Pensée juive sur Les Lamentations 4:2

The second bird, before being released, must be dipped in the blood of the bird that had been killed, to teach that the lesson how to employ speech has been learned. Unrestricted use of the power of speech is apt to kill, causes one to bloody oneself. The waiting period necessary after offering the sacrifice, before the victim may rejoin society, is to effect the moral and intellectual rehabilitation which follows physical rehabilitation. The latter was symbolised by the washing of the victim's clothing. The victim cannot appear before G'd at the entrance to the sanctuary until three more sacrifices, asham, chatat, and olah and the accompanying menachot have been offered. Sprinkling of the blood on the thumb and large toe, is symbolic of purifying the most mobile parts of the body. Hands symbolise action, feet symbolise motion. Both are usually involved in any sinful behaviour. The recipe presented by the spice merchant extends until the end of the quotation from Psalms 34, namely "keep away from evil, do good, seek peace and pursue it actively!" The latter advice is difficult to follow unless both hands and feet are involved. The reason that the Torah insists that blood be sprinkled on the right toe and right thumb, may be to remind us that until now the conduct of the metzora, had been foolish, like the people whom Solomon describes as having the seat of their intellect on their left side. (Kohelet 10,2) "The seat of a wise man's intellect is on his right side." Pouring oil on the toes, fingers, earlobe and head of the metzora, is symbolic of the imperative of our sages as expressesd in Kohelet 9,8, "at all times your clothing should be white, and oil should not be lacking on your head." A person's covering is symbolic of his good traits. After the atonement, donning clean garments and being anointed with oil on crucial parts of his body, demonstrates that from here on in, he is in possession of good character traits. The ear, i.e. the organ that receives the spoken word of the mouth that can cause tzora-at, must also undergo rehabilitation. The asham sacrifice removes the corrosive effect of the sin on the body; after that, when sin has been removed and atoned for,- as per chapter 14,18-19,- the olah sacrifice can bring the true purification, the positive finale of the atonement procedure.