone unclean?
7. Why is someone clean if the tzara’ath has covered all of his skin (13:12-13)?
8. Once one has been declared clean, can he let his guard down? (13:14)
9. Beside human beings, what else can get tzara’ath? (13:47) What are the similarities and differences?9. What does a physical plague "deeper than the skin" (13:30, etc.) and "in their flesh" (13:38-39) picture on a metaphorical level (but maybe not only so)?
10. Beside human beings, what else can get tzara’ath? (13:47) What are the similarities and differences?
The Sidewalk
for Kids
What if people could tell you had done something wrong by looking at you?
Do you remember the story of Pinocchio--how his nose got longer if he told a lie? Well, this Torah portion tells us about something a lot like that. It’s not quite as obvious, because maybe you could hide this one under your clothes, at least sometimes. But this was a disease that appeared on somebody’s skin if they wanted something that didn’t belong to them—and tried to do something about it.
Right here there are only rules about what to do if you get this disease, and how the priests can tell if it’s really that or just something that looks like it. But in other parts of the Bible, we have examples of people actually getting it, and why they did.
King Uzziyahu was a very good king—one of the better ones in Yehudah, which had a better record than the Northern Kingdom of Israel, who didn’t have ANY king that YHWH called good. Uzziyahu was just 16 when he became king. Can you imagine that? But he had a good father who loved YHWH, and Uzziyahu followed in his footsteps. (2 Chronicles 26) So YHWH let him win his battles and even invent new weapons. He let him and his people have plenty to eat and build new cities and make the old ones stronger. He really stood out. But he let it go to his head, and thought he could do anything he wanted, even go into the Temple where only priests were to go and burn incense, when YHWH had said the priests were the ones to do this. He wanted somebody else’s job, but he didn’t just think about doing it; he did it, and suddenly he got this disease, tzara’ath. It never went away for the rest of his life, so somebody else had to do his job as king, because he couldn’t appear in public ever again.
Another example was when Naaman, a general from Syria, got this disease. (2 Kings 5) We don’t know why, but an Israelite slave-girl he had captured in battle told him there was a prophet of YHWH who might be able to cure him, so he came and saw Elisha and did get cured, and he wanted to reward Elisha. But Elisha knew he had not done it, but YHWH had, so he said, “No, that’s okay, keep your gifts.” So he left, taking some of the soil from Israel with him so he could bow down to YHWH on it! But Elisha’s helper, Gehazi, couldn’t believe Elisha had turned down such an offer, so he secretly went after Naaman and told a lie, saying, “Hey, my master just got some visitors, and we need some of the things you offered to help take care of them while they stay with us.” And Naaman said, “Sure! You can have twice that much!” But though Elisha didn’t see him go, YHWH showed him what he did, and he asked him where he had gone. But, just like Pinocchio, he lied again and said, “I didn’t go anywhere!” But Elisha told him, “Because you did this, the tzara’ath that Naaman was cured of is going to come back—onto you! And not only you—but on any children or grandchildren you ever have!” And right away the disease showed up on him in a way that the priests would have no question recognizing.
But the last case of tzara’ath the Bible tells us about (which actually came first in history) was when Moshe’s own sister, Miryam, didn’t like the woman Moshe had married. (Numbers 12) But she didn’t just think it; she said something against Moshe, the man YHWH had chosen to lead Israel: “You’re not YHWH’s only prophet! He spoke through me and through Aharon too!” She thought her opinion counted, too, as much as his, and Moshe didn’t want to argue with her about it. But YHWH told all three of them, “Come out to the Tabernacle; we need to talk!” He told Miryam and Aharon (who must have been telling her, “Yeah, you’re right!”), “Moshe is more special to me than any other prophet. Why weren’t you afraid to say something bad about him?” And she suddenly got this disease, and it looked so horrible that Moshe was afraid she would die. Aharon confessed, “We did something foolish!” and Moshe begged YHWH to heal her, and He did, but said, “She still has to wait 7 days to go back into the camp just like anybody else.” Even though she had once led all the women in Israel in singing and dancing about when YHWH rescued them all from Pharaoh, she had to feel the shame of being shut out of YHWH’s camp, so she would learn her lesson about wanting more than she deserved and trying to make someone else look bad so she could be recognized as somebody.
YHWH later reminded all of Israel about this so they wouldn’t do the same thing and so they would be sure to treat the priests with honor by doing exactly what they said when they judged whether someone had this disease or not. (Deuteronomy 24:8-9) So we had better learn from their mistakes so we don’t do the same thing!
Companion Passage:
The Renewal of THAZRIA
As I write this, the whole world is in various degrees of quarantine to prevent the spread of a pandemic disease. The word “quarantine” actually means “forty” in Latin. Dictionary.com tells us why: it means “a period, originally 40 days, of detention or isolation imposed upon ships, persons, animals, or plants on arrival at a port or place, when suspected of carrying some infectious or contagious disease.” Sounds pretty familiar these days, doesn’t it?
This Torah portion discusses two types of quarantine. In fact, the first one discussed is where we get the very idea of that 40 days of separation. In this case, for 40 days, a woman who has produced the fruit of having been “sown with seed” (the meaning of tazria) is kept separate from both her husband’s bed and from touching anything holy. That’s if she gives birth to a male, which is zakar (“marked” and thus “remembered”) in Hebrew. (Lev. 12:2-4) The use of this word seems to be both to remind us that there was a curse placed on child-bearing (Gen. 3:16) and to remind us of the promise that one day a male child would overcome that curse by crushing the head of the serpent who had introduced that curse to humanity and brought untold sorrow to the world. (3:15)
If she gives birth to a female child, there is a double quarantine—80 days altogether. I think this has something to do with the fact that if she bears a daughter, it is clear that this is not the one whose conception came without her having been “sown” with corrupt seed, for this “seed” who would bruise the serpent’s head (though the seed only of a woman) is called “he”, not “she”.
The first time the term “seed” is used in regard to human beings, it is about this “seed of the woman” in particular. (Gen. 3:15) Physicist Dr. Arthur Custance showed scientifically that the eggs in a woman are immortal until fertilized. The poison that is still in our bloodstreams because of that fruit in the Garden affects us all, but is passed on by the male; the unfallen image of Elohim is locked away in the woman’s “seed”, but once she has been “sown with seed”, her part of the “seed” has become defiled as well. But one such egg was meant to be supernaturally transformed into a man without human fertilization, thus allowing him to be on the same footing Adam had, and to “re-boot” the human race. Might this keeping of the woman off limits for a longer time when she has passed on these immortal eggs to another carrier have also somehow been about protecting this egg ironically called “seed”?
The other form of quarantine found in portion Thazria (chapter 13) is much more like the modern idea, at least on the surface. It’s about something more like a disease that can spread—tzara’ath, a skin condition often called “leprosy”, but not really like the one called by that name today (Hansen’s Disease). The only similarity is that it appears in the skin and can spread. But the spread of this disease is a picture of the spread of something that causes it, for, although it can spread to others, it starts not with a bacteria or virus, but with something else that is “deeper than the skin” (13:3)—the “flesh”, which in Hebrew lore, refers to one’s natural strength (“the arm of flesh”), which, even when at its strongest, cannot accomplish things that YHWH can.
In the Renewed Covenant, we see “flesh” used this way, showing that the flesh cannot overcome our evil inclination at its root. And the weakness of our flesh actually spreads—so the first quarantine of ritual impurity is no less dangerous. That can affect holy things (12:4), even the Torah itself: “For what the Torah was unable to do, weakened as it was by the flesh, YHWH did: by sending His own Son in the resemblance of sinful flesh, and as a sin offering, He brought the final judgment upon sin [that resides] in the flesh.” (Romans 8:3) The Torah showed the standard, but was powerless to, by itself, overcome the pull in the opposite direction (detailed in Romans chapter 7). “Those who operate in the [strength of] flesh [alone] have no power to please Elohim.” (8:8) But there is something now that can.
“Not by might, and not by power, but by My Spirit” (Zkh. 4:6.) –the way YHWH will overcome the flesh--has much to do with the “seed of the woman”, for when Miryam asked the heavenly messenger how she could possibly bear a son without having “been sown” (in the terms of this Torah portion), the answer was that “the Spirit of Holiness will come over you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.” (Luke 1:35) Not by fleshly power, and the same holds true for those to whom this healing power “spreads”: “That which is born of flesh is flesh; that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” (Yochanan 3:6) “It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh does not help at all.” (6:63) “As many as received him, to them he gave power to become 'sons' of Elohim, who are born not of blood [another allusion to the births in Leviticus 12], nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of a man, but of Elohim.” (Yoch. 1:12-13)
But this quarantine is not tied to 40 days in particular, but—much like the season of counting 7 weeks during which this portion is read each year--a series of sevens, after each of which there is another test to see if the spread is still active or if it has been contained and eventually reversed. This is a special disease, unlike any other, by which YHWH allows a hidden sin harbored deep within ourselves to be brought to the surface and exposed so that the attitude underlying it can stop spreading to others.
The very last stage is a partial rehabilitation where one is brought home but still kept outside the house for the final seven days so that he still has time apart from normal responsibilities to ponder how he is going to merge back into the household that has had to get along without him, showing that he is not, after all, as indispensable as he had thought, but now has to subordinate his “flesh” to the needs of the family and community at large—or he will end up back outside for another round of re-education as to what the “self” is really for and how it can be used in a positive, fruitful manner.
So the two quarantines are alike, after all: the first part is about isolation and stopping the spread, and the last part (the great majority of the time) is about re-purification. (See 12:4,5) Interestingly, for the woman who has borne a child, the time is called “the blood of her purification”. She is no longer bleeding, but during the one parenthesis between her time of uncleanness and this latter, long process (the eighth day—only in the case of a male child), her son is made to bleed in order for the covenant that solves the problem to be “marked” right in his flesh and thus passed on to each generation.
But the blood of that one unique son—the “seed of the woman”—brought about the purification of not only his mother but “the mother of all living”--Hawwah (Eve)—and any child of hers who wants to be included not in the sinking race of Adam, but in the race of the restored Adam which was brought about in part because of Yeshua’s 40 days of isolation, in which he overcame the world, his own flesh, and the adversary and thus was able to “spread” this counteracting spirit to us as well: “If the Spirit of the One who raised Yeshua from the dead dwells in you, then He who raised the Messiah from the dead will bring life to even your mortal bodies as well!” (Rom. 8:11)
So…does it dwell in you? If not, ASK Him for it!
What Lurks
Beneath the Surface?
Both this and the next Torah portion are about tzara’ath (not exactly leprosy, but a skin-related disease) and other similar maladies that can render you—and everyone you touch—ritually impure. They are more than skin-deep: they come from the flesh (Lev. 13:2-4) and are thus pictures of the spiritual problem we inherited from Adam that causes other people problems when it reaches the surface. Touching the flesh of the affected person (among other things his oozing discharge has gotten onto) renders other people defiled (Lev. 15:7) and unable to enter holy places or be in the company of those who are ritually clean.
I go into detail about this Hebraic metaphorical use of “flesh” elsewhere. But Thazria starts out with part of a baby boy’s flesh being removed early on (Lev. 12:3), before it becomes a problem. Yes, in a fallen world, the foreskin actually does cause medical problems. One reason circumcision became standard practice in the modern world is that during World War I, when soldiers in the trenches could not bathe for long periods, Jewish combatants did not experience some of the infectious diseases that everyone else did. In an environment like the Garden of Eden, the foreskin might have offered a bit more modesty in keeping the rest of one’s member partly hidden, and the open air and sunlight might have prevented any problems, but now it is a particularly-strong breeding ground for bacteria. So, when choosing how to put a sign of the covenant right in our bodies, YHWH picked something that would also have a healthful benefit, while also giving it a more meaningful purpose to overcome our hesitancy. (Ex. 4:24-26)
This is a good example of how, although all that YHWH created is good (1 Timothy 4:4), some aspects of what He meant for a better purpose can become stumblingblocks because of the tendencies set in motion by the forbidden fruit. Since then nothing has been normal, and even what is “natural” is still corrupted from its original state. The “arm of flesh” (2 Chron. 32:8) is an idiom for our physical strength—normally a good thing, but when we rely on it (rather than on YHWH), it becomes a sort of idol (Jeremiah 17:5), as can anything we trust in as our ultimate security instead of Him. (Psalm 118:8-9)
So, like this spiritual disease that lurks below the surface, the “flesh” must be kept at bay. It only becomes a problem when allowed to flow freely (13:22) and “get on other people”. (Lev. 15:3-12) “If the spot stays in its place and does not spread…the priest shall pronounce him clean.” (Lev. 13:28)
So these commands are a picture of what must be done to inhibit it from becoming a problem: “All the days in which the plague is on him,…he must live by himself; his dwelling must be outside the camp.” (13:46) It has to be isolated so it can do no damage. We have recognized the value of such quarantining during the recent pandemic, and it was all the more important when there were no antibiotics available.
The regeneration by which we receive the Second Adam’s blueprint does something amazing: it removes the corrupt “heart” and gives us one that agrees with YHWH’s instructions. (Romans 7:22) But this rebirth is only spiritual at first; the flesh still retains the image of the first Adam—his tainted DNA—and is therefore still our enemy, or at least a frustrating burden. (7:23-24) It remains corrupt (and even grows more so) until the day the body dies. (Rom. 8:7; Ephesians 4:22) But it can be subdued:
“Our old self was crucified with [Messiah], so that the body could cease to operate as an instrument of sin, and we should therefore no longer be slaves to sin.” (Romans 6:6) “Since Messiah has suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so that it is possible for him to no longer live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but [as a conduit] for the will of YHWH.” (1 Kefa/Peter 4:1-2)
How is this achieved? “I subdue my body and keep it under disciplined subjection.” (1 Cor. 9:27)
That is the picture for which these two Torah portions plant the seed.
Spiritual Quarantines?
We’re all very familiar with quarantines after two long years in which they were enforced rather strictly in many locations. This Torah portion is also about quarantines. But the reason for them here is a much more serious “disease” than the coronavirus, because this one is caused by a spiritual problem.
We only see a few examples of this actually occurring in Scripture: Miryam (Numbers 12), Gehazi (2 Kings 5:15-27), and King Uzziyahu (2 Chronicles 26:16-20). In all of these cases, the particular sin that precipitated the onset of the disease seems to have been a form of breaking the ninth commandment—coveting what someone else had, whether it was position, wealth, or privilege.
This is the least visible of all the things forbidden in the Ten Commandments, and so YHWH made a way for it to show up so it could be dealt with, for such attitudes can spread easily, and there are no physical prophylactics or vaccines to prevent it. But there is indeed a step we can take to avoid “catching” it:
“Be content with such things as you have, because He [YHWH] has said, ‘I will never leave you or forsake you.’” (Hebrews 13:5) Food and covering are enough, we are told. (1 Timothy 6:8; compare Philippians 4:11-13)
Gehazi (2 Kings 5:27) is the only one who seems to have “caught” someone else’s “leprosy” (for lack of a better translation), but it was still only because of his own doing. In fact, we don’t know how Naaman the Syrian general got his “leprosy”; his only fault appears to have been pride. (Maybe, as in Yoch. 9:3, since he was not someone under the covenant of Torah, it was not due to sin, but only “so that the works of Elohim might be manifest in him.”) But it got transferred to Elisha’s servant because he wanted the gifts Elisha had refused, knowing that it was not he but YHWH who had healed him.
Some “lepers” quarantined outside Shomron (Samaria) who risked checking the Assyrian siege camp (2 Kings 7:3-8) and found lots of abandoned food to eat there recognized their selfishness in not reporting it to the besieged city, and repented; I suspect that their “leprosy” may have gone away at that point.
If the outcome of the inspection is uncertain—and even if it is favorable on first check--there has to be another evaluation, with the same amount of time left again for the malady to show its true colors. (Lev. 13:4-8) Only if the illness is clearly alive and active is there no need to look again. (13:3, 10-11)
We all have such things in us. But who is there today to pronounce us clean or unclean? (13:9ff) When Yeshua healed a “leper”, he said, of course, to show himself to the priests, as Moshe had commanded. (Luke 5:14) But that doesn’t help us now that there are no priests, as there still were in his day.
“If the bright spot stays in its place, and has not spread, it is the scar of the boil; and the priest shall pronounce him clean.” (13:23, 28) We can’t change our past decisions, but we can become stable to the point where they are no longer affecting our daily decisions and actions. And that is an important stage of healing, at which time we become more useful to one another again.
This stabilizing is made possible by the new spirit YHWH said He would put in us (Y’hezq’El/Ezek. 11:19) if we ask for it (Luke 11:13). So maybe that is how we can tell when we are clean or unclean nowadays: [YHWH’s] “spirit bears witness with our spirit” (Romans 8:16). I.e., one resonates with the other: “If our heart does not condemn us, then have we confidence toward Elohim.” (1 Yochanan 3:21) Is this enough?
Yeshua said to bring matters to the assembly if an individual who wronged us was not repentant. (Mat. 18:16-17) So an additional possibility may be, “Let no one judge you…except the Body of Messiah” (Colossians 2:16-17).
In regard to other objects in which this corrupting shows up, if it is no longer spreading, they become clean if washed. (13:53-58) “To the pure all things are pure” (Titus 1:15), so whether or not things we’ve used for wrong purposes continue to be a problem seems to depend on the condition of our own hearts.
The details do matter, as we saw in the previous Torah portion. So if you think you need this kind of healing, pay attention to the procedures here and ask for YHWH’s guidance as to how to carry them out.
Spreading beyond the
shaved area (v. 33)
Getting the Leprosy Out
This portion’s haftarah is about one of the most famous “lepers”: Naaman. (I put it in quotes because tzara’ath, the disease described in Scripture, is not what we now call leprosy, though it did have a reputation of eventually eating away one’s skin as well, per Numbers 12:12.) We all know the story about the proud general who reluctantly dipped in the “inferior” waters of the Yarden (Jordan) and came out with baby-soft skin, and the prophet who would not take credit (or cash) for what YHWH had done. (2 Kings 5:1-16)
Whether or not he was grateful enough to set free his slave-girl who’d saved his life, he experienced the same desire anyone with spiritual sensitivity has to take some of Israel back with him if he must leave. (5:17) But I actually want to read a little further than the end of the haftarah, because the story did not end there. Elisha’s servant Gehazi’s greed led him to not only lie but to exploit the generosity of one who was reveling in his redemption—and then to lie again, this time to YHWH’s spokesman. Did such audacity mean he didn’t believe Elisha—or YHWH—was for real?
But Elisha was a real seer--living proof that larger things were afoot; he did have a double portion of Eliyahu’s spirit, and is the only one who foreshadowed Yeshua as YHWH’s instrument of raising the dead! He saw right through the lie and looked straight into his heart: “Is it a time to receive silver or … clothes—or olive trees or vineyards or flocks or herds or male or female servants?” (2 Kings 5:26) Indeed, as Mikha said, “This is not your resting place; it is polluted and will destroy you with a painful destruction!” (2:10) Those who, like Demas, forsake YHWH and His servants, "having loved this present world” and its inferior wealth (2 Tim. 4:10), will indeed find not just the same disappointment those who don’t have a higher calling inevitably feel when it loses its glamour, but, as one who knew better, “a certain fearful expectation of…judgment which will consume the adversaries” too. (Heb. 10:27)
That sounds exactly like what we have here. Gehazi’s penalty was to have the “leprosy” of Naaman transferred to him. (5:27) Isn’t that strange? He did not “catch” it when he was with the leprous general, but only after he acted a certain way. It was not airborne, but taken from one and given to another “more deserving of it”, to use the inverse of Yeshua’s saying. (cf. Mat. 21:43) The leprosy was already in his heart; this was only poetic justice so his outside could match what was inside—a standard for the dwelling-place of YHWH’s kavod (Exodus 25:11). The same principle took effect, but he was on the wrong side of it and it harmed him as things that are abused always do.
A sign YHWH gave Moshe by which to prove he was His spokesman was that his hand became “leprous” when he put it inside his cloak. (Ex. 4:6) What did it mean? It could be a revelation of the corruption that is “inside our clothing”—or under our skin--just waiting for its occasion to come out and afflict the world.
I don’t think I’m reading too much into that; what was in the hearts of those very people Moshe freed did come out when things no longer went their way; even Moshe’s own sister, who had kept him from being killed by Pharaoh, eventually revealed the venom in her heart toward YHWH’s spokesman of her own day, and would have paid this same price, were it not for Moshe’s standing in as mediator, as he so often did, and warding off the plague yet again.
But Gehazi’s descendants inherited his leprosy, which means he was genetically changed; it kept going perpetually through his DNA, just as the poison from the fruit of the tree in the midst of the Garden did. Some sins affect our progeny for generations to come. (Ex. 20:5; 34:7) Thankfully right choices can also have such effects. (Deut. 5:10)
One of the harbingers of the Kingdom is the cleansing of “lepers” (m’tzoroth). (Mat. 10:8; 11:5; Luke 7:22) It was an emphasis that came out often in Yeshua’s words and actions, so it must be significant. One Jewish tradition depicts the Messiah as a “leper” (based in part on Isaiah 53:3-4, where he bears our pain and carries away our diseases).
This disease is more than skin-deep, so natural cures will not eradicate it. Only the rebirth that gets the roots of Adam’s fallen DNA out of our hearts, if not our flesh yet, can effect the change that can keep us from passing the more important of the two corruptions on to our descendants and proteges. As a less-familiar verse of a popular song says, “Adam’s likeness now efface; stamp thine image in its place. Second Adam from above, reinstate us in thy love.” We can be changed into the image of him who healed physical leprosy, as we look to the one on the pole who bore “the likeness of sinful flesh” and have the venom nullified. (Num. 21; Rom. 8:3; Yoch. 3:14; 2 Cor. 3:18)
The Significance of Cleansing Lepers
When Yochanan the Immerser (“John the Baptist”) sent from prison to ask Yeshua, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to expect another?”, it was not that he doubted Yeshua was the Messiah; he knew that before he was even born! (Luk. 1:41) But, like many in his day, he saw the prophecies of the suffering servant (Isa. 52-53)—taken, in Targum, Talmud, and Midrash, to be not just Israel as a whole, but in particular its spearhead, Messiah—and also of a reigning emperor Messiah. So many surmised there would have to be two Messiahs: a "Son" of Yosef, who would defeat the sons of darkness but die in the process, and “another”, as he said. This purportedly-second Messiah is called the “Son of David”, who would supersede Israel's golden age in David and Solomon’s day. Different people called Yeshua “Son of Yosef” (Yochn. 1:45) or “Son of David” (Mk. 10:47) In line with the Qumran community (where many think Yochanan was raised after his father’s murder), which expected Messiah to "suffer initial defeat" (in their day), then return to "triumph in the end of days", Yochanan wondered: could they be one and the same? So he asked!
Yeshua’s answer was, “Tell Yochanan what you’ve seen and heard: the blind are recovering their sight, the lame are walking, m’tzorim [“lepers”] being cleansed, the deaf are hearing, the dead being raised up, and the destitute given glad news; the one who does not stumble over me is at an advantage.” (Luke 7:22-23) He cited things he was doing that spread, in seed form, the blessings of the supposed second Messiah’s day, when all the dead would be raised, there would be no more defects, etc. The lists he cited are in Isaiah 35:5-6 and 61:1, which are in the context of the future “Day of YHWH”. Jewish commentators had always applied these verses to messianic times. (Edersheim)
Interestingly, though, the only things he mentions that are not in either of these two lists are “lepers are being cleansed” and “the dead being raised”. Why? Is it because, unlike the other signs, in the prophets’ day, lepers had already been cleansed (including one in our haftarah), and dead had been raised (by the same prophet and his mentor), so they were not particularly messianic signs, only signs that, as Elisha said, “there is a prophet in Israel” (2 Kings 5:8)? But that too applied in Yeshua’s day, and the sign was now more widespread: in Eliyahu’s and Elisha’s day the instances were few (Luke 4:27), but now he even told his disciples to go out and do these things. (Mat. 10:8)
Raising the dead is an obvious victory over the ultimate result of sin, but this strange disease seems to be in a category of its own. For no other disease does one need to bring numerous offerings to YHWH (Lev. 14) once healed (only one for abnormal bleeding, Lev. 15; post-partum blood, Lev. 12, is different). For no other ritual impurity (Lev. 15) must one call out from a distance that he is unclean. (Lev. 13:45)
What is it about this one that makes it special? I’ve gone into much more detail in past commentaries (see left column), but in short, it has spiritual rather than physical causes: it is brought upon people who actively covet a position given to another. (Num. 12; 2 Kings 5:20ff; 2 Chron. 26:16ff)
HaSatan’s original sin (Ez. 28:15) was pride (28:17), but neck-in-neck with it was covetousness, for the pivotal thought on which he acted, sealing his doom, was, “I will exalt my own throne above the stars of El; …I will be like the Most High!” (Isa. 14:13-14) He said it “in his heart”, as the “King of Babylon”, the inspiration behind the human kings of its many incarnations through history. He passed that spirit on to men and our hearts became “deceitful and desperately wicked”. (Jer. 17:9) The consequence—being brought down among worms and maggots (14:11-12)—sounds a lot like Moshe’s description of where Miryam’s tzara’ath ("leprosy") would lead if YHWH did not intervene. (Num. 12:12-13) But it could not just be waved off (2 Kgs 5:11); like Naaman’s 7 dips, hers (apparently mixed with pride as well) took 7 days of shame and isolation to deal with.
Coveting (“I will” or as we say, “I want…”) is the reason for and leads to the other sins--stealing, adultery, murder. That’s why Yeshua added a sign, the cleansing of tzara’ath. It speaks of dealing with sin at its root. That is what Messiah did at his first appearance as “Ben Yosef” so later his Kingdom as “Ben David” might have more perfect citizens. This raised dead man allowed for true purification—not just a washing off, but a whole new spirit and a new heart (Ez. 36:26) that doesn’t want to sin, though temporarily it still has the flesh to contend with. But that can make it even stronger.
