The Torah תורה gives more time and space
to the discussion about leprosy than to
any other disease. In the book of Leviticus ויקרא
two long chapters, thirteen and fourteen, are devoted
to this subject in great detail.
Why does the Torah pay more attention
to leprosy than to any other disease?
This question is answered by the Torah itself.
The first time leprosy is mentioned
by the Torah is in the book of Exodus שמות
when HASHEM calls Moses to act
as his prophet to deliver Israel from
the bondage of Egypt מצרים.
HASHEM uses leprosy as one
of the signs that He has sent Moses
to deliver his people Israel ישראל
out from under the hand of the Egyptians.
Exodus 4:4-9.
“And HASHEM said to Moses,
Put forth your hand,
and take it (the dragon-serpent) by the tail.
And he put forth his hand,
and caught it,
and it became a rod in his hand:
That they may believe that
HASHEM the G-d of their fathers,
the G-d of Abraham, the G-d of Isaac,
and the G-d of Jacob,
has appeared to you.
And HASHEM said furthermore to him,
Put now your hand into your bosom.
And he put his hand into his bosom:
and when he took it out, behold,
his hand was leprous as snow.
And HASHEM said,
put your hand in your bosom again.
And he put his hand into his bosom again;
and plucked it out of his bosom, and, behold
it was turned again as his other flesh.
And it shall come to pass,
if they will not believe you,
neither hearken to the voice
of the first sign,
that they will believe the voice
of the latter sign.”
ויאמר יהוה אל משה
שלח ידך ואחוז בזנבו
וישלח ידו ויחזק בו
ויהי למטה בכפו:
למען יאמינו כי נראה אליך
יהוה אלהי אבתם אלהי אברהם
אלהי יצחק ואלהי יעקב:
ויאמר יהוה לו
עוד הבא נא ידך בחיקך
ויבא ידו בחיקו ויצאה
והנה ידו מצרעת כשלג:
ויאמר השב ידך אל חיקך
וישב ידו אל חיקו
והנה שבה כבשרו:
והיה אם לא יאמינו לך
ולא ישמעו לקול האות הראשון
והאמינו לקול האות האחרון:
The healing of leprosy
was a testimony to the power
and authority of HASHEM.
Yet the Torah התורה never records
that Moses ever used this sign to Israel.
Moses uses the sign of turning the rod
into a serpent תנין but he never uses
the sign of leprosy מצורע.
A second question now arises.
Why did Moses never use
the sign of leprosy?
This question is again answered
by the Torah תורה.
Moses declares to Israel
in the book of Deuteronomy דברים
that HASHEM will raise up to them
a prophet like himself,
and that Israel MUST listen to him
and believe him .
Deuteronomy 18:15-19.
“HASHEM your G-d will raise up to you
a Prophet from the midst of you
of your brothers, like me;
you shall listen to him.
According to all that you desired
of the HASHEM your G-d in Horeb
in the day of the assembly, saying,
Let me not hear again
the voice of HASHEM my G-d,
neither let me see the great fire any more,
that I die not.
And HASHEM said to me
They have spoken well
that which they have spoken.
I will raise up to them a Prophet
from among their brothers,
like you,
and I will put my words in his mouth:
and he shall speak to them
all that I shall command him.
And it shall come to pass,
that whosoever will not listen
to my words
which he shall speak in my name,
I will require it of him.”
נביא מקרבך מאחיך במני
יקים לך יהוה אלהיך
אליו תשמעון
ככל אשר שאלת מעם
יהוה אלהיך בחורב
ביום הקהל לאמר
לא אסף לשמע
את קול יהוה אלהי
ואת האש הגדלה הזאת
לא אראה עוד ולא אמות:
ויאמר יהוה אלי
היטיבו אשר דברו:
נביא אקים להם מקרב אחיהם במוך
ונתתי דברי בפיו ודבר אליהם
את כל אשר אצונו:
והיה האיש אשר לא שמע
אל דברי אשר ידבר בשמי
אנכי אדרש מעמו:
Thus the Torah תורה says that this sign,
the sign of Leprosy,
is reserved for the Messiah משיח .
It is a sign that HASHEM
has sent the Messiah משיח.
When Yeshua ישוע healed the leper,
he told him to tell no one,
but to go and show himself
to the priests כהנים
according to the Torah תורה
for a testimony to them.
“And there came a leper to him,
beseeching him, and kneeling down to him,
and saying to him,
If you will, you can make me clean.
And Yeshua (Jesus) ישוע,
moved with compassion,
put forth his hand, and touched him,
and said to him,
I will: be clean of your leprosy.
And, as soon as he had spoken,
immediately the leprosy departed from him,
and he was cleansed.
And Yeshua ישוע sternly charged him,
and upon this sent him away.
And Yeshua ישוע said to him,
See that you say nothing to any man:
but go your way,
show yourself to the Kohen,
and offer for your cleansing
those things which Moses commanded,
for a testimony to them. “
ובא אליו איש מצורע
והתחנן לפניו:
הוא כרע על ברכיו ואמר לו
אם תרצה תוכל לטהר אותי:
ברוב רחמיו הושיט ישוע את ידו
ונגע בו ואמר אליו
רוצה אני הטהר:
בותו רגע סרה ממנו הצרעת
והוא נטהר:
ישוע הזהיר אותו
ומהר לשלח אותו:
וישוע אמר אליו
ראה אל תגיד דבר לאיש
ברם לך הראה אל הכהן
והקרב לטהרתך
את אשר צוה משה
לעדות להם:
The reason Yeshua ישוע said
‘for a testimony to them ‘ is that
the kohanim knew that the power
to heal leprosy was a sign
of the Messiah משיה,
and that HASHEM had sent him,
as HASHEM had sent Moses.
Because Yeshua ישוע had the seal
of HASHEM, they were to hear him,
and to believe what he said
as Moses had commanded them.
Leprosy was also the disease that
reflected the works of sin חטא
and iniquity עון on the soul הנפש .
As leprosy affects the body
and eats away body parts,
so sin eats away the parts of the soul.
Leprosy paralyzes the parts of the body,
so the victim does not feel the destruction.
Sin paralyzes the parts of the soul,
so the victim does not feel its destruction.
When Yeshua ישוע healed the leper,
he not only cleansed him from the disease,
but he recreated the body parts
of the leper that the leprosy had eaten away,
or that had totally fallen off.
And the flesh became new and fresh
like the flesh of a little child.
Yeshua thus demonstrated that he has power
as the Messiah המשיח to forgive
and to cleanse sin and iniquity,
and to recreate the parts of the soul
that the sin and iniquity had eaten away.
The Torah תורה tells us
that Miriam מיראם
was smitten by HASHEM with leprosy
for her sin.
Numbers 12:9-15.
“And the anger of HASHEM
was kindled against them;
and he departed.
And the cloud departed from off the tabernacle;
and, behold, Miriam became leprous,
white as snow:
and Aaron looked upon Miriam,
and, behold, she was leprous.
And Aaron said to Moses,
Alas, my lord, I beseech you,
lay not the sin upon us,
wherein we have done foolishly,
and wherein we have sinned.
Let her not be as one dead,
of whom the flesh is half consumed
when he comes out of his mother’s womb.
And Moses cried to HASHEM, saying,
Heal her now, O G-d, I beseech you.
And HASHEM said to Moses,
If her father had but spit in her face,
should she not be ashamed seven days?
Let her be shut out from the camp seven days,
and after that let her be received in again.
And Miriam was shut out
from the camp seven days:
and the people jouneyed not until
Miriam was brought in again.”
ויחר אף יהוה בם וילך:
והענן סר מעל האוהל
והנה מרים מצרעת כשלג
ויפן אהרן אל מרים והנה מצרעת:
ויאמר אהרן אל משה
בי אדני אל נא
תשת עלינו חטאת אשר נואלנו
ואשר חטאנו:
אל נא תהי כמת
אשר בצאתו מרחם אמו
ויאכל חצי בשרו:
ויצעק משה אל יהוה לאמר
אל נא רפא נא לה:
ויאמר יהוה אל משה
ואביה ירוק ירק בפניה
הלא תכלם שבעת ימים
תשגר שבעת ימים מחוץ למחנה
ואחר תאסף:
ותסגר מרים מחוץ למחנה
שבעת ימים
והעם לא נסע עד האסף מרים:
HASHEM healed her because
Moses prayed for her.
HASHEM forgave her inquity at Moses’ request.
The Tanach התנך also tells us
that king Uzziah עזיה המלך
was smitten by HASHEM with leprosy
for his iniquity.
II Chronicles 26:16-21.
“But when Uzziah was strong,
his heart was lifted up to his destruction;
for he transgressed against HASHEM his G-d,
and went into the temple of HASHEM
to burn incense upon the altar of incense.
And Azariah the priest went in after him,
and with him eighty kohanim of HASHEM,
who were valiant men:
and they withstood Uzziah the king,
and said to him,
It does not appertain to you, Uzziah,
to burn incense to HASHEM,
but to the kohanim the sons of Aaron,
who are consecrated to burn incense:
go out of the sanctuary;
for you have trespassed;
neither shall it be for your honor from HASHEM.
Then Uzziah was very angry,
and had a censer in his hand
to burn incense:
and while he was angry with the priests,
the leprosy even rose up
in his forehead before the kohanim
in the house of the LORD,
from beside the incense altar.
And Azariah the chief Kohen,
and all the kohanim, looked upon him,
and, behold, he was leprous in his forehead,
and they thrust him out from there;
Yes, he hastened also to go out,
because HASHEM had smitten him.
And Uzziah the king was a leper
until the day of his death,
and dwelt in a separate house,
being a leper;
for he was cut off from
the house of the LORD.”
ובחזקתו גבה לבו עד להשחית
וימעל ביהוה אלהיו
ויבא אל היכל יהוה
להקטיר על מזבח הקטרת:
ויבא אחריו עזריהו הכהן
ועמו כהנים ליהוה
שמונים בני חיל:
ויעמדו על עזיהו המלך
ויאמרו לו לא לך עזיהו
להקטיר ליהוה
כי לכהנים בני אהרן
המקדשים להקטיר
צא מן המקדש כי מעלת
ולא לך לכבוד מיהוה אלהים:
ויזעף עזיהו
ובידו מקטרת להקטיר
ובזעפו עם הכהנים
והצרעת זרחה במצחו
לפני הכהנים בבית יהוה
מעל למזבח הקטרת:
ויפן אליו עזריהו כהן הראש
וכל הכהנים
והנה הוא מצרע במצחו
ויבהלוהו משם
וגם הוא נדחף לצאת
כי נגעו יהוה:
ויהיעזיהו המלך מצרע
עד יום מותו
וישב בית החפשות מצרע
כנגזר מבית יהוה:
HASHEM never healed him.
Uzziah was never forgiven for his iniquity.
So we see Yeshua ישוע has the power
to heal leprosy.
He also has the power to forgive
sin and iniquity חטא ועון.
When Yeshua ישוע forgives
sin and iniquity,
he also restores the soul
by recreating those parts of the soul
that sin and iniquity have eaten away.
Perception, sensibility, feeling,
intellect, emotions and the will
are recreated. The intellect is enlarged,
the dead emotions become alive,
and the paralyzed, dysfunctional will
becomes quickened, active, and free.
The Torah gives evidence of the cleansing
from sin by the sacrifice and the blood
being applied to Aaron when he entered
the office of Kohen הכהנות.
This is because Aaron had to be perfect
when he entered this office.
Leviticus 8:22-24.
“And Moses brought the other ram,
the ram of consecration:
and Aaron and his sons laid their hands
upon the head of the ram.
And he slew it;
and Moses took of the blood of it,
and put it upon the tip
of Aaron’s right ear,
and upon the thumb
of his right hand,
and upon the great toe
of his right foot.
And he brought Aaron’s sons,
and Moses put of the blood
upon the tip
of their right ear,
and upon the thumbs
of their right hands,
and upon the great toes
of their right feet:
and Moses sprinkled the blood
upon the altar round about.”
+ויקרב את האיל השני
איל המלאים
ויסמכו אהרן ובניו את ידיהם
על ראש האיל:
וישחט ויקח משה מדמו
ויתן על תנוך אזן אהרן הימנית
ועל בוהן ידו הימנית
ועל בוהן רגלו הימנית:
ויקרב את בני אהרן
ויתן משה מן הדם
על תנוך אזנם הימנית
ועל בוהן ידם הימנית
ועל בוהן רגלם הימנית
וישרק משה את הדם
על המזבח סביב:
The Torah gives the same evidence
of the cleansing of the physical body
of the leper by the sacrifice and the blood
in the same manner as it
was applied to Aaron and his sons.
Leviticus 14:1-2; 12-14.
“And HASHEM spoke to Moses, saying,
This shall be the law of the leper
in the day of his cleansing:
He shall be brought to the priest (kohen):
And the kohen shall take one male lamb,
and offer him for a trespass offering,
and the log of oil,
and wave them for
a wave offering before HASHEM:
And he shall slay the lamb
in the place where he shall kill
the sin offering,
and the burnt offering.
for as the sin offering is the kohen’s,
so is the trespass offering:
it is most holy:
And the kohen shall take
some of the blood of the trepass offering,
and the kohen shall put it
upon the tip of the right ear
of him that is to be cleansed,
and upon the thumb
of his right hand,
and upon the great toe
of his right foot.”
יודבר יהוה אל משה לאמר:
זאת תהיה תורת המצרע
ביום טהרתו
והובא אל הכהן:
ולקח הכהן את ה כבש האחד
והקריב אתו לאשם
ואת לג השמן
והניף אתם תנופה לפני יהוה:
ושחט את הכבש במקום
אשר ישחט את החטאת
ואת העלה בממקום הקדש
כי כחטאת האשם הוא לכהן
קדש קדשים הוא:
ולקח ה כהן מדם האשם
ונתן הכהן על תנוך אזן
המטהר הימנית
ועל בהן ידו הימנית
ועל בהן רגלו הימנית:
The blood of the Messiah Yeshua המשיח ישוע ,
the lamb of G-d השה האלהים,
has amazing power to cleanse
from all sin and iniquity,
and to restore all the parts of the soul
that have been destroyed
by recreating them.
Sin and iniquity makes a whole man
into a disfigured part of a man;
The Messiah המשיח makes the
disfigured
part of a man
into a whole man.
This is the power of the Goel הגואל the Redeemer.
This is the testimony that Yeshua ישוע
spoke about.
He has the power to heal leprosy.
Moses received the sign at the bush הסנה .
The sign was given to the Messiah Yeshua.
The Messiah Yeshua המשיח ישוע
has the power to bring Atonement
to the soul of Israel.
He is The Goel הגואל The Redeemer.
The Messiah Yeshua המשיח ישוע said
“I come to seek and to save
the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
שני נשלחתי לבקש ולהושיע
את צאן האובדות
אשר לבית ישראל:
To every one who believes upon him,
as Moses commanded,
Yeshua ישוע applies his own blood
to that person’s right ear,
so he can hear the voice of HASHEM,
to his right thumb,
so he can do the will of HASHEM,
and to the great toe of his right foot,
so he can walk in the paths of HASHEM.
He cleanses him of his sin and iniquity;
He restores and recreates his soul;
And he saves him for all eternity
לעולם ועד
that he may dwell in the house
of HASHEM forever
(Psalm 23)
ושבתי בבית יהוה לארך ימים:
in the kingdom
of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Blessed be the name of the glory
of His kingdom forever and ever.
ברוך שם כבוד מלבותו לעולם ועד: