Parshat Metzora

For the week ending 10 Nissan 5760 / 14 & 15 April 2000

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Contents:

Parsha Questions

Bonus Question

I Did Not Know That!

Recommended Reading List

Answers to Parsha Questions

Answer to Bonus Question

Back issues of Parsha Q&A

Subscription Information

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Parsha Questions

Answers | Contents

1. When may a metzora not be pronounced tahor?
2. In the midbar, where did a metzora dwell while he was tamei?
3. Why does the metzora require birds in the purification process?
4. In the purification process of a metzora, what does the cedar wood symbolize?
5. During the purification process, the metzora is required to shave his hair. Which hair must he shave?
6. What is unique about the chatat and the asham offered by the metzora?
7. In the Beit Hamikdash, when the metzora was presented "before Hashem" (14:11), where did he stand?
8. Where was the asham of the metzora slaughtered?
9. How was having tzara'at in one's house sometimes advantageous?
10. When a house is suspected as having tzara'at, what is its status prior to the inspection by a kohen?
11. What happens to the vessels that are in a house found to have tzara'at?
12. Which type of vessels cannot be made tahor after they become tamei?
13. Where were stones afflicted with tzara'at discarded?
14. When a house is suspected of having tzara'at, a kohen commands that the affected stones be replaced and the house plastered. What is the law if the tzara'at:
    1. returns and spreads;
    2. does not return;
    3. returns, but does not spread?
15. When a person enters a house that has tzara'at, when do his clothes become tamei?
16. What is the status of a man who is zav (sees a flow):
    1. two times or two consecutive days;
    2. three times or three consecutive days?
17. A zav sat or slept on the following:
    1. a bed;
    2. a plank;
    3. a chair;
    4. a rock.
    If a tahor person touches these things what is his status?
18. What does the Torah mean when it refers to a zav who "has not washed his hands"?
19. When may a zav immerse in a mikveh to purify himself?
20. What is the status of someone who experiences a one time flow?

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Contents Answer	Since the signs of a tzara'at are easily recognized, why is the person's status dependent only upon the word and declaration of the kohen?

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I Did Not Know That!

"And he (the metzora) shall offer it as an asham (guilt offering)..." (14:12)

An asham is offered when one has misused holy possessions. The metzora brings an asham because he misused his faculty of speech.

Sforno

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Recommended Reading List

Ramban 14:2 Compulsive Cleanliness 15:11 The Zav Sefer HaChinuch 174 Purification and Rebirth 175 Cleansing Waters

Sforno 14:12 The Asham of the Metzora 14:36 The Reason for Waiting 15:2 The Zav

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Answers to this Week's Questions

Questions | Contents

All references are to the verses and Rashi's commentary, unless otherwise stated

1. When may a metzora not be pronounced tahor?
   14:2 - At night.

2. In the midbar, where did a metzora dwell while he was tamei?
   14:3 - Outside the three camps.

3. Why does the metzora require birds in the purification process?
   14:4 - Tzara'at comes as a punishment for lashon hara. Therefore, the Torah requires the metzora to offer birds, who chatter constantly, to atone for his sin of chattering.

4. In the purification process of a metzora, what does the cedar wood symbolize?
   14:4 - The cedar is a lofty tree. It alludes to the fact that tzara'at comes as a punishment for haughtiness.

5. During the purification process, the metzora is required to shave his hair. Which hair must he shave?
   14:9 - Any visible collection of hair on the body.

6. What is unique about the chatat and the asham offered by the metzora?
   14:10 - They require n'sachim (drink offerings).

7. In the Beit Hamikdash, when the metzora was presented "before Hashem" (14:11), where did he stand?
   14:11 - At the gate of Nikanor.

8. Where was the asham of the metzora slaughtered?
   14:13 - On the northern side of the mizbe'ach.

9. How was having tzara'at in one's house sometimes advantageous?
   14:34 - The Amorites concealed treasures in the walls of their houses. After the conquest of the Land, tzara'at would afflict these houses. The Jewish owner would tear down the house and find the treasures.

10. When a house is suspected as having tzara'at, what is its status prior to the inspection by a kohen?
    14:36 - It is tahor.

11. What happens to the vessels that are in a house found to have tzara'at?
    14:36 - They become tamei.

12. Which type of vessels cannot be made tahor after they become tamei?
    14:36 - Earthenware vessels.

13. Where were stones afflicted with tzara'at discarded?
    14:40 - In places where tahor objects were not handled.

14. When a house is suspected of having tzara'at, a kohen commands that the affected stones be replaced and the house plastered. What is the law if the tzara'at:
    1. returns and spreads;
    2. does not return;
    3. returns, but does not spread?
    1. 14:44-45 - It is called "tzara'at mam'eret," and the house must be demolished;
    2. 14:48 - the house is pronounced tahor;
    3. 14:44 - The house must be demolished.

15. When a person enters a house that has tzara'at, when do his clothes become tamei?
    14:46 - When he remains in the house long enough to eat a small meal.

16. What is the status of a man who is zav (sees a flow): a) two times or two consecutive days; b) three times or three consecutive days?
    15:2 -
    1. He is tamei;
    2. he is tamei and is also required to bring a korban.
17. A zav sat or slept on the following:
    1. a bed;
    2. a plank;
    3. a chair;
    4. a rock.

    If a tahor person touches these things what is his status?
    15:4-5 - Only a type of object that one usually lies or sits upon becomes a transmitter of tumah when a zav sits or lies on it. A tahor person who subsequently touches the object becomes tamei and the clothes he is wearing are also tmei'im. Therefore:

    1. tamei;
    2. tahor;
    3. tamei;
    4. tahor.

18. What does the Torah mean when it refers to a zav who "has not washed his hands"?
    15:11 - One who has not immersed in a mikveh.

19. When may a zav immerse in a mikveh to purify himself?
    15:13 - After seven consecutive days without a flow.

20. What is the status of someone who experiences a one time flow?
    15:32 - He is tamei until evening.

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Contents Question	Tzara'at is the punishment for lashon hara. A person who speaks lashon hara doesn't realize the power of speech. The Torah teaches this to the metzora by giving the kohen the ability to declare, with a single word, that the person is tamei. Ohel Yaakov

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Written and Compiled by Rabbi Eliyahu Kane & Rabbi Reuven Subar
General Editor: Rabbi Moshe Newman
Production Design: Michael Treblow

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