(Short Version of Tzria Metzora answers)

Metzora 5727

Alef.

ויקרא פרק יד

(ח) וְכִבֶּס הַמִּטַּהֵר אֶת בְּגָדָיו וְגִלַּח אֶת כָּל שְׂעָרוֹ וְרָחַץ בַּמַּיִם וְטָהֵר וְאַחַר יָבוֹא אֶל הַמַּחֲנֶה וְיָשַׁב מִחוּץ לְאָהֳלוֹ שִׁבְעַת יָמִים:

(ט) וְהָיָה בַיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי יְגַלַּח אֶת כָּל שְׂעָרוֹ אֶת רֹאשׁוֹ וְאֶת זְקָנוֹ וְאֵת גַּבֹּת עֵינָיו וְאֶת כָּל שְׂעָרוֹ יְגַלֵּחַ וְכִבֶּס אֶת בְּגָדָיו וְרָחַץ אֶת בְּשָׂרוֹ בַּמַּיִם וְטָהֵר:

(י) וּבַיּוֹם הַשְּׁמִינִי יִקַּח שְׁנֵי כְבָשִׂים תְּמִימִם וְכַבְשָׂה אַחַת בַּת שְׁנָתָהּ תְּמִימָה וּשְׁלֹשָׁה עֶשְׂרֹנִים סֹלֶת מִנְחָה בְּלוּלָה בַשֶּׁמֶן וְלֹג אֶחָד שָׁמֶן:

(כג) וְהֵבִיא אֹתָם בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁמִינִי לְטָהֳרָתוֹ אֶל הַכֹּהֵן אֶל פֶּתַח אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד לִפְנֵי יְקֹוָק:

כג וְהֵבִ֨יא אֹתָ֜ם בַּיּ֧וֹם הַשְּׁמִינִ֛י לְטָֽהֳרָת֖וֹ אֶל־הַכֹּהֵ֑ן אֶל־פֶּ֥תַח אֹֽהֶל־מוֹעֵ֖ד לִפְנֵ֥י ה'׃

And on the eighth day he shall bring them for his cleansing unto the priest, unto the door of the tent of meeting, before the LORD.

1.  RaShI appears to understand the phrase “שמיני לצפורים” as actually referring to the seventh day, i.e., the final day of Tuma vis-à-vis causing others to becoming Tameh (Mizrachi) is the seventh day which should be viewed for that purpose as the eighth day. However, the literal eighth day is for offering up the atoning sacrifices that allow the individual to now eat from sacrifices in general.

2.  The simple meaning seems to be “on the eighth day of his purification process.”

     According to the cantillation, it would imply, “on the eighth day, once he has purified himself.”

3.  R. Hirsch—“on the eighth day of his purification process.”

     Rosenzweig—“on the eighth day, once he has purified himself.”

4.  Perhaps R. Breuer thinks that as long as there is not an Etnachta separating “השמיני” from “לטהרתו” they could still be understood as a continuum, even if a more fluid arrangement of cantillation notes could have been possible.

Beit.    

              1.  MalBIM assumes that from the words of the young girl who was the reason why Na’aman sought out Elisha to cure him of his Tzora’at (II Melachim 5:3), due to Elisha’s interventions, Tzora’at had all but been eliminated in Israel. Consequently, if someone still suffered from it, it was due to Elisha’s deliberate refusal to cure them, in this case due to Elisha’s curse of Geichazi for having attempted to profit from Elisha’s miraculous cure.

2.  If these individuals were anonymous, it would have said "ארבעה מצורעים". However, because they are referred to as “אנשים היו מצורעים” it suggests that they were well-known individuals who happened to be afflicted with Tzora’at. The most famous people who were in such a situation were Geichazi and his sons.

Gimel.

1.  From the two examples that Nechama cites from RaShI’s commentary, when the subject precedes the verb, the implication is that this is something that has already happened, i.e., the pluperfect form.

בראשית פרק ד

(א) וְהָאָדָם יָדַע אֶת חַוָּה אִשְׁתּוֹ וַתַּהַר וַתֵּלֶד אֶת קַיִן וַתֹּאמֶר קָנִיתִי אִישׁ אֶת יְקֹוָק:

רש"י בראשית פרק ד פסוק א

(א) והאדם ידע - כבר קודם הענין של מעלה, קודם שחטא ונטרד מגן עדן, וכן ההריון והלידה, שאם כתב וידע אדם נשמע שלאחר שנטרד היו לו בנים:

Kayin and Hevel were born before the sin of the Garden and the exile of Adam and Eve from Eden.

בראשית פרק כא

(א) וַיקֹוָק פָּקַד אֶת שָׂרָה כַּאֲשֶׁר אָמָר וַיַּעַשׂ יְקֹוָק לְשָׂרָה כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּבֵּר:

רש"י בראשית פרק כא פסוק א

(א) וה' פקד את שרה וגו' - סמך פרשה זו לכאן ללמדך שכל המבקש רחמים על חבירו והוא צריך לאותו דבר הוא נענה תחילה, שנאמר (לעיל כ יז) ויתפלל וגו' וסמיך ליה וה' פקד את שרה שפקד כבר קודם שרפא את אבימלך:

As soon as Avraham agreed to pray for Avimelech, Sara was already pregnant.

2.  Klee Yakar reads the phrase, “וַאדֹ-נָי הִשְׁמִיעַ אֶת-מַחֲנֵה אֲרָם” “And HaShem Made them hear the encampment of Aram”—i.e., their own encampment.

Daled.

Perhaps in v. 8, the pronoun “ האלה” is employed because there had been an interruption in the account   about these men. In v. 5 we are told about the four men venturing towards the Aramean camp, v. 6-7 tells us what has happened to the Arameans, and then we pick up the men’s story again in v. 8, with “ האלה” ensuring that we understand that we are picking up the same story.

As for why if it had already stated that they were at the edge of the encampment in v. 5, this has to be mentioned again in v. 8, MaLBIM suggests that v. 5 is talking about the area where the guards were stationed. In v. 8, they are actually inside the camp itself where the tents of the soldiers are located.

Heh.

MaLBIM surmises that since they did not know what would happen to the scouts whom they would send, they decided that it was enough to risk the lives of two individuals, rather than five. (Of course, there was a greater chance of one escaping to give a report if more were sent at the outset.)

Vav.                                                     

1. The captain who was defying Elisha very publicly was calling into question not only the prophet’s legitimacy, but God’s Omnipotence. The whole purpose of a miracle is to establish God’s Power and Ability, implying that the Jewish people must adhere to His Instructions. Those who doubt the credibility of God and His Messengers, are pitting themselves against God Himself, and the consequences are dire when the lie is put to their scoffing. Similarly the King of Israel by wishing to harm Elisha for not helping him defeat Ben Hadad was challenging not only the prophet, but also God Whom he represented and therefore it would not go well with the king.

2.  The similarly to Amalek’s attack on the Jewish people as they had just come out of Egypt is based on the idea that from Shemot 15 it was clear that at least for a short time, all of the nations of the world were impressed with and afraid of HaShem’s Power and therefore the Jewish people whom He Defended. Amalek was not impressed, and wished to demonstrate by his attack on the Jews, that both the people as well as the God associated with them were not to be feared. Such a challenge has to be met most definitively.

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