Parshas Metzora
Words in bold represent changes to the traditional translation based on the Aramaic translation/commentary attributed to Onkelos the Ger.
Parshas Metzora
Chapter 14
Rishon
1. Hashem spoke with Moshe, saying:
2. This will be the law of the metzora[1] on the day of his purification; he will be brought to the priest.
3. The priest shall go outside the camp. The priest will see and behold, the tzaraas affliction has been healed from the metzora.
4. The priest shall order and the one to be purified will take two live pure birds, cedar wood, crimson dyed (wool)[2] and hyssop.
5. The priest shall order and he will slaughter one bird over an earthenware vessel on spring water.[3]
6. (As for) the live bird, he shall take it and the cedar wood, and the crimson dyed (wool) and the hyssop, and dip them and the live bird in the blood of the bird that was slaughtered on the spring water.
7. He shall sprinkle on the one to be purified from the tzaraas seven times and purify him. He shall send the live bird (away), on the face of the field.
8. The one to be purified shall immerse[4] his clothes, shave all his hair, bathe in water and be clean. After this, he will come into the camp and dwell outside of his tent (for) seven days.
9. It shall be on the seventh day, he shall shave all his hair – his head, his beard, his eyebrows – and all his hair he shall shave. He shall immerse his clothes and bathe his body in water and be clean.
10. And on the eighth day he shall take two unblemished male lambs, one unblemished female lamb in its first year, three-tenths (of an ephah) of fine flour for a flour offering that is mixed with oil, and one log of oil.
11. The priest who is purifying will stand the person being purified and them[5] before Hashem at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting.
12. The priest shall take one male lamb and offer it as a guilt offering with the log of oil; he shall elevate[6] them as an elevation offering before Hashem.
Sheini
13. He shall slaughter the lamb in the place where one slaughters the sin offering and the burnt offering, in a holy place,[7] because the guilt offering is like the sin offering; it is for the priest. It is most holy.[8]
14. The priest shall take from the blood of the guilt offering and the priest shall place (it) on the tip of the right ear of the one being purified, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot.
15. The priest shall take from the log of oil and pour it on the kohein’s left hand.[9]
16. The priest shall dip his right finger from the oil that is on his left hand and sprinkle from the oil with his finger seven times before Hashem.
17. And from the rest of the oil left that is on his palm the priest shall put on the tip of the right ear of the one being purified, and on the thumb of the right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot, on the blood of the guilt offering.
18. And the rest of the oil that is on the hand of the priest he shall put on the head of the one being purified, and the priest shall atone for him before Hashem.
19. The priest shall make the sin offering and atone for the one being purified from his impurity. And after this, he shall slaughter the burnt offering.
20. The priest shall offer up the burnt offering and the flour offering on the altar; the priest shall atone for him and he shall be pure.
Shlishi (Chamishi)
21. And if he is impoverished[10] and his hand is not sufficient, he shall take one male lamb (for) a guilt offering, to elevate to atone for him, and one-tenth (of an ephah) of fine flour that is mixed with oil for a flour offering, and a log of oil,
22. and two doves or two young pigeons for which his hand is sufficient – one shall be a sin offering and one a burnt offering.
23. He shall bring them on the eighth day of his purification to the priest at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting before Hashem.
24. The priest shall take the lamb of the guilt offering and the log of oil, and elevate them as an elevation offering before Hashem.
25. He shall slaughter the lamb of the guilt offering and the priest shall take from the blood of the guilt offering and put it on the tip of the right ear of the one being purified, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot.
26. And from the oil the priest shall pour on the priest’s left hand.
27. The priest shall sprinkle with his right finger from the oil that is on his left hand, seven times before Hashem.
28. The priest shall put from the oil that is on his hand on the tip of the right ear of the one being purified, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot, on the place of the blood of the guilt offering.
29. And what remains from the oil that is on his hand the priest shall put on the head of the one being purified, to atone for him before Hashem.
30. He shall make one of the doves or of the young pigeons, from which his hand suffices,
31. that his hand suffices, the one (as) a sin offering and the (other) one (as) a burnt offering, with the flour offering. The priest will atone for the one being purified before Hashem.
32. This is the law of (one) who has on him an affliction of tzaraas whose hand does not suffice in his purification.
Revii (Shishi)
33. Hashem spoke with Moshe and Aharon, saying:
34. When you come to the land of Canaan that I give you as a possession, I will place an an affliction of tzaraas in a house (in the) land of your possession.
35. The one who owns the house shall come and tell to the priest, saying, “Something like an affliction has appeared to me in the house.”
36. The priest shall order and they will empty the house before the priest enters[11] to examine the affliction, and everything in the house will not be impurified. And after that the priest shall enter to see the house.
37. He will see the affliction and behold, (if) the affliction in the walls of the house is sunken green or red[12] and their appearance is lower[13] than the wall,
38. the priest shall exit from the house to the entrance of the house and quarantine the house (for) seven days.
39. The priest shall return on the seventh day and see, and behold, (if) the affliction has increased[14] in the walls of the house,
40. the priest shall order and they will remove the stones that have the affliction on them and throw them outside the city to an unclean place.
41. They shall scrape the house inside all around, and they shall throw[15] the mortar that they scraped outside the city in an unclean place.
42. They shall take other stones and insert them in the place of the (first) stones, and take other mortar and plaster the house.
43. If the affliction returns and multiplies[16] in the house after they have removed the stones and after they have scraped the house and after plastering,
44. the priest shall enter and see. And behold, (if) the affliction has multiplied in the house, it is depreciative tzaraas in the house; it is unclean.
45. He shall demolish the house—its stones and its wood and all the mortar of the house—and he shall take (them) outside the city to an unclean place.
46. And the one who enters the house all the days it is quarantined shall be unclean until evening.
47. And the one who lies down in the house shall immerse his clothes, and the one who eats in the house shall immerse his clothes.
48. And if the priest should come and see and behold, the affliction hasn’t increased in the house after plastering the house, the priest shall declare the house clean because the affliction has healed.
49. He shall take, to cleanse the house, two birds, cedar wood, a crimson dyed (wool) and hyssop.
50. He shall slaughter one bird over spring water on an earthenware vessel.
51. He shall take the cedar wood, and the hyssop, and the crimson dyed (wool) and the live bird, and dip them in the blood of the slaughtered bird and in the spring water. He shall sprinkle towards the house seven times.
52. He shall cleanse the house with blood of the bird, and with spring water, and with the live bird, and with the cedar wood, and with the hyssop, and with the crimson dyed (wool),
53. He shall send the live bird to outside the city on the face of the field. He shall atone for the house and it shall be clean.
Chamishi
54. This is the law for every affliction of tzaraas and for a scab,
55. and for tzaraas of a garment and on a house,
56. for a deepness, and for a blemish and for a brightness,
57. to rule on the day of impurity and on the day of purity. This is the law of the tzaraas.
Chapter 15
1. Hashem spoke with Moshe and Aharon, saying:
2. Speak with the children of Israel and say to them: any man who will have a discharge from his flesh,[17] his discharge is unclean.
3. This will be his impurity in his discharge: (whether) his flesh runs with his discharge or his flesh is stopped up from his discharge, that is his impurity.
4. Any bedding that the one with the discharge will lie upon shall be unclean, and every utensil on which he sits shall be unclean.
5. A person who touches his bedding shall immerse his clothes, bathe in water and be unclean until evening.
6. One who sits on a utensil upon which the one with the discharge sat shall immerse his clothes, bathe in water and be unclean until evening.
7. And the one who touches the flesh of the one with the discharge shall immerse his clothes, bathe in water and be unclean until evening.
8. And if the one with a discharge spits on a pure (person), he shall immerse his clothes, bathe in water and be unclean until evening.
9. And everything for riding that the one with a discharge will ride upon shall be unclean.
10. And everyone who touches anything that was under him shall be unclean until evening, and the one who carries them shall immerse his clothes, bathe in water and be unclean until evening.
11. And everyone whom the one with a discharge will touch, and his hands he hasn’t rinsed in water, he shall immerse his clothes, bathe in water and be unclean until evening.
12. And an earthenware utensil that the one with a discharge will touch shall be broken; and every wooden utensil shall be rinsed in water.
13. When the one with a discharge will be purified from his discharge, he shall count for himself seven days to his purification, immerse his clothes, bathe his flesh in spring water and be pure.
14. And on the eighth day he shall take to himself two doves or two young pigeons and come before Hashem, to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, and give them to the priest.
15. The priest shall make them – one (as) a sin offering and the (other) one (as) a burnt offering. The priest shall make atone for him, before Hashem, from his discharge.
Shishi (Shevii)
16. And a man from whom goes a seminal emission shall bathe his entire body in water and be unclean until evening.
17. Every garment and every skin that will have seminal emission on it shall be immersed in water and be unclean until evening.
18. And a woman with whom a man will lie (with) a seminal emission, they shall bathe in water and be unclean until evening.
19. And a woman who will have a discharge, her discharge will be blood in her flesh, she shall remain in her separation[18] (for) seven days, and everyone who touches her shall be unclean until evening.
20. And everything upon which she will lie in her separation shall be impure, and everything upon which she will sit shall be impure.
21. And all who touch her bedding shall immerse his clothes, bathe in water and be unclean until evening.
22. And all who touch any utensil upon which she will sit shall immerse his clothes, bathe in water and be unclean until evening.
23. And if he is on the bedding or on the utensil upon which she sat, by touching it he shall be unclean until evening.
24. And if a man shall lie with her, her separation shall be upon him: he shall be unclean (for) seven days and any bedding upon which he will lie shall be unclean.
25. A woman who will experience a discharge of blood for many days not at the time of her separation, or when she has a discharge beyond her separation, all the days of her discharge of impurity are like the days of her separation; she is unclean.
26. All the bedding upon which she will lie all the days of her discharge will be to her like bedding of her separation, and any utensil on which she will sit shall be unclean like the impurity of her separation.
27. All who touch them will be impure; he shall immerse his clothes, bathe in water and be unclean until evening.
28. And if[19] she is purified of her discharge, she shall count for herself seven days, and after this be pure.
Shevii
29. And on the eighth day she shall take two doves or two young pigeons and bring them to the priest, to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting.
30. The priest shall make the one (as) a sin offering and the (other) one (as) a burnt offering, and the priest shall atone for her before Hashem, from her discharge of impurity.
31. You shall warn the children of Israel against their impurity, and they won’t die through their impurity by impurifying My Tabernacle that is among them.
32. This is the law of the man who has a discharge and the one who has a seminal emission through which to be impure,
33. and one who is unclean[20] in her separation, and to one who discharges his discharge – to a male or to a female – and a man who lies with an unclean (woman).
[1] A person with tzaraas. Traditionally translated as “leper,” it is actually something different.
[2] Hebrew: “a strip of crimson.”
[3] Rather than “living (i.e., flowing) water.”
[4] Rather than “wash.”
[5] i.e., the components of his offerings.
[6] Rather than “wave.”
[7] As opposed to “the holy place.”
[8] Literally, “holy of holies.”
[9] As opposed to “palm.”
[10] A greater level of need than merely “poor.”
[11] Onkelos clarifies the mean of the verb “comes.”
[12] Rather than “extremely green or extremely red,” Aramaic lacking terms identical in meaning to the Hebrew.
[13] i.e., deeper.
[14] Rather than “spread.”
[15] Rather than “dump.”
[16] As opposed to “breaks out.”
[17] i.e., the male member.
[18] Hebrew: niddah.
[19] i.e., when.
[20] As opposed to “unwell.”
© Copyright 2021 Rabbi Jack Abramowitz