This week’s parashat is the 4th parashat in the book of Vayikra also called Leviticus, and is called Metzora which means ‘Leper’.
Bullet Point Summary
– When the priest says the leper is healed he shall take 2 birds, scarlet, hyssop, and cedar, and cleanse him
– The leper shall wash his clothes, shave his hair, bathe himself, and come into the camp but not his tent for 7 days
– On the 7th day he shall wash his clothes, shave all his hair, bathe and be clean
– On the 8th day he shall take 2 he lambs and a she lamb of the first year, a minkha, and a log of oil to the door of the tabernacle
– The priest shall sprinkle the oil before YHWH and place some on the right ear, thumb, and big toe, and pour the rest on the head of the leper
– The priest shall offer the sin and burnt offering and minkha for the leper to atone for him
– The law of him who is too poor to bring the offerings for leprosy
– The laws of leprosy in a house
– The laws of cleansing a person who has an issue going from them
– The laws of seed of copulation
– The laws of Niddah
– Haftarah – The story of the four lepers and the Syrians
Parashat Text with Readers and Daily Portions (Reader 1 Starts on Saturday Evening)
Metzora “Leper”
Lev 14:1 – 15:33 , 2 Kings 7:3 – 7:20
Reader 1 (Saturday Evening Portion)
Lev 14:1 And YHWH spoke unto Moshe, saying,
Lev 14:2 This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing: He shall be brought
unto the priest:
Lev 14:3 And the priest shall go forth out of the camp; and the priest shall look, and, behold,
if the plague of leprosy be healed in the leper;
Lev 14:4 Then shall the priest command to take for him that is to be cleansed two birds alive
and clean, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop:
Lev 14:5 And the priest shall command * that one of the birds be killed in an earthen vessel
over running water:
Lev 14:6 * As for the living bird, he shall take it, and the cedar wood, and the scarlet, and the
hyssop, and shall dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over
the running water:
Lev 14:7 And he shall sprinkle upon him that is to be cleansed from the leprosy seven times,
and shall pronounce him clean, * and shall let the living bird loose into the open field.
(Sunday Morning Portion)
Lev 14:8 And he that is to be cleansed shall wash * his clothes, and shave off * all his hair,
and wash himself in water, that he may be clean: and after that he shall come into the camp,
and shall tarry abroad out of his tent seven days.
Lev 14:9 But it shall be on the seventh day, that he shall shave * all his hair * off his head and
his beard and his eyebrows, even all his hair he shall shave off: and he shall wash * his
clothes, also he shall wash * his flesh in water, and he shall be clean.
Lev 14:10 And on the eighth day he shall take two he lambs without blemish, and one ewe
lamb of the first year without blemish, and three tenth deals of fine flour for a minkha,
mingled with oil, and one log of oil.
Lev 14:11 And the priest that makes him clean shall present * the man that is to be made
clean, and those things, before YHWH, at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation:
Lev 14:12 And the priest shall take * one he lamb, and offer him for a trespass offering, and
the log of oil, and wave them for a wave offering before YHWH:
Reader 2 (Sunday Evening Portion)
Lev 14:13 And he shall slay * the lamb in the place where he shall kill * the sin offering and
the burnt offering, in the holy place: for as the sin offering is the priest’s, so is the trespass
offering: it is most holy:
Lev 14:14 And the priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering, and the priest
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:
Lev 14:15 And the priest shall take some of the log of oil, and pour it into the palm of his own
left hand:
Lev 14:16 And the priest shall dip * his right finger in the oil that is in his left hand, and shall
sprinkle of the oil with his finger seven times before YHWH:
Lev 14:17 And of the rest of the oil that is in his hand shall the priest put 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, upon the blood of the trespass offering:
Lev 14:18 And the remnant of the oil that is in the priest’s hand he shall pour upon the head
of him that is to be cleansed: and the priest shall make an atonement for him before YHWH.
(Monday Morning Portion)
Lev 14:19 And the priest shall offer * the sin offering, and make an atonement for him that is
to be cleansed from his uncleanness; and afterward he shall kill * the burnt offering:
Lev 14:20 And the priest shall offer * the burnt offering and the minkha upon the altar: and
the priest shall make an atonement for him, and he shall be clean.
Reader 3 (Monday Evening Portion)
Lev 14:21 And if he be poor, and cannot get so much; then he shall take one lamb for a
trespass offering to be waved, to make an atonement for him, and one tenth deal of fine
flour mingled with oil for a minkha, and a log of oil;
Lev 14:22 And two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, such as he is able to get; and the one
shall be a sin offering, and the other a burnt offering.
Lev 14:23 And he shall bring them on the eighth day for his cleansing unto the priest, unto
the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, before YHWH.
Lev 14:24 And the priest shall take * the lamb of the trespass offering, and the log of oil, and
the priest shall wave them for a wave offering before YHWH:
Lev 14:25 And he shall kill * the lamb of the trespass offering, and the priest shall take some
of the blood of the trespass offering, and 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:
Lev 14:26 And the priest shall pour of the oil into the palm of his own left hand:
Lev 14:27 And the priest shall sprinkle with his right finger some of the oil that is in his left
hand seven times before YHWH:
Lev 14:28 And the priest shall put of the oil that is in his hand 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, upon the place of the blood of the trespass offering:
Lev 14:29 And the rest of the oil that is in the priest’s hand he shall put upon the head of him
that is to be cleansed, to make an atonement for him before YHWH.
(Tuesday Morning Portion)
Lev 14:30 And he shall offer * the one of the turtledoves, or of the young pigeons, such as he
can get;
Lev 14:31 * Such as he is able to get, * one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt
offering, with the minkha: and the priest shall make an atonement for him that is to be
cleansed before YHWH.
Lev 14:32 This is the law of him in whom is the plague of leprosy, whose hand is not able to
get that which pertains to his cleansing.
Reader 4 (Tuesday Evening Portion)
Lev 14:33 And YHWH spoke unto Moshe and unto Aharon, saying,
Lev 14:34 When you are come into the land of Kena’an, which I give to you for a possession,
and I put the plague of leprosy in a house of the land of your possession;
Lev 14:35 And he that owns the house shall come and tell the priest, saying, It seems to me
there is as it were a plague in the house:
Lev 14:36 Then the priest shall command that they empty the house, before the priest goes
into it to see * the plague, that all that is in the house be not made unclean: and afterward
the priest shall go in to see * the house:
Lev 14:37 And he shall look on * the plague, and, behold, if the plague be in the walls of the
house with hollow strakes, greenish or reddish, which in sight are lower than the wall;
Lev 14:38 Then the priest shall go out of the house to the door of the house, and shut up *
the house seven days:
Lev 14:39 And the priest shall come again the seventh day, and shall look: and, behold, if the
plague be spread in the walls of the house;
Lev 14:40 Then the priest shall command that they take away * the stones in which the
plague is, and they shall cast them into an unclean place outside the city:
Lev 14:41 And he shall cause the house to be scraped within round about, and they shall
pour out * the dust that they scrape off outside the city into an unclean place:
Lev 14:42 And they shall take other stones, and put them in the place of those stones; and he
shall take other morter, and shall plaister * the house.
Lev 14:43 And if the plague come again, and break out in the house, after he has taken away
the stones, and after he has scraped * the house, and after it is plaistered;
Lev 14:44 Then the priest shall come and look, and, behold, if the plague is spread in the
house, it is a fretting leprosy in the house: it is unclean.
(Wednesday Morning Portion)
Lev 14:45 And he shall break down * the house, * the stones of it, and the timber thereof,
and all the morter of the house; and he shall carry them forth out of the city into an unclean
place.
Lev 14:46 Moreover he that goes into the house all the while that it is shut up shall be
unclean until the even.
Lev 14:47 And he that lies in the house shall wash * his clothes; and he that eats in the house
shall wash * his clothes.
Lev 14:48 And if the priest shall come in, and look upon it, and, behold, the plague has not
spread in the house, after * the house was plastered: then the priest shall pronounce the
house clean, * because the plague is healed.
Lev 14:49 And he shall take to cleanse * the house two birds, and cedar wood, and scarlet,
and hyssop:
Lev 14:50 And he shall kill * one of the birds in an earthen vessel over running water:
Lev 14:51 And he shall take * the cedar wood, and the hyssop, and the scarlet, and the living
bird, and dip them in the blood of the slain bird, and in the running water, and sprinkle the
house seven times:
Lev 14:52 And he shall cleanse * the house with the blood of the bird, and with the running
water, and with the living bird, and with the cedar wood, and with the hyssop, and with the
scarlet:
Lev 14:53 But he shall let go * the living bird out of the city into the open fields, and make an
atonement for the house: and it shall be clean.
Reader 5 (Wednesday Evening Portion)
Lev 14:54 This is the law for all manner of plague of leprosy, and scall,
Lev 14:55 And for the leprosy of a garment, and of a house,
Lev 14:56 And for a rising, and for a scab, and for a bright spot:
Lev 14:57 To teach when it is unclean, and when it is clean: this is the law of leprosy.
Lev 15:1 And YHWH spoke unto Moshe and to Aharon, saying:
Lev 15:2 Speak unto the children of Yisra’el, and say unto them: When any man has an issue
out of his flesh, his issue is unclean.
Lev 15:3 And this shall be his uncleanness in his issue: whether his flesh run with his issue,
or his flesh be stopped from his issue, it is his uncleanness.
Lev 15:4 Every bed whereon he that has the issue lies shall be unclean; and every thing
whereon he sits shall be unclean.
Lev 15:5 And whosoever touches his bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water,
and be unclean until the even.
Lev 15:6 And he that sits on anything whereon he that has the issue sat shall wash his
clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.
(Thursday Morning Portion)
Lev 15:7 And he that touches the flesh of him that has the issue shall wash his clothes, and
bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.
Lev 15:8 And if he that has the issue spit upon him that is clean, then he shall wash his
clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.
Lev 15:9 And what saddle soever he that has the issue rides upon shall be unclean.
Lev 15:10 And whosoever touches anything that was under him shall be unclean until the
even; and he that bears those things shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and
be unclean until the even.
Lev 15:11 And whomsoever he that has the issue touches, without having rinsed his hands in
water, he shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.
Lev 15:12 And the earthen vessel, which he that has the issue touches, shall be broken; and
every vessel of wood shall be rinsed in water.
Lev 15:13 And when he that has an issue is cleansed of his issue, then he shall number to
himself seven days for his cleansing, and wash his clothes; and he shall bathe his flesh in
running water, and shall be clean.
Lev 15:14 And on the eighth day he shall take to him two turtledoves, or two young pigeons,
and come before YHWH unto the door of the tent of meeting, and give them unto the priest.
Lev 15:15 And the priest shall offer them, the one for a sin-offering, and the other for a
burnt-offering; and the priest shall make atonement for him before YHWH for his issue.
Reader 6 (Thursday Evening Portion)
Lev 15:16 And if any man’s seed of copulation go out from him, then he shall wash * all his
flesh in water, and be unclean until the even.
Lev 15:17 And every garment, and every skin, whereon is the seed of copulation, shall be
washed with water, and be unclean until the even.
Lev 15:18 The woman also with whom * man shall lie with seed of copulation, they shall
both bathe themselves in water, and be unclean until the even.
Lev 15:19 And if a woman has an issue, and her issue in her flesh be blood, she shall be put
apart seven days: and whosoever touches her shall be unclean until the even.
Lev 15:20 And everything that she lies upon in her separation shall be unclean: everything
also that she sits upon shall be unclean.
Lev 15:21 And whosoever touches her bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water,
and be unclean until the even.
Lev 15:22 And whosoever touches anything that she sat upon shall wash his clothes, and
bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.
Lev 15:23 And if it be on her bed, or on anything whereon she sits, when he touches it, he
shall be unclean until the even.
Lev 15:24 And if any man lie with her at all, * and her flowers be upon him, he shall be
unclean seven days; and all the bed whereon he lies shall be unclean.
Lev 15:25 And if a woman have an issue of her blood many days out of the time of her
separation, or if it run beyond the time of her separation; all the days of the issue of her
uncleanness shall be as the days of her separation: she shall be unclean.
Lev 15:26 Every bed whereon she lies all the days of her issue shall be unto her as the bed of
her separation: and whatsoever she sits upon shall be unclean, as the uncleanness of her
separation.
Lev 15:27 And whosoever touches those things shall be unclean, and shall wash his clothes,
and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.
Lev 15:28 But if she be cleansed of her issue, then she shall number to herself seven days,
and after that she shall be clean.
Reader 7 (6th Day Friday Morning Double Portion)
Lev 15:29 And on the eighth day she shall take unto her two turtledoves, or two young
pigeons, and bring them unto the priest, to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
Lev 15:30 And the priest shall offer * the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt
offering; and the priest shall make an atonement for her before YHWH for the issue of her
uncleanness.
Lev 15:31 Thus shall you separate * the children of Yisra’el from their uncleanness; that they
die not in their uncleanness, when they defile * my tabernacle that is among them.
Lev 15:32 This is the law of him that has an issue, and of him whose seed goes from him, and
is defiled therewith;
Lev 15:33 And of her that is sick of her flowers, and of him that has an issue, * of the man,
and of the woman, and of him that lies with her that is unclean.
Haftarah (Shabbat Evening Portion)
2Ki 7:3 And there were four leprous men at the entering in of the gate: and they said one to
another, Why sit we here until we die?
2Ki 7:4 If we say, We will enter into the city, then the famine is in the city, and we shall die
there: and if we sit still here, we die also. Now therefore come, and let us fall unto the host of
the Syrians: if they save us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall but die.
2Ki 7:5 And they rose up in the twilight, to go unto the camp of the Syrians: and when they
were come to the uttermost part of the camp of Syria, behold, there was no man there.
2Ki 7:6 For Adonai * had made the host of the Syrians to hear a noise of chariots, and a
noise of horses, even the noise of a great host: and they said one to another, Lo, the king of
Yisra’el has hired against * us the kings of the Chitti, and the kings of the Mitzrayim, to come
upon us.
2Ki 7:7 Wherefore they arose and fled in the twilight, and left * their tents, and their horses,
and their donkeys, even the camp as it was, and fled for their life.
2Ki 7:8 And when these lepers came to the uttermost part of the camp, they went into one
tent, and did eat and drink, and carried from there silver, and gold, and raiment, and went
and hid it; and came again, and entered into another tent, and carried there also, and went
and hid it.
2Ki 7:9 Then they said one to another, We do not well: this day is a day of good tidings, and
we hold our peace: if we tarry till the morning light, some mischief will come upon us: now
therefore come, that we may go and tell the king’s household.
2Ki 7:10 So they came and called unto the porter of the city: and they told them, saying, We
came to the camp of the Syrians, and, behold, there was no man there, neither voice of man,
but horses tied, and donkeys tied, and the tents as they were.
2Ki 7:11 And he called the porters; and they told it to the king’s house within.
2Ki 7:12 And the king arose in the night, and said unto his servants, I will now show * you
what the Syrians have done to us. They know that we be hungry; therefore are they gone out
of the camp to hide themselves in the field, saying, When they come out of the city, we shall
catch them alive, and get into the city.
2Ki 7:13 And one of his servants answered and said, Let some take, I pray you, five of the
horses that remain, which are left in the city, (behold, they are as all the multitude of Yisra’el
that are left in it: behold, I say, they are even as all the multitude of the Yisra’elim that are
consumed:) and let us send and see.
2Ki 7:14 They took therefore two chariot horses; and the king sent after the host of the
Syrians, saying, Go and see.
2Ki 7:15 And they went after them unto Yarden: and, lo, all the way was full of garments and
vessels, which the Syrians had cast away in their haste. And the messengers returned, and
told the king.
2Ki 7:16 And the people went out, and spoiled * the tents of the Syrians. So a measure of fine
flour was sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, according to the word of
YHWH.
2Ki 7:17 And the king appointed * the lord on whose hand he leaned to have the charge of
the gate: and the people trode upon him in the gate, and he died, as the man of Elohim had
said, who spoke when the king came down to him.
2Ki 7:18 And it came to pass as the man of Elohim had spoken to the king, saying, Two
measures of barley for a shekel, and a measure of fine flour for a shekel, shall be tomorrow
about this time in the gate of Shomron:
2Ki 7:19 And that lord answered * the man of Elohim, and said, Now, behold, if YHWH
should make windows in heaven, might such a thing be? And he said, Behold, you shall see
it with your eyes, but shall not eat thereof.
2Ki 7:20 And so it fell out unto him: for the people trode upon him in the gate, and he died.
Review Torah Summaries (Shabbat Morning Portion)