“…All the days the lesion is upon him… he shall dwell in isolation; his dwelling is outside the camp…” Vayika 13:46 כָּל יְמֵי אֲשֶׁר הַנֶּגַע בּוֹ . . בָּדָד יֵשֵׁב מִחוּץ לַמַּחֲנֶה מוֹשָׁבוֹ – ויקרא יג, מו The impurity of a metzora, a person afflicted with tzora’as,is unusually severe in that a metzora’s mere entry into a home conveys impurity […]

“…It is a lesion of Tzora’as; when the kohen sees it, he shall pronounce him unclean…” – Vayikra 13:3 נֶגַע צָרַעַת הוּא וְרָאָהוּ הַכֹּהֵן וְטִמֵּא אֹתוֹ – ויקרא יג, ג A person afflicted with tzora’as can only be deemed pure or impure by a kohen. “If the kohen present does not know how to assess the skin discolorations [to determine […]

“…A person to whom shall occur in the skin of his flesh a se’eis, or sapachas, or baheres [patches of varying degrees of whiteness], and it be in the skin of his flesh the plague of tzora’as…” – Vayikra 13:2 אָדָם כִּי יִהְיֶה בְעוֹר בְּשָׂרוֹ שְׂאֵת אוֹ סַפַּחַת אוֹ בַהֶרֶת וְהָיָה בְעוֹר בְּשָׂרוֹ לְנֶגַע צָרָעַת – ויקרא יג, ב The […]

“…If a woman conceives and gives birth to a male, she shall be unclean for seven days…” – Vayikra 12:2 אִשָּׁה כִּי תַזְרִיעַ וְיָלְדָה זָכָר וְטָמְאָה שִׁבְעַת יָמִים – ויקרא יב, ב Parshas Tazria addresses several impurities associated with the human body and teaches us their means of purification. Rashi notes that this discussion follows the discussion in the previous […]

“…If a woman conceives and gives birth…” – Vayikra 12:2 אִשָּׁה כִּי תַזְרִיעַ וְיָלְדָה – ויקרא יב, ב Parshas Tazria derives its name from the brief discussion at the start of the parsha about the laws pertaining to childbirth. The bulk of the parsha, however, deals with laws concerning tzora’as, a supernatural condition affecting one’s skin, clothing, or the walls […]

“…But on the day that live flesh is seen in it, he shall become unclean…” – Vayikra 13:14 וּבְיוֹם הֵרָאוֹת בּוֹ בָּשָׂר חַי יִטְמָא – ויקרא יג, יד A person afflicted with tzora’as must be examined by a kohen to determine if his lesions indeed bear the signs of impurity. The Talmud notes that only certain days are valid for […]