Tazria-Metzorah / תזריע - מצורע : "Conceive"/"Leper"
Torah : Leviticus 12:1–15:33
Haftarah : 2 Kings 7:3-20
Gospel : Luke 10–13

Thought for the Week:

Hyssop grows in tufts of stems no larger than a foot and a half. The Bible contrasts the hyssop against the cedar when it says, "[Solomon] spoke of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon even to the hyssop that grows on the wall" (1 Kings 4:33). That puts the hyssop on the opposite end of the spectrum from the cedar. Rashi explains that the hyssop plant was used in the purification from leprosy because it is a lowly, humble plant and therefore reminds the penitent gossip that he should have a lowly, humble spirit. A person should try to be a hyssop and not a cedar.

Commentary:

Then the priest shall give orders to take two live clean birds and cedar wood and a scarlet string and hyssop for the one who is to be cleansed. (Leviticus 14:4)

Why did the cleansing of the leper require cedar wood?

The sages believed that biblical leprosy resulted from evil speech. Rashi suggested that the purification ceremony employed cedar wood because the cedar, as a tall and lofty tree, represents the haughty spirit. The metaphor of a cedar as a haughty person comes from the words of the prophet Isaiah.

The LORD of hosts will have a...