Pemikiran Yahudi Imamat 15:33: Akeidat Yitzchak

Our opening Midrash can therefore be understood thus. The portions that are dealing with these unpleasant blemishes are dear to G'd because of the fact that by heeding symptoms of imperfections in their respective characters, those afflicted can rehabilitate themselves. Others, noting what has happened are forewarned to reach their respective goals in life without becoming victims of the yetzer hara. The negative aspect of these portions is, of course, that inasmuch as these physical blemishes reflect defects of character and soul, man is revealed as morally inferior to the animals. But, since, as in the case of the verse quoted from Maleachi, the offerings brought by those afflicted with skin troubles when cured testifed to their moral rehabilitation, the whole subject matter is beloved by G'd. Leviticus 14,34, is not to be understood "as a result of when you come to the land of Canaan," but rather ,-as the Midrash Rabbah Leviticus 15, relates- the Jews who saw the houses with the stains were afraid of the nature of such a country. They were reassured by G'd that these phenomena were outgrowths of the former inhabitants' character defects who had been possessed of excessive greed for material possessions. In the case of the Jews, these stains would pinpoint hidden treasures for the benefit of the new owners. The meaning is similar to the verse in Exodus 15,26 "when you listen to My commandments, all the afflictions which I have visited upon Egypt, I will not afflict you with, I am the Lord your Healer." The proof that this is so, is in the separate treatment of Zav and Zavah. This draws our attention to the fact that each reflects different aberrations, and therefore requires individual methods of character rehabilitation. A male's state of seminal discharge is more serious than that of the female, since in the case of the female, a flux, though occurring at the wrong time of her menstrual cycle is a relatively minor departure from the norm. A male's flux reveals a more serious imbalance, and therefore requires more in the way of rehabilitation, such as immersion in mayim chayim, water from a well, not water stored in a pool. There is also a broader range of impurities which are communicated by a male afflicted with zav. All who contact him or what is his, become affected. The touch of an earthen vessel by a male zav communicates impurity to the entire earthen vessel, not merely to its external walls. Verse thirty one, at the conclusion of the whole legislation, clearly spells out that the objective is to stave off impurity which would endanger and jeopardise our national existence of holy soil.