פרשת תזריע תש"ח - צרעת

When a man shall have in the skin of his flesh a rising, or a scab, or a bright spot, and it become in the skin of his flesh the plague of leprosy, then he shall be brought unto Aaron the priest, or unto one of his sons the priests.

And the priest shall look on him the seventh day; and, behold, if the plague stay in its appearance, and the plague be not spread in the skin, then the priest shall shut him up seven days more.

But if the scall stay in its appearance, and black hair be grown up therein; the scall is healed, he is clean; and the priest shall pronounce him clean.

to his eyes meaning, in appearance — as appearances are apprehended through the eyes. All the commentators have understood this locution to mean that the kohen who first saw the symptom must himself see no difference in its appearance.

וראהו הכהן, it is a decree by the Torah that only a priest is qualified to determine what is ritually pure and what is ritually impure in all matters pertaining to these skin afflictions. The prophet Maleachi 2,7 echoes this concept when he says that כי שפתי כהן ישמרו דת, “that the lips (pronouncements) of the priest will preserve the Jewish religion.” The priest is also required to counsel the afflicted person to examine his lifestyle so that he himself will become the key to his rehabilitation. At the same time the Priest will add his own prayer when asking G’d to heal the afflicted. Apart from his prayer his expertise will tell him when the stage has been reached when the affliction has waned so that the count toward rehabilitation and the presentation of offerings can begin.

And the priest shall look upon the plague in the skin of the flesh; and if the hair in the plague be turned white, and the appearance of the plague be deeper than the skin of his flesh, it is the plague of leprosy; and the priest shall look on him, and pronounce him unclean.

When the plague of leprosy is in a man, then he shall be brought unto the priest.

Also every sickness, and every plague, which is not written in the book of this law, them will the LORD bring upon thee, until thou be destroyed.

הכתובה בספר התורה הזה — Above, however, (Deuteronomy 28:61) it says: And every sickness and every plague … [which is not written] הזאת) בספר התורה הזאת the feminine form, whilst here we have הזה, the masculine)?! But the explanation is: הזאת, the feminine form, refers to the feminine word התורה, whilst הזה, the masculine form, refers to the masculine word הספר in our text. Through the division into clauses by means of the tonic accents (which serve also as marks of interpunctuation) they (the two phrases) are shown to be two different expressions: in the chapter containing the curses (ch. Deuteronomy 28:61) the Tipcha (a disjunctive accent) is placed beneath the word בספר, and the words התורה הזאת are connected one with the other, therefore it says הזאת, the feminine form, (since it has to be connected with a feminine noun), whilst here the Tipcha is placed beneath the word התורה, and consequently the words ספר התורה are connected one with the other (i.e. they form one phrase), — therefore it is a masculine word that is applicable after it, because the term (the pronoun) refers to הספר (which is masculine).

And the priest shall look on him the seventh day; and, behold, if the plague stay in its appearance, and the plague be not spread in the skin, then the priest shall shut him up seven days more.

And the priest shall look on him again the seventh day; and, behold, if the plague be dim, and the plague be not spread in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him clean: it is a scab; and he shall wash his clothes, and be clean.