Комментарий к Дварим 24:8

השמר בנגע צרעת TAKE HEED IN THE AFFLICTION OF LEPROSY — take heed that you pluck not out the symptoms of uncleanness (cf. Leviticus ch. XIII.), nor cut out the leprous spot (Makkot 22a).

TAKE HEED IN THE PLAGUE OF LEPROSY. This is an explanatory commandment, adding a prohibition against one who cuts out the leprous spot, and also one who avoids showing his plague to the priest. Now, concerning the law of the plagues themselves, he mentioned nothing here, except to state and do according to all that the priests the Levites shall teach you, as I commanded them, because the priests are scrupulous, and whatever He commanded is sufficient for them, as I have already explained.³⁴¹In the Introduction to this book. Also, above, 1:17.

השמר בנגע הצרעת, "Take heed of the affliction known as Tzoraat, etc." According to Shabbat 132 on our verse the meaning is that a person afflicted with this plague must not remove the afflicted section of his skin in order to remove the evidence of his disease. The reason why the Torah added that we should remember what G'd had done to Miriam is intended to remind us of the true source of such an affliction and to remind those who think they can cure it by cutting off the skin where it appears that they are on the wrong track. The way to get rid of this affliction is to remove its cause, i.e. to rehabilitate a character fault which caused it in the first place.

השמר בנגע הצרעת לשמור מאד ולעשות, even if the person smitten with this disease is a king, as Uzziah, King of Yehudah, he will not be given preferential treatment and has to be ostracised and isolated just as any commoner afflicted with the same disease.

השמר בנגע הצרעת, “Beware of the affliction of tzoraat.” A person afflicted must be careful not to cut off the signs of his affliction from his skin. However, if the signs of the affliction were visible only on the foreskin, the area to be removed during circumcision, this is no reason to delay the circumcision and it may be removed as part of that procedure, as our Sages explain that the commandment of circumcision overrides the prohibition of removing tzoraat. (Shabbat 132).

So as not to pluck the symptoms of defilement, etc. Because by plucking the symptoms of defilement or by removing the plague itself, the kohein is unable to detect whether it is pure or defiled.

V. 8. השמר וגו׳. Die offenen Attentate des einen wider den andern, wie das Attentat auf die persönliche Freiheit und Menschenwürde im vorigen Verse, stehen unter Obhut der menschlichen Gerichte. Vergesset aber nicht und haltet durch sorgfältige Beachtung der betreffenden Vorschriften das Bewusstsein wach, dass der ganze soziale Verkehr des Menschen mit Menschen im Gottesvolke, dass selbst das Wort und die Gesinnung unter richtender Obhut eines Höhern stehen, dessen "Finger" den an seinem Hause, an seinem Gewande, an seinem Leibe mahnend und warnend zu kennzeichnen weiß, der in seinem Verkehr mit den Brüdern die Brüderlichkeit vergisst (siehe Wajikra S. 213 — 282).

השמר בנגע הצרעת, “be most careful in the matter of a skin affliction.” The reason why the Torah repeats the same warning twice is because this disease is apt to afflict anyone, kings not excepted. King Uzziyahu was afflicted by it, as we know from Chronicles II 26,21. Being afflicted by this disease is most shameful for the person concerned, so that even if he is a king he must remain in isolation and cannot function in his palace and must be obedient to what the priest tells him concerning the length of time of this disease. This is also the reason why the Torah adds that we must remember how Moses’ sister Miriam was afflicted by this disease because she had been guilty of badmouthing her brother Moses. Even though she was socially one of the most highly placed people, the priests had to put her in isolation just like an ordinary person struck by this disease.

השמר בנגע הצרעת, “be most careful with the plague known as tzoraat;” do not excuse a prominent member of society from submitting to the examinations prescribed for fear of embarrassing him by exiling him from the Jewish community until he has been cured. This is why the Torah reminds us to remember what happened to Miriam who was afflicted with this disease and had to remain outside the camp for seven days during the process of being purified. There was hardly a person amongst the Israelites who was more prominent, being the sister of the people’s leader and its High Priest. (Rash’bam)

ככל אשר יורו אתכם ACCORDING TO ALL THAT [THE PRIESTS …] SHALL TEACH YOU — whether to place the leper in quarantine, or to declare him definitely unclean or clean.

ככל אשר יורו אתכם, for you are to remember what happened to Miriam, certainly a highly placed person, who, in spite of being a prophetess, and the leader of all the Israelite women, and Moses’ own sister, was not accorded preferential treatment in this regard. She was segregated for seven days, as we know from Numbers 12,14.

Wir haben die ganze Nega'imgesetzgebung als eine großartige Institution der mahnenden und warnenden Erziehung eines jeden einzelnen zur sozialen Gesetzlichkeit in Gesinnungen, Worten und Handlungen erkannt, und begreifen, wie hier, an der Schwelle des Landes, auf dessen Boden sich nun ein von Gott getragenes, von Gott überwachtes und von Gott geleitetes Volksleben entfalten soll, mitten in zum größten Teil wiederholten Erinnerungen an soziale Pflichtgrundsätze, auch ganz besonders die gewissenhafte Beachtung und Ausführung der Nega'imgesetze ans Herz gelegt wird.

השמר ist, wie überall (siehe Kap. 4, 9), der Ausdruck eines Verbotes, es ist die Warnung, sich vor Übertretung zu hüten, hier vor Nichtbeachtung, Vernachlässigung oder gar Vereitelung der Nega'imvorschriften, letzteres z. B. durch mechanische Entfernung eines an Haus, Kleid oder Leib hervorgetretenen נגע צרעת, womit gesetzlich die טומאה- und Absonderungspflicht beseitigt (siehe zu Wajikra 13, 46), damit aber auch die Ausführung der Institution vereitelt wäre. הקוצץ את בהרתו אזהרתיה מהכא השמר בנגע צרעת וגו׳ (Mackoth 22 a).

ולעשות ist die gebietende Verpflichtung zur Ausführung der Vorschrift, צרעת עשה ולא תעשה הוא (Schabbat 132 b). ככל אשר יורו וגו׳. Bei der Ausführung der Nega'iminstitution ist die Intervention eines כהן unumgänglich. Nicht die Untersuchung und Beurteilung eines נגע, wohl aber der Ausspruch des Ergebnisses טמא oder טהור muss durch einen כהן geschehen (Wajikra 13, 2). Und bedeutsam werden hier wiederum die כהנים nach dem Charakter ihres Stammes לוים genannt, der sie an furchtlose Vertretung der Gesetze gegen jedermann im Volke mahnt (siehe zu Kap. 17. 9). Hat doch ihr Ausspruch: טמא den vom נגע Betroffenen als des Gesetzesheiligtums und seines Volkskreises unwürdig zu bezeichnen! (siehe Wajikra S. Ende Kapitel 13).