Bamidbar / Numbers 5:1-4 says saying,
“tsav et-benei yisrael vishalkhu min-hamakhane kol-tsarua
vekhol-zav vekhol tame lanafesh” (5:2 ‘Command
the sons of Israel that they send away from the camp every leper and everyone having a discharge and
everyone who is unclean because of a dead person.) There are many levels of “unclean”
as defined in the Scriptures. Here God commands Moshe to instruct the people to send away the person
who is found to be unclean. The one with Tsaraat (leper) or with the skin discharge are permanently
unclean whereas the one who has touched a dead person can become clean to rejoin the community again.
Each of these types of uncleanliness requires different lengths of separation from the congregation and more
or less vigorous methods of restoration. In verses 5:5-10
we find a difference from the previous mitzvot (commands). The previous situation dealt with someone
becoming unclean; here God deals with personal sin between people and the need for reconciliation. This
week we will study these ten verses from sefer Bamidbar 5:1-10
to see how the scriptures reveal the condition of our heart, our faith, and train us to show biblical love toward
one another.
Read More here.
