3,985. Sending Ritually Unclean People Out From the Temple

Hilchos Bias HaMikdash 3:1

There is a Torah obligation to send all ritually unclean people out from the Temple, as per Numbers 5:2: “They shall send out from the camp all “lepers”* and “zavs”** and all those who are ritually unclean through contact with the deceased.”

Hilchos Bias HaMikdash 3:2

“The camp” refers to the camp of God’s presence, which is from the entrance to the Israelite courtyard and beyond. But this doesn’t mean that a “leper,” a zav and someone unclean from contact with the dead are all sent to the same place. Regarding a “leper,” Leviticus 13:46 says: “He shall dwell alone outside the camp where he dwells.” This refers to the Israelite camp, which is from the entry to Jerusalem and inward. Because a person with tzaraas has a more extreme form of impurity, he is sent away to a more extreme extent than others. The same is true of anyone with a more extreme form of impurity. Accordingly, a “leper” is sent out of all three camps, which means out of Jerusalem. His impurity is more extreme in that he renders a house unclean by entering it, which is not the case for a zav.

*By a “leper,” we mean a metzora, someone with tzaraas, which is a skin condition commonly (but not accurately) translated as “leprosy.”

**A zav (masc.) and a zavah (fem.) are people who have experienced particular kinds of genital discharge.