Tzaraat as " a physical manifestation of our internal failings" (Dr. Rachel Rosenthal)
(1) Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman he had married: “He married a Cushite woman!” (2) They said, “Has the LORD spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us as well?” The LORD heard it. (3) Now Moses was a very humble man, more so than any other man on earth. (4) Suddenly the LORD called to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, “Come out, you three, to the Tent of Meeting.” So the three of them went out. (5) The LORD came down in a pillar of cloud, stopped at the entrance of the Tent, and called out, “Aaron and Miriam!” The two of them came forward; (6) and He said, “Hear these My words: When a prophet of the LORD arises among you, I make Myself known to him in a vision, I speak with him in a dream. (7) Not so with My servant Moses; he is trusted throughout My household. (8) With him I speak mouth to mouth, plainly and not in riddles, and he beholds the likeness of the LORD. How then did you not shrink from speaking against My servant Moses!” (9) Still incensed with them, the LORD departed. (10) As the cloud withdrew from the Tent, there was Miriam stricken with snow-white tzaarat! When Aaron turned toward Miriam, he saw that she was stricken with tzaraat.
(ו) אָמַר רַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בֶּן לֵוִי חָמֵשׁ תּוֹרוֹת כְּתוּבוֹת בַּמְּצֹרָע (ויקרא יג, נט): זֹאת תּוֹרַת נֶגַע צָרַעַת, (ויקרא יד, ב): זֹאת תִּהְיֶה תּוֹרַת הַמְצֹרָע, (ויקרא יד, לב): זֹאת תּוֹרַת אֲשֶׁר בּוֹ נֶגַע צָרָעַת, (ויקרא יד, נד): זֹאת הַתּוֹרָה לְכָל נֶגַע הַצָּרַעַת, (ויקרא יד, נז): זֹאת תּוֹרַת הַצָּרָעַת. זֹאת תִּהְיֶה תּוֹרַת הַמְצֹרָע, הַמּוֹצִיא שֵׁם רָע, לְלַמֶּדְךָ שֶׁכָּל הָאוֹמֵר לָשׁוֹן הָרָע עוֹבֵר עַל חֲמִשָּׁה חֻמְשֵׁי תוֹרָה, לְפִיכָךְ משֶׁה מַזְהִיר אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל: זֹאת תִּהְיֶה תּוֹרַת הַמְצֹרָע.
This will be the law of the Metzora, for they brought out a bad name (motzi shem ra), to teach you that all who speak lashon hara transgress all five books of the Torah, and accordingly Moses announced to the People of Israel: "this will be the law of the metzora."
Dr. Rachel Rosenthal, " Here I Am, Tzara’at and All" ( https://www.jtsa.edu/torah/tzaraat-and-all/)
The Midrash makes a pun, connecting the metzorah, the one who is afflicted with this skin disease,to the motzi shem ra, the one who ruins someone’s reputation by spreading lies about that person (Lev. Rabbah Parashat Metzorah par. 16:6). (This is a fairly typical example of rabbinic punning, one of the Rabbis’ favorite exegetical tools.) According to this midrash, because there are five sections of the Torah that discuss the disease of tzara’at, one who is a motzi shem ra has transgressed the entire five books of the Torah.
Building on this assumption, a midrash in the Sifra explains that when Miriam is struck with tzara’at in Numbers 12, it is because she was criticizing Moshe behind his back. The Sifra assumes that evil speech not only causes tzara’at, but specifically causes it in the face, because “skin lesions do not appear except through evil speech” (par. 5:7). Following the line of reasoning in this framework, forcing the stricken to cry out that they are unclean becomes a type of karmic retribution. The stricken person had spoken in an inappropriate manner about others, and by declaring his or her own uncleanliness, the person is opening the door to being talked about in the same way. Speaking carelessly about others, without regard to the others’ reputations, will cause one to be similarly excluded from the community.
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Imagine if, every time we wronged ourselves and others, we were forced to stand up and admit it. Imagine if we were forced to declare ourselves impure every time we felt thus on the inside. Imagine if we had a physical sign of our sins and our failings. Would this not help us change—and improve—our behaviors?
Tzaraat as punishment for questioning the status of God's servants (prophets, priests)
Rav Yonatan Grossman, " The Plague of Tzara'at," https://torah.etzion.org.il/en/plague-tzaraat
...the Torah teaches us, right after the death of Aharon's sons the extra strictures that the Mishkan demands from its appointees (purity), and especially emphasizes the disease of tzara'at, which comes as a punishment for the questioning of the status of God's special servants, whether a prophet (as with Miriam and Gechazi) or a priest (like Uzia). In the description of the disease of tzara'at and in the description of the dependence of the patient on the priests, the Torah balances the picture. Indeed on the eighth day God is revealed to all of Israel and all of the nation stands before God; however, there are still servants who stand closer and who are responsible for the activity in the Mishkan and one may not question their special status.
Physical Cleansing as a Marker of Spiritual Healing/ Change
(2) This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing: he shall be brought unto the priest. (3) And the priest shall go forth out of the camp; and the priest shall look, and, behold, if the plague of leprosy be healed in the leper; (4) then shall the priest command to take for him that is to be cleansed two living clean birds, and cedar-wood, and scarlet, and hyssop. (5) And the priest shall command to kill one of the birds in an earthen vessel over running water. (6) As for the living bird, he shall take it, and the cedar-wood, and the scarlet, and the hyssop, and shall dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water. (7) And he shall sprinkle upon him that is to be cleansed from the leprosy seven times, and shall pronounce him clean, and shall let go the living bird into the open field. (8) And he that is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes, and shave off all his hair, and bathe himself in water, and he shall be clean; and after that he may come into the camp, but shall dwell outside his tent seven days. (9) And it shall be on the seventh day, that he shall shave all his hair off his head and his beard and his eyebrows, even all his hair he shall shave off; and he shall wash his clothes, and he shall bathe his flesh in water, and he shall be clean. (10) And on the eighth day he shall take two he-lambs without blemish, and one ewe-lamb of the first year without blemish, and three tenth parts of an ephah of fine flour for a meal-offering, mingled with oil, and one log of oil. (11) And the priest that cleanseth him shall set the man that is to be cleansed, and those things, before the LORD, at the door of the tent of meeting.
Etz Hayim Torah Commentary
Bathe his body in water: This was not simply to cleanse oneself. It symbolized rebith and recreation--just as an infant is born out of water, just as a convert emerges out of water to a new life and a new identity, just as the world was created out of water (Gen. 1:2). The experience of illness and recovery has made the leper a new person--that is, someone who now looks at life differently (Sefer HaChinuch).
The Torah: A Women's Commentary
Dr. Rachel Havrelock
By moving from a state of ritual impurity to one of ritual purity, the ever-changing human body serves as the index for the transformation of identity...As the body undergoes the permutations of ritual purity and impurity, the impure body is sometimes exiled--but not abandoned to its exile. The appearance of a priest outside the camp (14:3) signals that exile is ephemeral and that restoration will begin.,,,
Focus on the body emphasizes the changes undergone by the self in the process of becoming another self. Signs on the body gauge identity and mark transformation. When the sick are healed, their bodies bear the proof. Yet one's body is not only an indicator of change but also a vessel of memory...The body attests to change as well as to the indelibility of experience. Therefore descriptions of identity, predicated as they are on the language of body, convey the tension between the possibility of change and the integrity of forms.
Mikva Meditation (adapted from A Handbook for Jewish Meditation, by David Cooper)
Sit in Meditation. Breath work. Visualize approaching your favourite body of water, and bringing the water to each body part one by one, with the following kavanot/intentions: I am cleansing my forehead, and all that it represents, so that I can be free from critical and judgmental thoughts whether they are thoughts about myself or about others... I am cleansing my eyes so that I will be able to see the good in people and in myself... I am cleansing my nose so that I will be able to smell the smells of nature... I am cleansing my ears so that I will be able to actively listen when people speak to me, without judgement.... I am purifying around my mouth so that I can be more aware of the words that I speak... I am cleansing my cheeks so that I will be able to smile and appreciate all the gifts that I have been given... I am cleansing my jaw so that I will be able to relax and be present at all times... I am washing my neck so that I will be flexible and able to understand the viewpoints of others.... I am washing my hands so that I will do work in the world that contributes to justice and betterment.