The Living Dead: The Profound Insight of Tzara'at in Jewish Lore

The Torah devotes extensive discussion to the laws of tzara'at. Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch writes that only three sections in the Torah start with "When a person...": the sections concerning sacrificial offerings, tzara'at, and the impurity of death. The reason is that they all involve correcting the nullification of human essence: purification from contact with death is about reconciling with mortality; the sacrifice stands in place of a person's death, because due to sin, one deserves to die, and the sacrifice comes in their place; and tzara'at is also akin to death, as the afflicted individual is considered as if dead.

When King Uzziah of Israel was afflicted with tzara'at, he was moved to live in a "free house," which the Sages explained as a "home in the cemetery." Why a cemetery? Because someone with tzara'at is considered like the dead, a living dead, and "free" reminds us of what is said about the dead: "free among the dead." The individual with tzara'at is exempt from many mitzvot, not just those requiring purity, as they are perpetually impure, but all social interactions, including with the community, family, field, and property. Most mitzvot are withdrawn from them, making them like the living dead. Their behavior is even akin to practices of mourning: they must cover their face much like a mourner would (as the translation notes: "like a mourner one should wrap oneself"). When Miriam the prophetess was afflicted, Moses prayed for her: "Please do not let her be as one dead," etc. Job was struck by Satan with various afflictions but not tzara'at, only boils, because if he had tzara'at, he would be entirely considered as dead, and his friends would not have been able to speak with him, only distance themselves.

The term "negha" does not inherently refer to tzara'at, because "great afflictions" of Pharaoh in Genesis 12 were not tzara'at, but rather refer to the effect of Hashem's hand. The person with tzara'at is someone whom Hashem has touched negatively to set apart. This also explains the law that initial doubts about whether a spot is tzara'at are deemed pure, as the affliction is a declaration from heaven, and a royal decree doesn't stutter; if Hashem wished to distance someone, He would send a clear sign, while a doubtful affliction serves as a warning. After being declared impure, they are treated as any other doubtful prohibition.

This is why the miracle Moses performs involves putting his hand in his bosom, and when he withdraws it, it is afflicted with tzara'at, and when he places it back, it is healed. Through this, Moses shows that he was touched by Hashem's hand, and he can inflict plagues and afflictions upon people with divine sanction, as well as heal them. The hand symbolizes a mission, as a prolonged hand of the sender. The laws of tzara'at were given to Israel. A non-Jew with tzara'at is not considered impure because only someone close to Hashem must beware the touch of His hand. Even Moses himself, the Sages interpreted, had his hand afflicted during the miracle because he spoke negatively about Israel. And this was due to his exalted status and closeness to Hashem, where even a minor misstep was deemed a blemish. Similarly, King Uzziah, who offered a sacrifice without permission, was afflicted with tzara'at. This is actually a privilege: because he was a king from the House of David and significant, he merited punishment through tzara'at. Other sinners were not given attention for their sins in this world.

It's fascinating that tzara'at is described in the Torah as "shining," or "glistening on the forehead" (as in Uzziah). This light expresses Hashem's hand (even tzara'at where hair is removed relates to this brightness, with "matured" meaning shining, like polished gold, perhaps due to the nature of a bald spot on the forehead to shine slightly). When Hashem's hand touched Moses favorably, "the skin of his face shone," to the extent that others could not look at him, requiring him to cover his head (similarly, when the Angel of Destruction wrestled with Jacob, "he touched the socket of his thigh, and Jacob's hip was dislocated," because as an angel, he didn't need to strike, and his touch was destructive).

Since tzara'at is the touch of Hashem, there is no engaging in healing it, but rather understanding that it arises from sin, and the way to correct it is through penitence and correcting the sin.