Topics Pages: Tzaraat

(1) יהוה 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. (3) The priest shall examine the affection on the skin of the body: if hair in the affected patch has turned white and the affection appears to be deeper than the skin of the body, it is a leprous affection; when the priest sees it, he shall pronounce the person impure.

Rabbi Abbahu said: An allusion to the marking of graves may be derived from here: “And the leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, and the hair of his head shall go loose, and he shall cover his upper lip, and shall cry: Impure, impure” (Leviticus 13:45). This verse teaches that impurity cries out to the passerby and tells him: Remove yourself. The leper must inform others of his status so that they know not to come into contact with him and thereby maintain their ritual purity. So too, in our case, graves must be marked so that others will know to avoid them and prevent contracting ritual impurity. And similarly, Rabbi Uzziel, grandson of Rabbi Uzziel the Great, said: Impurity cries out to the passerby and tells him: Remove yourself. The Gemara asks: But with regard to this verse, does it come to teach this idea? That verse is needed for that which is taught in the following baraita: “And he shall cry: Impure, impure”; this teaches that the leper must inform the public of his distress, and the public will pray for mercy on his behalf. The Gemara answers: If it is so that the verse comes to teach only one idea, let it write: And he shall cry: Impure. What is to be derived the repetition of impure, impure? Learn from this reiteration two ideas: First, that the leper must inform the public of his pain so that others will pray on his behalf, and second, that he must warn the public to stay away so that they avoid coming into contact with him and contracting ritual impurity.

(8) In cases of a skin affection be most careful to do exactly as the levitical priests instruct you. Take care to do as I have commanded them. (9) Remember what your God יהוה did to Miriam on the journey after you left Egypt.

(1) The signs of negaim are two which, in fact, are four. The bright spot (baheret) is bright white like snow; secondary to it is the sign as white as the lime of the Temple. The rising (se'et) is as white of the skin of an egg; secondary to it is the like white wool, the words of Rabbi Meir. But the sages say: the rising (se'et) is white wool and secondary to it is like the white of the skin of an egg.

(10) Tzara'at is a collective term including many afflictions that do not resemble each other. For the whitening of a person's skin is called tzara'at, as is the falling out of some of the hair of his head or beard, and the change of the color of clothes or houses.This change that affects clothes and houses which the Torah described with the general term of tzara'at is not a natural occurrence. Instead it is a sign and a wonder prevalent among the Jewish people to warn them against lashon hora, "undesirable speech." When a person speaks lashon hora, the walls of his house change color. If he repents, the house will be purified. If, however, he persists in his wickedness until the house is destroyed, the leather implements in his house upon which he sits and lies change color. If he repents, they will be purified. If persists in his wickedness until they are burnt, the clothes he wears change color. If he repents, they will be purified. If he persists in his wickedness until they are burnt, his skin undergoes changes and he develops tzara'at. This causes him to be isolated and for it to be made known that he must remain alone so that he will not be involved in the talk of the wicked which is folly and lashon hora.The Torah warns about this, stating Deuteronomy 24:8-9: "Take care with regard to a tzara'at blemish.... Remember what God your Lord did to Miriam." Now, this is what the Torah is implying: Contemplate what happened to the prophetess Miriam. She spoke against her brother. She was older than he was; she had raised him; and she had endangered herself to save him from the sea. She did not speak pejoratively of him; she merely erred in equating him with the other prophets. Moses did not object to any of this, as Numbers 12:3 relates: "And the man Moses was exceedingly humble." Nevertheless, she was immediately punished with tzara'at. Certainly, an inference can be made with regard to the wicked and foolish men who speak extensively about great and wondrous matters. Therefore a person who seeks to structure his course of conduct should distance himself from their gatherings and from speaking to them so that he will not become caught up in the web of their wickedness and foolishness.This is the path followed by the gathering of wicked fools: In the beginning, they speak excessively about empty matters, as Ecclesiastes 5:2 states: "The talk of a fool is characterized by a multitude of words." As a result of this, they come to speak negatively of the righteous, as reflected by the verse Psalms 31:19: "May the lying lips be silenced; those which speak falsehood about a righteous man." As a consequence, they will become accustomed to speaking against the prophets and casting aspersions on their words, as reflected by the verse II Chronicles 36:16: "They would abuse the messengers of God, scorn His words, and mock His prophets." And this would lead them to deny God's existence entirely, as reflected in the verse II Kings 17:9: "And the children of Israel spoke in secret things that were not true against God, their Lord."In this vein, Psalms 73:9 states: "They set their mouths against Heaven and their tongues strut on earth." What caused them to "set their mouths against Heaven"? Their tongues which previously were given free reign on earth. This is the speech of the wicked that is caused by loitering on the streetcorners, frequenting the assemblies of commoners, and spending time at the parties of drunkards.In contrast, the speech of proper Jewish people only concerns words of Torah and wisdom. Therefore, the Holy One, blessed be He, assists them and grants them merit because of it, as Malachi 3:16 states: "Then those who fear God conversed, each person with his fellow and God listened and paid heed. And a book of remembrance was composed before Him for those who fear God and contemplate His name."

(6) יהוה said to him further, “Put your hand into your bosom.” He put his hand into his bosom; and when he took it out, his hand was encrusted with snowy scales! (7) And [God] said, “Put your hand back into your bosom.”—He put his hand back into his bosom; and when he took it out of his bosom, there it was again like the rest of his body.— (8) “And if they do not believe you or pay heed to the first sign, they will believe the second.

(9) Still incensed with them, יהוה 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 יהוה, saying, “O God, pray heal her!”

(1) (Lev. 14:2:) “This shall be the law of the leper.” Let our master instruct us: For how many things does leprosy come? Thus have our masters taught: The affliction comes [upon one] for eleven things: (1) For idolatry, (2) for desecration of the name [of God], (3) for unchastity, (4) for theft, (5) for slander, (6) for false witness, (7) upon the judge who perverts justice, (8) for swearing in vain, (9) upon one who enters a domain which is not his, (10) upon one who thinks false thoughts, and (11) upon one who instigates quarrels among brothers. And some also say, “for the evil eye (i.e., for being miserly).” 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 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, blessed be He, 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].” Now sores (sph) can only be leprosy, as stated (in Lev. 14:56), “For a swelling and for a sore (rt.: sph) and for a bright spot.” How is it shown for theft? 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 of hosts; and it shall come unto the house of the thief.” Hence, for theft. How is it shown for swearing falsely? Where it is stated (in Zech. 5:4, cont.), “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? Rabbi says, “This is leprosy, since it is written (concerning a house infested with leprosy (in Lev. 14:45), ‘And he 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), “so when Aaron turned unto Miriam, there she was, stricken with leprosy.” It is written (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 falsely and said (in Exod. 32:4), “These are your gods, O Israel,” they were struck with leprosy, as stated, “Instruct the Israelites to remove from the camp….” It also states (Exodus 32:25), “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 root shall be like the rot, and their blossom shall rise up like the dust; for they have rejected the law of the Lord of hosts.” 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, who entered the domain of the priesthood. It is so stated (of him in II Chron. 26:19), “then leprosy appeared on his forehead.” And how is it shown for one who instigates quarrels among brothers? From Pharaoh, as stated (in Gen. 12:17), “Then the Lord afflicted Pharaoh,” because he had taken Sarah from Abraham. And [how is it shown] for the evil eye (i.e., for being miserly)? R. Isaac said, “When someone's eye is too evil (i.e., when someone is too miserly) to lend out his possessions. When someone comes and says to him, ‘Lend me your scythe, lend me your ax, or any object,’ he says to him, ‘Cursed is the one who has a scythe, cursed is the one has an axe’ (meaning, ‘I do not have one’). What does the Holy One, blessed be He, do? He afflicts [his house] with leprosy. When he comes to the priest and says to him, ‘Something like a plague has appeared in the house belonging to me,’ he commands (according to Lev. 14:45), ‘Let him break down the house with its timbers and stones.’ Then everybody will see his implements, when they lug them and bring them outside. So they publicize his implements, and they all say, ‘Did he not say, “I do not have a scythe; I do not have an ax?” See, he does have such and such an object, but he did not want to lend it.’ So his eye is evil (i.e., he is miserly), to lend.” (Leviticus 14:37:) “And [the priest] says, ‘[The walls are] deeply colored (shkarurot).’” Do not read it [such], but rather read it as he brought down curses (shaka arurot). As he said, “Cursed,” and he brought down his house. And everyone saw his curses, as stated (in Job 20:28), “The produce of his house shall depart, poured out in the day of His wrath.” [Moreover,] there are also some who say, [leprosy] also [comes] for haughtiness. How is it shown? From Naaman, as stated (in II Kings 5:1), “Now Naaman, the commander of the army of the king of Aram […] a valiant warrior, was a leper,” because he was haughty. [Leprosy] also [comes] upon the one who says something against his colleague that is not true about him. Thus you find it so in the case of Moses our master, when he said (in Exod. 4:1), “But [surely] they shall not believe me.” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, “They are believers [and] children of believers”: [Believers] (in Exod. 4:31), “And the people believed”; the children of believers, as stated (in Gen. 15:6), “And he (Abram) believed in the Lord.” However, it is necessary [for you] to be afflicted, since the one who suspects the innocent is afflicted in his body. It is so stated (in Exod. 4:6), “Then [the Lord…] said, ‘Please put your hand in your bosom’; so he put his hand in his bosom, and when he withdrew it, behold, it was leprous as snow.” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel, “Look at the difference between you and the peoples of the world. When they sin, I afflict them first in their bodies and after that in their houses, as stated (in Gen. 12:17), ‘Then the Lord afflicted Pharaoh with great plagues,’ and afterwards, ‘and his house.’ But if you sin, I afflict your houses first.” Where is it shown? From what they read on the matter (in Lev. 14:34), “and I put a plague of leprosy in a house of the land you possess.” (Lev. 14:34:) “And I put a plague of leprosy in a house of the land you possess.” How has the land sinned, that it should be afflicted? It is simply that the land is afflicted for human sin, as stated (in Ps. 107:[32-]34), “[He turns….] A fruitful land into a salt marsh because of the evil [of those who dwell in it].” Why? Because of the evil [of the people]. And so does it state (Isaiah 26:9), “with Your judgements upon the earth, so will those that dwell in the inhabitation learn justice.” Why do punishments come upon the world? For the creatures, so that they would look, consider, and say, “Whoever sins is afflicted, and whoever does not sin is not afflicted.” So why are the trees, the stones and the walls afflicted? So that their owners will look [at them] and repent. And so you find that when Israel sinned, the Holy One, blessed be He, intended to exile them at once before the [other] nations. But He said, “If I exile them at the start, they will become a shame and a disgrace to all the nations.” What did he do? He brought Sennacherib the wicked upon all the [other] nations and exiled them. Thus it is stated (in Is. 10:14), “My hand (the hand of Sennacherib) has found the wealth of the peoples like a nest.” It is also written (in vs. 13), “and I (Sennacherib) have removed the borders of peoples.” The Holy One, blessed be He, said, “When Israel sees that I have exiled the nations of the world, they will repent and fear My judgment.” It is so stated (in Zeph. 3:6), “I have rooted out the nations; their corner towers are desolate.” And after it is written (in vs. 7), “I said, ‘Surely you will fear Me, they will learn rebuke!’” When they did not repent, they immediately went into exile. Therefore the Holy One, blessed be He, warns them and [first] afflicts their houses, so that they will repent. Thus it is stated (in Lev. 14:34), “and I put a plague of leprosy in a house of the land you possess.” For him to repent is preferable; but if not, he is afflicted in his body, as stated (in Lev. 15:2), “When any man has a discharge issuing from his flesh….” Hence, the stones are struck first. For him to repent is preferable; but if not, his clothes are afflicted, as stated (in Lev. 13:47), “When the plague of leprosy is in a garment.” Then if he does not repent, he is afflicted in his body. Thus it is stated (in Lev. 13:40), “When someone's head becomes hairless [so that he is bald, he is clean]”; but still with a balding of the head there is a substantial doubt whether he is unclean or clean. For him to repent is preferable, but if not, he is afflicted with boils, as stated (in Lev. 13:18), “And when one has boils on the skin of his flesh and is healed.” Boils is [worse] than balding of the head. For him to repent is preferable, but if not, he is afflicted with five scourges: swelling, sore, bright spot, scab, and plague spot. And why all this? Because he did not repent. Scripture has said (in Prov. 19:29), “Judgments are ready for scoffers; and stripes for the back of fools.” The Holy One, blessed be He, said, “Before I created the human, I prepared all these for him.” [The situation] is comparable to an evil slave who was about to be sold. When his master went to buy him, he knew that he was a bad salve. [So] he took along chains and whips so that if he rebelled, he might subdue him with them. When he did rebel, he brought out the chains and chained him. He brought out the whips and beat him. The slave said to him, “Did you not know that I was a bad slave? Why did you buy me?” He said to him, “Because I knew that you are difficult, I prepared chains and whips for you, so that if you rebelled, I might subdue you with them.” So too the Holy One, blessed be He [and] blessed be His name forever, before He created the human one, He prepared afflictions for him, because (according to Gen. 8:21) He knows that “the instinct of one's heart is evil from his youth.” He therefore prepared all these for him, so that if he rebelled, He would subdue him, as stated (in Prov. 19:29), “Judgments are ready for scoffers; and stripes (mahalumot) for the back of fools.” What are mahalumot? Mahah lamoot (strike to death). Warn him first; it is preferable if he repents. But if not, strike his body. How is it shown? From that which we read about the matter (in Lev. 14:34), “and I put a plague of leprosy in a house of the land you possess.”

(1) This (Zot) shall be the law regarding the metzora (person with tzaraat: And it is known that a metzora brings out evil (motzi ra). As the blemishes come on account of evil speech. So Scripture says that after he repents and fixes his deeds, he engenders a repair of the Divine Presence that is called Zot, through his repentance and his Torah study. And this is [the meaning of], "Zot shall be the law regarding the metzora" - the understanding is that the law of the metzora shall be Zot, that it repair the Divine Presence that is called Zot. It shall be "on the day of his purification, he shall be brought to the priest." The understanding of this is that on the day that he is purified from his sin, he can engender the elevation of the Divine Presence, to become unified with the Holy One, blessed be He. And this is [the meaning of], "he shall be brought to the priest" - the Holy One, blessed be He is called Priest. So after he elevated the Divine Presence, "The priest shall go out of the encampment." For the higher worlds are called the encampment, and this world is called, out of the encampment. "And the priest shall see." The understanding of this is that the Lord, may He blessed, blessed be He, supervises this world to impact upon it. "And behold, the tzaraat blemish has healed." The understanding of that is that all of the harsh judgements are sweetened, "from the person with tzaraat." All this shall be from the person with tzaraat, as he will cause all of this with his full repentance. And this is [the meaning of] (Psalms 104:31), "May the glory of the Lord endure forever." For the Divine Presence is called glory (kavod). So that when the Glory of the Lord is forever (leolam) - which is that the Divine Presence ascends to the higher world (leolam haelyon) - then "the Lord shall rejoice in His works." Meaning, in the good actions that He will generate upon us, all the good and the blessing. Amen, may it be His will!

(1) And now I shall begin, with the help of the Blessed L–rd to explain how many positive commandments one transgresses in speaking lashon hara and rechiluth, as we projected above. One who bears tales against his friend, aside from transgressing the negative commandments we mentioned above, also transgresses several positive commandments, which I shall explain, with the help of the Blessed One, one by one. (1) He transgresses thereby (Devarim 24:9): "Remember what the L–rd your G–d did to Miriam on the way when you went out of Egypt." The Torah exhorted us hereby that we mention verbally, always, the great punishment [leprosy] that the Blessed L–rd brought upon the tzadeketh, Miriam the prophetess — who spoke only about her brother, whom she loved as her soul, whom she raised on her knees, and for whom she endangered her life, to rescue him from the Nile. And she did not speak in denigration of him, but only compared him to other prophets. And she did not speak so to his face to shame him, and not in public, but only to her brother Aaron, privately. And he [Moses] was not offended by all this, viz. (Bamidbar 12:3): "And the man Moses was extremely humble, more than any man on the face of the earth" — in spite of which all her good deeds did not avail her and she was punished with leprosy for this. How much more so will other people, the fools, who are prolix in speaking "great and awesome things" against their friends, be severely punished for this.

(8) We will now explain the matter of the good and evil that became mixed in them. (Examine what is written in Part Three, gates two and three, and you will understand what is written in this gate.) Behold, when man sinned with the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he caused this admixture to permeate all worlds. Due to this, there is nothing that does not include both good and evil in it.

(9) Therefore, the body of man was formed from the four elements of the physical world that have both good and evil included in them. These are fire, air, water and earth. However, man’s body was formed from the choicest portion of these elements. Nevertheless, this choice portion also has an admixture of evil in it. Man’s four humors (that is, the white, black, red and green humors) were formed from the grossest portion of these elements. For the body to be healthy, these humors must be balanced. However, if there is an imbalance, and any one of them overpowers the positive characteristics of the others with its negative characteristics, the result is illness and disease. If it is even more overpowering, death may result.

(10) As explained, the admixture of good and evil permeated all worlds, even the upper, spiritual worlds. This being the case, the soul of man was also affected, for was it not hewn from the same four spiritual elements from which all the supernal beings were formed? These four elements are the four letters of the name HaShem-יהו"ה, blessed is He and blessed is His name. About this it says, “From the four spirits, come O spirit etc.” This “spirit” that comes is the essential soul of man from the side of goodness. However, God made everything with its opposite. Just as the upper spiritual worlds are the source of goodness and purity, so He created a source of evil and impurity. This is the Sitra Achera (The Other Side) which is called Adam BliYa’al (The Incorrigible Man). It is made up of four sources of destruction and four indicators of plague, which are its four bad elements. From there, an evil soul, which is called, “The Evil Inclination” (Yetzer HaRa), is drawn to man. If this soul overpowers the good soul, destruction, plagues and spiritual illnesses befall it. Moreover, if it is too overpowering, it can even cause spiritual death, God forbid.

(1) ומראה הנגע, and the appearance of the affliction, etc. Here we come face to face with the mystical dimension of Psalms 39,7: "man walks about as a mere shadow;" the Psalmist refers to the appearance of raw flesh. When the forces of evil assert themselves in man this makes a visible impression on his flesh. The healthy appearance of his skin disappears. It appears that there is something physically missing, i.e. the skin appears as "deep," as having lost its normal surface. It is remarkable that according to הלכה, one is not ritually impure if this condition covers the entire body, i.e. if this "deepness" leaves no visible mark seeing we cannot detect a contrast with other skin or flesh (compare Shevuot 7). (2) וראהו הכהן וטמא אותו, and when the priest takes a look at him he will declare him ritually impure. The Torah made the impurity conditional on the priest declaring him so. This reminds us of a statement in Shabbat 119 that two angels accompany a person on his way home from the synagogue on Friday nights and they examine if this person had made the preparations for the Sabbath prior to going to the synagogue. If he did, one angel commends him (the 'good' angel) exclaiming "may you continue to do so," whereas the second angel [who represents man's negative actions Ed.] says "Amen." The reverse happens when the person in question had not made preparations for the Sabbath before the onset of the Sabbath. At any rate, the Talmud suggests that once a positive or negative momentum has been built it feeds upon itself unless something contrary happens. Seeing that it is the priest's duty to obtain atonement for Israel from their impurities, diseases, etc., G'd has commanded him to concur with the judgment of impurity the afflicted person has been subjected to. This state of impurity will continue until the afflicted person turns into a penitent when G'd will remove the symptoms of impurity from him.

(7) ”And he (or it) shall be brought before the priest” (Leviticus 14:2). And afterwards, it is written (Leviticus 14:3), “And the priest shall go out.” And glancing quickly, the language [of these verses seemingly] contradicts itself. It is true that the understanding of, “and he (or it) shall be brought before the priest,” is that the matter be brought before the priest; however for what teaching is it written like this?

(8) This section and the matter of the day – meaning the exodus from Egypt – have a similarity: For with tzaraat, we found that the hand of the savior prophet, none like whom has arisen, was afflicted with tzaraat (Exodus 4:6). And also about the opposite, the greatest of the abominations of Egypt, which was Pharaoh – since he said (Ezekiel 29:3), “My Nile is my own, etc.” – it is written (Exodus 2:23), “and the king of Egypt died”; [about which] our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, explained, that he was afflicted with tzaraat, etc. (Shemot Rabbah 1:34). And likewise with the matter of purity: The Jewish people in Egypt were like someone quarantined with tzaraat, since no slave could escape. And with the purification, it is written about the Passover of Egypt (Exodus 12:22), “And you shall take a bundle of hyssop,” like someone with tzaraat. And in the Zohar, it taught (II 35b): It is written, “And you shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the basin; touch the lintel and the two side doorposts with some of the blood in the basin.” Why a bunch of hyssop? In order to destroy the impure spirit; and to have it attach complete faith onto the entrance in these three places, one here, one there and one on top of them. And because of that, “the Lord will pass over upon the entrance and will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to plague you” (Exodus 12:23). Because He sees His holy name written upon the entrance. To here [is the Zohar].

(5) And the rabbis said, "[The Messiah's] name is the white one (on account of having tzaraat) of the House of Rabbi (Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi)": The Messiah also includes the virtue of intellect. Hence the rabbis, who were men of intellect, called him the white one of the House of Rabbi. And this thing is a deep matter. For tzaraat is something that is separated from this world. And that is indicated since the one with tzaraat is evicted from the encampment of Israel, and does not have a relationship to the world. And that is why it is written (Leviticus 13:46), "he shall dwell alone." And because the Messiah is also completely separated from this world, hence before the Messiah comes he is similar to one with tzaraat. As he has no commonality or connection with the world. Rather he is separated from it. And since that which the Messiah is separated is because he is completely of the intellect whereas this world is material, that is why he has the categorization of one with tzaraat. And that is why his name is called the white one of the House of Rabbi. For there were people with tzaraat in the House of Rabbi; because they were separated from this world in the House of Rabbi and they were drawn to the intellect, which is separated from this world. That is why tzaraat came to them, since it is also separated from the creatures. And that is why it said that the Messiah, who is completely of the intellect, is completely separated from this world. And that is why his name is the white one of the House of Rabbi. And this is itself what they said (Sanhedrin 98a) that he sits among the poor who suffer from illnesses. And understand this well!