Cosmetic Theology

(1) ה' spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying: (2) When a person has on the skin of the body a swelling, a rash, or a discoloration, and it develops into a scaly affection on the skin of the body, it shall be reported to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons, the priests.

[Any] person—when there is on the skin of his body a swelling or a scab or a shiny-spot
and it becomes on the skin of his body an affliction of tzaraat,
he is to be brought to Aharon the priest or to one of his sons the priests. Everett Fox

When a man shall have in the skin of his flesh a swelling, a scab, or bright spot, and it be in the skin of his flesh the plague of żara῾at; then he shall be brought to Aharon the priest, or to one of his sons the priests: Koren Jerusalem Bible

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. The Holy Scriptures: A New Translation (JPS 1917)

(34) When you enter the land of Canaan that I give you as a possession, and I inflict an eruptive plague upon a house in the land you possess, (35) the owner of the house shall come and tell the priest, saying, “Something like a plague has appeared upon my house.”

(1) אדם כי יהיה בעור בשרו, none of the verse in the chapters following may be interpreted in the way he sound when read superficially as the phenomena described do not correspond to any skin diseases we are familiar with, and are not subject to medical treatment. What applies to the human skin applies in the same degree to stains on clothing which are described her as well as to manifestations of “mildew” or something similar breaking forth from the walls of houses. The only criteria which we can apply to what is spelled out in these chapters 12-15 are those laid down by our sages of the Midrash, the Talmud, etc, all of which date back to the instructions received orally from Moses.

(9) Still incensed with them, ה' departed. (10) As the cloud withdrew from the Tent, there was Miriam stricken with snow-white scales! When Aaron turned toward Miriam, he saw that she was stricken with scales. (11) And Aaron said to Moses, “O my lord, account not to us the sin which we committed in our folly. (12) Let her not be like a stillbirth which emerges from its mother’s womb with half its flesh eaten away!” (13) So Moses cried out to ה', saying, “O God, pray heal her!” (14) But ה' said to Moses, “If her father spat in her face, would she not bear her shame for seven days? Let her be shut out of camp for seven days, and then let her be readmitted.” (15) So Miriam was shut out of camp seven days; and the people did not march on until Miriam was readmitted.

(4) But if it is a white discoloration on the skin of the body which does not appear to be deeper than the skin and the hair in it has not turned white, the priest shall isolate the affected person for seven days.

(26) When he saw that he had not prevailed against him, he wrenched Jacob’s hip at its socket, so that the socket of his hip was strained as he wrestled with him.

He saw that he could not prevail against him, so he touched the socket of his thigh;
and the socket of Yaakov’s thigh was dislocated as he wrestled with him. [Everett Fox]

And when he saw that he did not prevail against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Ya῾aqov’s thigh was put out of joint, as he wrestled with him. [Koren]

(1) And ה' said to Moses, “I will bring but one more plague upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt; after that he shall let you go from here; indeed, when he lets you go, he will drive you out of here one and all.

(27) ה' will strike you with the Egyptian inflammation, with hemorrhoids, boil-scars, and itch, from which you shall never recover.

(18) When an inflammation appears on the skin of one’s body and it heals,

How is it shown < that leprosy comes > for idolatry? In that, when they made the calf, they were afflicted with leprosy. Thus it is stated (in Exod. 32:25): NOW MOSES SAW THAT THE PEOPLE WERE RIOTOUS (parua'); and it is written concerning the leper (in Lev. 13:45): HIS HEAD SHALL BE UNKEMPT (parua').
And how is it shown < that leprosy comes > for blessing (i.e., cursing) the name? From Goliath, of whom it is stated that he said in (I Sam. 17:8): CHOOSE A MAN ('ish) FOR YOURSELVES. Now man ('ish) can only be the Holy One, since it is stated (in Exod. 15:3): THE LORD IS A MAN ('ish) OF WAR. It is also written (in I Sam. 17:46) THIS DAY < THE LORD > WILL DELIVER (rt.: SGR) YOU. Now deliverance can only imply leprosy, since it is stated (in Lev. 13:5) THE PRIEST SHALL ISOLATE (rt.: SGR) HIM.
And < how is it shown > for unchastity? Where it is written (in Is. 3:16–17): < BECAUSE THE DAUGHTERS OF ZION ARE HAUGHTY, AND WALK WITH EXTENDED NECK AND ROVING EYES…; THEREFORE THE LORD WILL SMITE WITH SORES (SPH) THE SCALPS < OF THE DAUGHTERS OF ZION >. It is also written (in Lev. 14:56): FOR A SWELLING AND FOR A SORE (rt.: SPH) AND FOR A BRIGHT SPOT.

< How is it shown > for theft and for swearing falsely? Where it is stated (in Zech. 5:4): I HAVE SENT IT (i.e., the curse of the flying scroll in vs. 1) FORTH, SAYS THE LORD {GOD} [OF HOSTS]; AND IT SHALL COME UNTO THE HOUSE OF THE THIEF AND UNTO THE HOUSE OF THE ONE WHO SWEARS FALSELY IN MY NAME; AND IT SHALL LODGE WITHIN HIS HOUSE; AND IT SHALL CONSUME IT, [EVEN] WITH ITS TIMBERS AND STONES. What is a thing which consumes timbers and stones? See, it says this is leprosy, since it is written (concerning a house infested with leprosy in Lev. 14:45): AND IT (i.e., the plague) SHALL BREAK DOWN THE HOUSE WITH ITS TIMBERS AND STONES.

And < how is it shown > for slander? From Miriam [of whom it is written (in Numb. 12:10): AND THERE WAS MIRIAM WITH LEPROSY LIKE THE SNOW; SO WHEN AARON TURNED UNTO MIRIAM, THERE SHE WAS, STRICKEN WITH LEPROSY.] It also says (in Lev. 14:1): THIS SHALL BE THE LAW OF THE LEPER (hametsora'), < i.e. > the one who puts forth evil (hamotsi ra').

And < how is it shown > for those who bear false witness? Where Israel testified over the Holy One and said (in Exod. 32:4): THESE ARE YOUR GODS, O ISRAEL. They were afflicted with leprosy, since it is written (below in vs. 25): NOW MOSES SAW THAT THE PEOPLE WERE RIOTOUS (parua').

And < how is it shown > for the judge who perverts justice? Where it is stated (of unjust judges in Is. 5:24): AND IT SHALL BE THAT AS A TONGUE OF FIRE CONSUMES STRAW, AND AS CHAFF SINKS DOWN IN A FLAME, THEIR {BLOSSOM} [ROOT] SHALL BE LIKE THE ROT, AND THEIR {ROOT} [BLOSSOM] SHALL RISE UP LIKE THE DUST; FOR THEY HAVE REJECTED THE LAW OF THE LORD OF HOSTS AND SPURNED THE WORD OF THE HOLY ONE OF ISRAEL. THEIR BLOSSOM (PRH) can only refer to leprosy, since it is stated (in Lev. 13:12): IF THE LEPROSY SHOULD BLOSSOM OUT WIDELY (rt.: PRH).
And < how is it shown > for one who enters a domain which is not his? From Uzziah, when he entered the domain of the priesthood. It is so stated (of him in II Chron. 26:16, 19): < …; HE SINNED AGAINST THE LORD HIS GOD AND ENTERED INTO THE TEMPLE OF THE LORD TO OFFER INCENSE UPON THE ALTAR OF INCENSE…. > THEN LEPROSY APPEARED ON HIS FOREHEAD.

And < how is it shown > for one who instigates quarrels among brothers? Where it is stated (in Gen. 12:17): THEN THE LORD AFFLICTED PHARAOH < … >, because he had taken Sarah from Abraham.

(11) These shall be presented before ה', with the party to be purified, at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, by the priest who performs the purification.

הכהן המטהר, the priest who performs the purification rites; the reason both these words are necessary is this. If the Torah had only written הכהן, I would not have known that this particular part of the commandment could not be performed by any priest but had to be performed by the priest who administered all the rites. If, on the other hand, the Torah had written only the word המטהר, I would not have been sure that this chore had to be supervised by a priest at all; there are, after all, functions in the total purification procedure which may be performed by a non-priest. Hence the Torah had to write הכהן המטהר.

And the Lord spake with Moshe, saying:

AND WHEN THE PLAGUE OF LEPROSY IS IN A GARMENT. This is not in the natural order of things, nor does it ever happen in the world [outside Israel], and similarly leprosy of houses [is not a natural phenomenon]. But when Israel is wholly devoted to G-d, then His spirit is upon them always, to maintain their bodies, clothes and houses in a good appearance. Thus as soon as one of them commits a sin or transgression, a deformity appears in his flesh, or on his garment, or in his house, revealing that G-d has turned aside from him. It is for this reason that Scripture states, And I shall put the plague of leprosy in a house of the Land of your possession, meaning that it is G-d’s punishment upon that house. Thus [the law of leprosy of houses] applies only in the Land which is the inheritance of the Eternal even as He said, When ye are come into the land of Canaan, which I give to you for a possession.

Now the reason [why this law does not apply outside the Land of Israel] is not because it is a duty which attaches to the ground, but the reason is because this matter [of Divine indication of sins] occurs only in the Chosen Land, wherein the Glorious Name dwells. And in the Torath Kohanim the Sages further interpreted that a house does not contract impurity until after the conquest and division [of the Land by Israel], and until after each and every individual clearly knows his portion.

The reason for this law is that only then do they have the ease of mind to know the Eternal, and the Divine Glory dwells among them. I think similarly with reference to the law of leprosy in garments, that it applies only in the Land [of Israel], it being unnecessary to exclude [the application of this law] in places outside the Land, since they never occur there.

For this reason also the law of leprosy in garments applies only to white garments, not to colored ones, because the color might perhaps have extracted this unclean phenomenon [i.e., the leprosy] in that place [in the garment] in a natural way, and it will then not be regarded as a finger of G-d. Therefore garments colored by Heaven can contract impurity, according to the words of Rabbi Shimon. And by way of the simple meaning of Scripture, the reason why it repeats in every verse the expression “the garment, or the skin, or the wrap and the woof,” is because the matter is miraculous. Our Rabbis have interpretations for them [i.e., these repetitions], and all of them are found in the Torath Kohanim.

והבגד כי יהיה בו נגע צרעת, when it is quite clear that this is not the kind of stain familiar to science and responsive to removing by chemical detergents. Discolouration of a garment in colours other than the ones that are work related due to the vocation of the wearer, are usually caused deliberately by the owner. What occurred here is due to some sin the owner was guilty of....

Proof of the fact that this affliction is due to a well meaning Creator, One Who is concerned with the welfare of His Jewish subjects, is the fact that if the symptoms we know as נגע צרעת surface on the garments of gentile or houses of gentiles, these are not declared as ritually impure. Seeing that the gentiles as a rule do not have life in the hereafter to look forward to, G’d is not at such pains to warn them not to risk losing something they doe not to look forward to in any event. When a Jew is in danger of losing his claim to eternal life this is a far more serious matter, and G’d goes out of His way to afford the person potentially endangering his claim to eternal life an opportunity to repent and change his lifestyle before it is too late. In referring to this concept, Solomon in Proverbs 10,25 describes the צדיק, the Just, as the foundation of the universe. The whole idea of man having been created in G’d’s image, and G’d’s desire for man to become as much like Him as it is possible for a creature to become, lies at the source of this concern by G’d not to let man waste his opportunity to live up to his destiny.
Once man becomes aware of G’d’s concern for him he will have little difficulty in making his own will correspond to the revealed will of His Maker. He will begin to realise that by “listening” to the urgings of his body-dominated desires he risks losing his eternal life and the death of his body would also signal the death of his life force נפש, just as that of all the animals. >br> Even though we see many people defy G’d in their lifestyles, we can be sure in the words of G’d in Exodus 23,7 כי לא אצדיק רשע, “that I will not allow the wicked to appear as if he were a just person for ever.” [the author, in continuing this sermon, describes all the gentiles and most of the Jews of his time, as so oblivious to all this that they may be compared as existing in a permanent state of spiritual coma. Ed.] Nonetheless, if G’d chose the Jewish people as His special people it is because He entertains the fond hope that out of this nation there will emerge a nucleus of people who are aware of their destiny. When the Jewish people are predominantly in the state of spiritual coma the author just described, the symptoms described in our portion will not appear as it would be a waste of time to hope that the people thus afflicted would see in these symptoms a message from their G’d.

Another interpretation (of Numb. 19:2): THIS IS THE STATUTE OF THE TORAH. This text is related (to Job 14:4): WHO CAN PRODUCE SOMETHING CLEAN OUT OF SOMETHING UNCLEAN? IS IT NOT <THE HOLY> ONE? <Who>, for example, <produced> Abraham out of Terah, Hezekiah out of Ahaz, Josiah out of Amon, Mordecai out of Shimei, Israel out of the nations of the world, [the world to come out of this world]. So who did so? Who commanded so? And who decreed so? Was it not one being? Was it not the One Unequaled in the World (i.e., the Holy One)? We have learned elsewhere [(in Neg. 8:2): IF ONE HAS A BRIGHT SPOT THE SIZE OF A BEAN, he is unclean …; IF IT HAS BURST OUT ALL OVER HIM, HE IS CLEAN. Who did so? Who decreed so? Who commanded so? Was it not the One Unequaled in the World? We have learned elsewhere] (in Hul. 4:3): IN THE CASE OF THE WOMAN WHOSE FETUS DIED WITHIN HER BELLY, IF {SHE} [A MIDWIFE] INSERTED HER HAND <INTO THE WOMB> AND TOUCHED IT, THE MIDWIFE IS UNCLEAN FOR SEVEN DAYS, BUT THE WOMAN REMAINS CLEAN UNTIL THE FETUS COMES FORTH. And so it is that while the dead person is in the house, the house is clean; when he comes forth from it, he makes it unclean. Who did this? Was it not the One Unequaled in the World? We have learned elsewhere (in Parah 4:4; Hul. 29b): ALL WHO ARE OCCUPIED WITH THE <RITE OF THE RED> COW FROM BEGINNING TO END RENDER <THEIR> CLOTHES UNCLEAN, while the <cow> herself makes <what is unclean> clean. Thus the Holy One has said: I have enacted a statute for you; I have issued a decree! So you are not authorized to transgress against my decree.

(10) On the eighth day that person shall take two male lambs without blemish, one ewe lamb in its first year without blemish, three-tenths of a measure of choice flour with oil mixed in for a meal offering, and one log of oil. (11) These shall be presented before ה', with the party to be purified, at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, by the priest who performs the purification. (12) The priest shall take one of the male lambs and offer it with the log of oil as a guilt offering, and he shall elevate them as an elevation offering before ה'. (13) The lamb shall be slaughtered at the spot in the sacred area where the sin offering and the burnt offering are slaughtered. For the guilt offering, like the sin offering, goes to the priest; it is most holy.

(6) On the completion of her period of purification, for either son or daughter, she shall bring to the priest, at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, a lamb in its first year for a burnt offering, and a pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering.

אדם כי יהיה בעור בשרו שאת או ספחת או בהרת, “if a person will have on the skin of his flesh a s’eis, a sapachat or baheret, etc.”

The reason that this whole subject has been written in the Torah adjacent to the paragraph dealing with the purification rites prescribed for a woman who has given birth is

to remind us that whoever is not mindful of the regulations pertaining to her ritual impurity connected with menstruation is apt to become a victim of these skin-disorders. We find an opinion in medical textbooks confirmed by our sages (Tanchuma Metzorah 1) that when someone cohabits with a woman who is in the first day of her menstruation, any baby born from that union will be afflicted with צרעת for the first ten years of its life. If the cohabitation occurred on the second day of her being menstruous this צרעת would last for twenty years, etc. If cohabitation occurs on the seventh day of the woman’s being menstruous the offspring from such a union will remain afflicted for seventy years. We learn from all this that the order in which the Torah writes certain paragraphs and subject matter is not haphazard but has deeper meaning which it is worthwhile to explore seeing that each paragraph conveys a meaning based solely on its position in the Torah over and above its other meanings. Profound study of the text of the Torah reveals what wonderful insights into the workings of nature the Torah displays.