April 18, 2026: Torah Portions Parashot Tazria "She Conceives" & Metzora "Leper"

In this study, we will explore the Double Torah Portions Tazria "She Conceives" and Metzora "Leper"

• Double Torah Portions: Leviticus 12:1-13:59 & Leviticus 14:1-15:33

• Haftarah: 2 Kings 7:3-20

• Brit Chadashah (New Testament): John 6:8-13; Matthew 8:1-4

Main theme (together): purification, healing, and restoration

These portions deal with:

• Skin conditions (often translated to “leprosy,” but more accurately tzara’at)

• Diagnosis by the priest

• Isolation and examination

• The process of purification and return to the community

This is not just medical—it is deeply spiritual.

Key spiritual understanding:

Tzara’at is traditionally connected to things like:

• Lashon hara (evil speech)

• Pride

• Spiritual impurity becoming visible outwardly

Metzora — the turning point

If Tazria is about exposure,

Metzora is about restoration.

The healing process includes:

• Two birds (one sacrificed, one released)

• Washing, shaving, and waiting

• Offerings and re-entry into the camp

This shows that God is not only the one who reveals impurity—

He is the one who restores and brings back.

📖Tazria -"She Conceives" - Leviticus 12:1-13:59

Parashah Tazria begins with the discussion of the laws of ritual impurity and purity as it pertains to childbirth. A new mother is treated as a niddah (a menstruent woman) and is considered "impure" (tamei) regarding entry into the sanctuary for 40 days (if a boy) or 80 days (if a girl). On the 8th day a boy must be circumcised, and once the woman is considered clean, must bring a yearling sheep as a burnt offering and a dove for a sin offering (if she is poor, two doves suffice for both offerings).

The parashah begins:

"And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying, "Speak to the people of Israel, saying, 'If a woman conceives and bears a male child, then she shall be unclean seven days. As the days of menstruation so she shall be unclean." Leviticus 12:1-2

The parashah next describes certain skin afflictions, collectively called tzara'at, that cause the afflicted person to be impure (tamei) and in a state of uncleanness (tumah). Note that tzara'at is not to be identified with leprosy (as some English translations claim), since the symptoms of tzara'at include not just the afflicted person's skin, but sometimes his clothes, pottery vessels, and house.

For hundreds of years the popular translation of “tzaraas” has been “leprosy.”  It was commonly accepted that the prevention of the disease spreading was the reason for the quarantine of a suspected victim of the “tzara’at” and exclusion from the camp.  However, if we look a little closer, we see the symptoms of “tzara’at” are far different from those of leprosy.  If the reason for the confinement is to prevent contagion, then some of the laws don’t make sense.

Tzara'at was a skin condition that could only be diagnosed by a kohen (priest), not a doctor. If white or pink patches appeared on a person's skin, the afflicted person was required to contact a kohen for an examination. If the priest detected 1) two hairs that had turned white within the spot, or 2) a piece of healthy skin in the middle of the spot, he was declared tamei (impure or unclean), and then had to follow the prescribed laws for the metzora (person affected with tzara'at); otherwise he was declared tahor (clean). On the other hand, if the priest suspected tzara'at but was unsure, the afflicted person was quarantined and required to perform teshuvah (repentance). If a second evaluation indicated that the spot(s) had grown larger in size, the person was declared tamei and was subject to the laws for the metzora (i.e., dwelling "outside the camp" until the person was completely healed)

Without going into the technical details of those laws – the sages teach that “tzara’at” is not a bodily disease but the physical manifestation of a spiritual sin that is designed to show the person that they must mend their ways.  The primary cause of “tzara’at” is slander!  The use of words as weapons by those seeking to inflict pain.  Slander (lashon hara) is evil speech.  Speech about people that is negative and derogatory.  Speaking badly about people and spreading gossip.

Sages believe it is one of the worst of all sins.  They believe it is as bad as the 3 cardinal sins: idolatry, murder, and incest.  They believe it kills three people:  the one who says it; the one he says it about; the one who listens.

The reason why “tzara’at” is given so much time or prominence in the Torah is because it was a punishment for lashon hara; derogatory speech.  We see it in Numbers 12:1, when Miriam spoke against her brother Moshe, “because of the Ethiopian wife he had taken.”  Elohim felt bound to defend Moshe’s honor and as a punishment He turned Miriam leprous.

Moshe prayed for her healing, and Elohim mitigated the punishment for 7 days, but did not annul it entirely.  This wasn’t a minor matter because Moshe points it out among the teachings, he gives the next generation in Deut. 24:8-9.  Even Moshe was briefly guilty of the same offence in Exodus 4:1-9 when Elohim gave Moshe 3 signs:  water turned to blood; staff became a snake; hand briefly turning leprous.  Later we see in the narrative that water turned into blood; staff became a snake; but no reference to a hand becoming leprous.

We are being alerted to the nuances of the biblical text and seeing that the hand that turned leprous was not a sign but a punishment…Moshe being reprimanded for “casting doubts against the innocent” by saying that they would not believe in him.

Lashon hara is dangerous!  Look at Joseph’s life and his brothers as Genesis 37:2 says “he brought an evil report to his father about his brothers.”  This was not the only provocation that led his brothers to plot to kill him and eventually sell him as a slave but his derogatory gossip did not endear him to his siblings!  Look at the “evil report” in Numbers 13:32, it is the same word in Genesis 37:2,  and although Moshe prayed for forgiveness the entry was delayed almost 40 years and condemned a whole generation to die in the wilderness.

Why is Torah so severe about lashon hara?  There is a deep root in the Hebraic understanding of Elohim and the human condition.  Biblical Judaism is less a religion of holy people and holy places than it is a religion of holy words.  Elohim created the universe by holy words!  He reveals Himself in words.  Our humanity has to do with our ability to use language.  Genesis 2:7 says, “…became a living being or as the Targum renders the phrase, “and the man became a speaking being.”

Language is life!  Words are creative but also destructive.  If good words are holy then evil words are a desecration.  Death and life are in the power of the tongue according to the Word of Elohim.  So serious that at the end of every Amidah (3 times a day) we say, “My Elohim, guard my tongue from evil and my lips from deceitful speech.   To those who curse me let my soul be silent; may my soul be to all like the dust.”  Having prayed in the beginning to “open my lips so that my mouth may declare Your praise…we pray at the end to close our lips so we don’t speak badly about others or react when others speak badly about us.

Despite everything, despite all the teaching on the prohibition of gossip, despite all the stories, Joseph, Moshe, Miriam, and the spies lashon hara has remained a problem in our lives and throughout history.  All of us must confront the issue of lashon hara.  Sometimes this is the price of any achievement because people are envious, people gossip, people build themselves up by putting people down.  As a leader or leaders, we will have to deal with the fact people talk behind your back and before your face.  People will be critical, malicious, disdainful, and sometimes down right dishonest.  Yes…it can be hard to bear, and if you are very sensitive it can be quite draining!

As a “community lashon hara” is so dangerous because it eventually will destroy the integrity of the group.  Evil speech generates negative energies and sow’s seeds of distrust and envy.  Evil speech directed outside the community can lead to arrogance, self-righteousness, racism and prejudice which are fatal to the moral credibility of any team. 

We must stop it and make it clear politely that in this new year it will not be a part of our lives.  No place in our conversations! We must remember evil speech kills.  Free speech is not speech that costs nothing…it can become very expensive.

This is why all the commands on “tzara’at” and why we need to understand the biblical understanding of what it is!  People engage in lashon hara because they think they can get away with it. The Torah in Leviticus 13:45-46 is telling us that the lashon hara uttered in private is to be stigmatized in public and those who engage in it are to be openly shamed.  Let me put it in a simple truth…As we behave to others so Elohim behaves to us.  Elohim doesn’t want to humiliate us but wants us to repent and be shown mercy.  The reason why Elohim wants the person to conduct himself in a distinctive manner is so that people will know to avoid him; so, he dresses and acts like a mourner and this is to influence him to grieve and repent the behavior that brought the punishment.  He was to cloak himself and was forbidden to greet people but was permitted to study and discuss Torah.

They were to yell “contaminated, contaminated” to warn people to stay away unless they too would be contaminated.  The purpose of this proclamation is to inform others of his anguish so they will pray for him.  Leviticus 13:46 reveals that his slander causes husbands to be separated from their wives; friends from friends so the purpose is to make the sinner aware of what he did and what it has brought upon him.  Such reflection should lead to repentance!

Who is the solution to our problem?  Yeshua HaMashiach!  Matthew 10:7-8 says, “As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The Kingdom of heaven has come near. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons.  Freely you have received; freely give.”

Elohim’s sanctuary is about immortality and incorruptibility.  In His presence, there is no death, no decay, and no decomposition.  So, this disease that represents a living decomposition is banned from the sanctuary because it represents what Elohim’s sanctuary is not!  Luke 17:17 shares with us about 9 lepers who just wanted a temporary result and 1 leper who wanted an eternal change.  Let’s be like the 1 who was looking for something more than a temporary fix.

Let’s get serious about maintaining Elohim’s holiness in our lives. Let’s not allow anything to corrupt the incorruptible and that means our speech.  Let’s dispose of lashon hara and let our speech be pleasing to Adonai.  Let’s get rid of the chametz within our lives. The time is now!

At the same time, we must remember that what is hidden inside the heart is not always revealed on the outside.

Sickness can be an accusation, where ABBA trusts his chosen with trials. Sometimes ADONAI tests their hearts and proves to the enemy that we STAND FAITHFUL like JOB, thus the battle between the enemy and ELOHIM is won by our PRAISE AND WORSHIP.

ADONAI is the rewarder of those who diligently seek Him, in the MIDST OF TROUBLE!

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📖Metzora "Leper" - Leviticus 14:1-15:33:

The last couple of Torah portions because of the leap year have been discussing the laws of impurity and purity.  A woman giving birth should undergo a process of purification which includes a mikvah and bringing offerings to the Temple.  All males infants are to be circumcised on the 8th day of life.  Tzara’at is a supra-natural plague which also afflicts garments and can include quarantine for 7 days until pronounced clean.  If you have it you must dwell outside the camp or city until healed.  We can talk about how it relates to “lashon hara” (evil speech) or look at it a different way today.

There is a lot of information in Leviticus 12-15.  These verses have much application for us today if we study the Torah with an open mind and allow the Ruach to speak.  First of all, we know that Yeshua was born a Jew.  However, most people don’t want to accept that He never lost His Jewish heritage.  He was given a Hebrew name:” Yeshua.”  He was circumcised on the 8th day.  He spent His life in joyous obedience to the Law of Moshe and never once violated the written Word’s commands.  When He dies on a tree, Yeshua took mankind’s sin upon Himself and became accursed.

The life of Yeshua started in obedience to the Torah. In the narrative of Luke 2:21-24, the mother of Yeshua, Miriam (Mary) followed the exact precepts given in this Torah portion.  Messiah was circumcised on the 8th day, and Miriam came to the Temple and offered the prescribed sacrifices.

What an amazing passage…why?  Because it shows us that Yeshua was born in obedience to the Torah and continued His entire life in submission.  It is also telling to reflect on the fact that Miriam waited to approach the Temple until “the days of her purification according to the Law of Moshe were completed.”  This means that she waited 40 days to bring a sacrifice to signify that her days of impurity were complete.  Her offering of 2 turtle doves illustrates that her family was not well-off financially but willing to sacrifice what they had in order to obey the Torah.  There is much to be learned from these examples!  According to Leviticus 12:4-6 and Luke 2:21-24 the birth of Yeshua was in accordance with the Torah.

Let’s look at Matthew 8:1-4 that says, “After Yeshua had come down from the hill, large crowds followed Him. Then a man afflicted with tzara’at came, kneeled down in front of him and said, “Sir, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”  Yeshua reached out His hand, touched him and said, “I am willing!  Be cleansed!”  And at once he was cleansed from his tzara’at.  Then Yeshua said to him, “See that you tell no one; but as a testimony to the people, go and let the cohen examine you, and offer the sacrifice that Moshe commanded.”

He makes one appearance.  He has one request.  He receives one touch.  The touch that changed his life forever!  This leper and his condition …this dreaded disease, rendered the body a mass of ulcers and decay.  The fingers would curl and gnarl and blotches of skin would discolor and stink.  Some leprosy would numb nerve endings and lead to loss of limbs.  Leprosy was death by inches and socially it was just devastating because of the quarantine and banishment to a leper colony.

In Scripture the leper is symbolic of the ultimate outcast:  infected by a condition he did not seek; rejected by those he knew; avoided by people he did not know; condemned to a future he could not bear.  If we look at Matthew 8 we see that he is careful to mention that it was the pronouncement and not the touch of Yeshua that cured the condition (Matt. 8:3).

The infection was banishment by a word from Messiah. However, the loneliness was treated by a touch from Messiah.  Yeshua touched the untouchables of the world!  Leprosy was and is a horrible highly contagious disease that eats away the flesh and robs the joy out of life.

Biblical leprosy was far worse than what we know even today.  It would rot the flesh, disfigure the body, and cut off a person from their friends and family.

Tzara’at could be contracted through natural and supernatural means like Miriam (Moshe’s sister) and King Uzziah.  It was also contracted by touch.  For us today tzara’at is a type of spiritual judgment of sin.  Elohim shows us how sin looks through the plague of tzara’at.  It is the only disease that rendered a person unclean and unworthy to worship at the Tabernacle.  A horrible plague that forced the contagious to walk separately from others and shout out the warning, “Unclean, Unclean!”

Let’s look at the types and shadows of leprosy and how Yeshua is the only remedy for sin.  First, tzara’at starts small as just a spot or a blemish.  Sin usually starts small and then grows until it brings utter death.  “Little” sins trip up more people than “big” ones.  Don’t give the enemy any foothold or open door with our thoughts.  If the enemy can trap us with what we think then our actions and words will go the way of rebellion.

A person with leprosy was to cover the lower part of their face, including their mouth, to stop the infection from spreading.  This shows us that when our words contact people, they spread life or death.  Ya’akov 3:2 says, “For we all stumble in many ways; if someone does not stumble in what he says, he is a mature man who can bridle his whole body.”  Leprosy rots the extremities of the body and makes life barren…just “one spot.”   Ya’akov 2:10 says, “For a person who keeps the whole Torah, yet stumbles at one point, has become guilty of breaking them all.”  Just a little sin, just a little leprosy, just a little leaven stops us from approaching Elohim!  The wages of sin is death and the punishment of sin is exile.  Adam and Chava were kicked out of the garden.  Lepers were cast out of the community.  A sinful lifestyle cuts you off from the blessings of Elohim and brings judgment.  Sin is rebellion against Elohim.

So many people sin today so it is no longer rebellious to our society, but that doesn’t make such a lifestyle right!  Allow the Ruach the freedom to search our lives and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. The remedy for leprosy in our Torah portion is the same remedy for sin today.  The similarities are amazing!  Initially, tzara’at must be confessed, he was to rend his clothing in sorrow, cover his face in shame, and proclaim his unclean condition to others (Lev. 13:45-46).

Sin and leprosy are highly contagious and too often bad company corrupts good character.  The only hope for a leper and the only hope for mankind is the Messiah.  Like the priests in Lev. 14:4-7 the sacrifice of Yeshua was applied to cleanse the leper.  After the blood was sprinkled by the priest, the leper himself would mikveh.  Immersion follows confession.  However, the leper has some work to do after salvation from the disease.  He had to shave himself and then he could be part of the community.

When we sin, we are to admit our rebellion, confess our error, cut off any ties to the wrong behavior and then join with others.  Read Ya’akov 5:16; I Cor. 5:1-13; Eph. 1:5-7 and Jude 1:24-25.

Yeshua was known as the “Leper Messiah.”  The healing of a leper was a sure sign that the Messiah had come!  Isaiah 53:4 says that He bore our grief…in Hebrew it actually says sickness, like tzara’at.  The Hebrew words “naga” and “Nega” meaning stricken actually describes the plague of leprosy.  We see this connection in Matthew 8:1-4.  Yeshua is willing and able to heal us if we just ask!  He can make us whole!  All we have to do is just let Him!

Messianic Connection:

In the Brit Chadashah, Yeshua:

• Touches lepers (something forbidden)

• Heals them instantly

• Sends them to the priest, fulfilling the Torah

This is powerful because:

• Only God was seen as the one who could truly remove tzara’at

• So healing it was a sign of Messiah.

Deeper meaning:

These portions teaches :

• God cares about inner purity, not just outward appearance

• Sin isolates but God provides a way back

• Healing is not only physical, but relational and spiritual

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