Tazria: Leviticus 13

Red, White and Leprosy?

Sefer HaHinuch
At the root of the precept lies the purpose to establish firmly in our spirits that the
watchful care of the Eternal Lord is individual, over each and every one among human
beings, and His eyes are open to observe all their ways: as it is written, For His eyes are
upon the ways of a man, and He sees all his steps (Job 34: 21). Hence He adjured us to give
thought to this evil disease and to consider that sin caused it. Long ago our Sages of
blessed memory said that it comes mostly for the sin of evil gossip, and we should not
assume it to happen by way of chance. We are then to come to the kohen, who stands
as minister for the atonement of sinners. ln the company of the agent of atonement,
perhaps he, the sinner, will meditate on repentance. Then he will be shut away
(quarantined) for a few days, so that he can think over his affairs unhurriedly, and
examine his deeds.

At times he will be shut away for two periods of quarantine: Perhaps the first time he
meditated on repentance but there was no complete return in penitence—as you might
say, by way of example that he decided to return half of what he had seized in robbery;
where upon the Eternal Lord would create in him anew a few signs of affliction so that
he should be quarantined a second time: perhaps he will complete his repentance, and
thus become completely purified.

Now, the whole subject of these quarantines indicates His providential watch, blessed
is He, over all the ways of a man, one by one. But because there are many opinions
about God’s providential care for all His creatures, there are many verses that apply to
it in Scripture, and many precepts to teach about the subject, since it is a great
cornerstone principle in our Torah

For there are certain groups of people who think that the watchful care of the Eternal
Lord, blessed is He, is over all species individually, both over humans and over other
living creatures. Then there are groups among them who believe that the watchful care
of the Eternal Lord, blessed is He, is over all things of the world, whether living
creatures or any other things: ln other words, not one small entity will move in this
world except by His desire, blessed is He, and by His decree—to such an extent that
they believe that when one leaf falls from a tree, He decreed over it that it should fall;
and it is impossible for the time of its fall to be delayed or advanced by even a
moment. But this view is very removed from human reason.

Then there are evil groups that think He, blessed is He, does not set His watchful care
at all about any matters of this lowly world, whether about humans or other living
creatures. This is the view of the heretics—evil and bitter.

However, according to what I have heard, we, masters of the true religion, assume His
watchful care, blessed is He, to be over all species of living creatures generally: In other
words, every one of the species created in the world will permanently endure; it will
never end and perish entirely, as by His providential care a way of existence will be
found for everything. As for the human species, it is our belief that His providential
care (blessed is He) is for each and every one individually, and it is He who understands
all their doings (Psalms 33:15). So we received the teaching from our great luminaries;
and we will also find many verses about it which show that the matter is so. Therefore
the Torah cautioned us that when this evil disease befalls a man, namely, a tzara’at
affliction, he should not take it as a chance happening, but rather think at once that his
sins caused it. So let him draw apart from people`s company, like a man who becomes
outcast for the evil of his deeds. And let him associate with the one who makes
atonement, who heals the injury of the sin, and let him show him his affliction. By his
counsel and his words, and by his own examination of his deeds, the affliction will be
removed from him: for God, blessed is He, who keeps watch over him constantly, will
see the act of his repentance and will heal him. This is the reason for the quarantines,
as we have stated.

Seforno

None of these phenomena correspond to the skin diseases we read about in medical
text books. Such phenomena as are mentioned in the textbooks do not result in the
afflicted person being considered ritually impure, nor are they subject to the priest
deciding if indeed the symptoms require isolation of the afflicted person and when
such symptoms can be declared as having disappeared.