Illustration Credit: Elad Lifshitz, Dov Abramson Studio
Commentary פַּרְשָׁנוּת
Why was it necessary to isolate a person with צָרַעַת (tzara’at)?
Here are two ways to understand it.
שֶׁלֹּא יִהְיוּ טְמֵאִים יוֹשְׁבִים עִמּוֹ. וְאָמְרוּ רַבּוֹתֵינוּ: מַה נִּשְׁתַּנָּה מִשְּׁאָר טְמֵאִים לֵשֵׁב בָּדָד? הוּא הִבְדִּיל בְּלָשׁוֹן הָרַע בֵּין אִישׁ לְאִשְׁתּוֹ בֵּין אִישׁ לְרֵעֵהוּ, אַף הוּא יִבָּדֵל.
They had to sit apart, so even other people who were tamei couldn’t be with them.
Our Rabbis said: What made people with tzara’at different from everyone else who was tamei, so that they had to sit alone? The person with tzara’at spoke lashon hara (gossip and slander), and that caused families and friends to separate from each other. So now they deserve to be separated from others too.
"וְטָמֵא טָמֵא יִקְרָא" - צָרִיךְ לְהוֹדִיעַ צַעֲרוֹ לָרַבִּים וְרַבִּים מְבַקְּשִׁים עָלָיו רַחֲמִים.
A person with tzara’at calls out “Tamei! Tamei! (Impure! Impure!)” in order to announce their pain to everyone, and then everyone will pray for mercy on their behalf.
Rashi sees the isolation of someone with tzara’at as a fair punishment. It fits what this person did to others in the first place.
The Gemara says that the isolation of someone with tzara’at was designed in a way that it would create sympathy and mercy. That was the purpose of having the person with tzara’at cry out, “Tamei! Tamei!” (Vayikra 13:45).
- What words in the pesukim are evidence for Rashi’s interpretation? (See the pesukim that appear in פְּשַׁט הַפְּסוּקִים/ Understanding the Verses)
- What lesson can we learn from the Gemara about how to treat people who have done something wrong, or people who have been punished?
- Can both Rashi and the Gemara be true at the same time? How?
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