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2014-2015 CYCLE P187 Parash 28 Metzorah Vayikra 14:1-15:33
Synopsis – The Parshah’s of Tazria and Metzora continue the discussion of the laws of tumahv’taharah, ritual impurity and purity. A woman giving birth should undergo a process of purification, which includes immersing in a mikvah (a naturally gathered pool of water) and bringing offerings to the Holy Temple. All male infants are to be circumcised on the eighth day of life. Tzara’at (often mistranslated as “leprosy”) is a supra-natural plague, which can afflict people as well as garments or homes. If white or pink patches appear on a person’s skin (dark pink or dark green in garments or homes), a Cohen is summoned. Judging by various signs, such as an increase in size of the afflicted area after a seven-day quarantine, the cohen pronounces it tamei (impure) or tahor (pure). A person afflicted with tzara’at must dwell alone outside of the camp (or city) until he is healed. The afflicted area in a garment or home must be removed; if the tzara’at recurs, the entire garment or home must be destroyed. When the metzora (“leper”) heals, he or she is purified by the cohen with a special procedure involving two birds, spring water in an earthen vessel, a piece of cedar wood, a scarlet thread and a bundle of hyssop. Ritual impurity is also engendered through a seminal or other discharge in a man, and menstruation or other discharge of blood in a woman, necessitating purification through immersion in a mikvah. |
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