Sifra
Metzora, Section 5
Metzora, Section 5
1) (Vayikra 14:34) ("When you come to the land of Canaan, which I give to you for a possession, and I put a plague-spot of leprosy in a house of the land of your possession,") "When you come": I might think (that this applies) when they come to trans-Jordan; it is, therefore, written "to the land" — to the distinctive land (of Israel).
2) "which I give to you": I might think (that this applies) when they come to Ammon and Moav; it is, therefore, written "which I give to you," and not Ammon and Moav.
3) "for a possession": (not) until they conquer it. Whence is it derived that if they conquered it, but did not yet divide it (among the tribes); if they divided it (among the families), but did not yet apportion it into patrimonies and each did not clearly recognize his own — I might think that they would be subject to plague-spot tumah; it is, therefore, written (Vayikra 14:35) "Then he whose house it is shall come" — each must recognize what is his.
4) "and I put a plague-spot of leprosy": This is a (glad) tiding to them, that plague-spots will come upon them. (When the Canaanites heard of the Israelites' approach, they hid treasures on the walls of their houses — until plague-spots were sent against their houses, and they were razed.) R. Shimon says: "and I put a plague-spot of leprosy" — to exclude plague-spots caused by (external) forces. "in a house of the land of your possession": to exclude a house built upon a boat or on a four-beamed raft, and to include one built on four pillars (fixed on the ground, in which instance the house is considered "in the land."
5) "your possession": A possession is subject to plague-spot tumah, but Jerusalem, (which was not divided among the tribes,) is not. R. Yehudah said: I heard that the Temple alone (is not subject to plague-spot tumah).
6) A variant: "your possession": Your possession is subject to plague-spot tumah, but the possession of idolators is not. And just as their possession is subject to plague-spot tumah, so, their garments.
7) (Vayikra 14:35) ("Then he whose house it is shall come, and he shall tell the Cohein, saying: As a plague-spot there has appeared to me in the house.") "whose house it is": He shall not send a messenger. I might think, even if he were old or sick; it is, therefore, written he shall come" (connoting one who can come on his own power). "and he shall tell the Cohein": The Cohein shall make a close inquiry as to how the plague-spot came to his house. "saying": The Cohein shall tell him of recondite matters: "My son, plague-spots come only because of slander, as it is written (Devarim 24:8) "Be heedful of the plague-spot of leprosy to take great care and to do … (Devarim 24:9) "Remember what the L–rd your G d did to Miriam …" What does one have to do with the other? We are hereby taught that she was punished (with leprosy) only because of the other.
8) Now does it not follow a fortiori: If this is what happened to Miriam who spoke thus of Moses out of his presence, then one who speaks demeaningly of his neighbor to his face, how much more so!"
9) R. Shimon b. Elazar says: Plague-spots come also because of pride. For thus do we find with Uzziyahu (king of Judah), viz. (II Chronicles 26:16) "But when he grew strong, his heart grew proud to (the point of) corruption. And he rebelled against the L–rd his G d, and he came into the sanctuary of the L–rd to burn incense on the incense altar (II Chronicles 26:17) And there after him Azaryahu the Cohein and with him Cohanim of the L–rd, eighty strong (II Chronicles 26:18) And they stood over Uzziyahu the king, and they said to him: 'It is not for you, Uzziyahu, to burn incense to the L–rd, but for the Cohanim, the sons of Aaron who are consecrated for the burning of incense. Leave the sanctuary …' And Uzziyahu fumed, and in his hand …" (and he was stricken with leprosy.)
10) "plague-spot": What is the intent of "As a plague-spot"? Even if he is a Torah scholar and knows for a certainty that it is a plague-spot, he should not declare outright: "A plague-spot has appeared to me in the house," but: "As a plague-spot there has appeared to me in the house."
11) "there has appeared to me": and not "to my light," whence they ruled that the windows of a dark house are not opened for the inspection of its plague-spot. "in the house": to include a painted house. "in the house": to include the attic. "in the house": It becomes unclean from its inside, and not from its outside.
12) (Vayikra 14:36) ("And the Cohein shall command, and they shall empty out the house before the Cohein comes in to see the plague-spot, so that there not be made unclean all that is in the house; and then the Cohein shall come to see the house.") "And the Cohein shall command, and they shall empty out": the commanding, by the Cohein; the emptying, by anyone. "and they shall empty out the house": even bundles of wood, even bundles of reeds, (which are not susceptible of tumah. These are the words of R. Yehudah. R. Shimon says (in agreement with R. Yehudah): He is "busied" with emptying (in the hope that the spot will disappear before the Cohein comes and declares it tamei). R. Meir said: Now what can become tamei? If you say his wooden vessels, his clothing, and his metal utensils, they can be immersed (in a mikveh) and cleansed. What was the Torah solicitous of? His earthenware vessels and his jars, (which cannot be cleansed by immersion)! If the Torah was so solicitous of his trifling possessions, how much more so, of his valued possessions; if of his possessions, how much more so, of the life of his sons and daughters; if of those of an evildoer, how much more so of a tzaddik!
13) "before the Cohein comes in to see the plague-spot": and not the emptying out (of the house). "so that there not be made unclean all that is in the house": What is the intent of this? Because we find with one who enters a plague-spot house that his clothing does not become tamei until he remains there for as long as it takes to eat a pras (a certain quantity of bread), I might think that if there were garments folded over his shoulder or packed inside the house, they would not be tamei until they remained there for as long as it takes to eat a pras; it is, therefore, written "so that there not be made unclean all that is in the house" — immediately. "and then": to include similar decisions (when the Cohein has to wait before he comes to inspect the house). Rebbi says: (A verse is not necessary for this, for) if we wait because of mundane things, should we not wait because of occasions of mitzvah? And how long is his mitzvah? Let us see. For a groom, we allow the seven days of his feast (without plague-spot inspection) for himself, his house, and his garments. And so, on a festival, we allow him all the days of the festival.