The Mystery of Biblical Leprosy: Unraveling an Ancient Enigma

This week's Torah portion delves into the intricate laws of leprosy. The Torah gives detailed instructions for diagnosing and purifying this condition. But has anyone recently encountered a leper? What exactly is leprosy?

It turns out, the answer is not straightforward, and the mystery continues. Both religious scholars and medical professionals have not clearly identified the illness described in the Torah.

If you're familiar with history, you'll know that leprosy was relatively common over the past two millennia. Many major cities had leper colonies, and there are numerous descriptions and illustrations of lepers and their plight.

In 1873, Norwegian researcher Hansen identified the bacteria causing this disease, and it was named after him (rather unsettlingly) "Hansen's disease," or by its Latin name, lepra. Thanks to advances in medicine, a cure was discovered, and today, it has all but disappeared, thank Hashem. It's now mainly found in underdeveloped regions with inadequate healthcare, like parts of Africa.

Throughout the Middle Ages, this disease was perceived as "leprosy," and those afflicted were isolated on remote islands, their stories shrouded in horror. Their bodies contorted and covered in sores presented a ghastly sight. The great irony is that Hansen's disease is not contagious through touch or close contact! Leprosy was spread through Christian beliefs that linked it to biblical leprosy, assuming the Torah’s directive to isolate lepers was to prevent contagion, while the real danger was not present.

Today, we understand that Hansen's disease is not the biblical leprosy, for a very simple reason: it wasn't present in the world until the Hellenistic period. Historical sources describe the global shock when this disease arrived from the Far East with soldiers of the Hellenistic empire. Comprehensive archaeological studies in 2015 confirmed this information. There's a substantial amount of skeletal remains from affected individuals in various locations, but only from the Hellenistic period onward.

Anyone reading the Torah will notice that its description of leprosy differs significantly from what we see in paintings. The Torah speaks of white appearances and types of hair, and that's it. There are no contorted limbs or sores. It's simply another illness altogether.

So what is the leprosy the Torah speaks of? It's incredibly challenging to reconstruct and recognize a disease that may not have existed for thousands of years.

Many theories have been suggested, yet, Rabbi Avraham Steinberg concludes in his book on medicine and Halacha that none are substantiated. Especially when we recall that the Torah also refers to afflictions on garments and buildings—phenomena entirely unfamiliar to us.

An interesting idea proposes that leprosy could be a form of psoriasis. While modern psoriasis doesn't match the biblical description, diseases do, as we know, have different versions, like software... or COVID. Perhaps the version mentioned in the Torah was similar to psoriasis, characterized by large, white spots on the skin, and crucially, it lacks any medical explanation. It's not related to infection or bacteria; it simply comes from the heavens and goes when Hashem wills it. This aligns with the Torah's depiction of leprosy as a punishment for lashon hara (gossip), which vanishes when one repents.