Parasha: Metsora (Leviticus 13:47 - 14:57)
I just wanted to add a bit more to this parasha, since I sent out a Midrash on both Tazria and Metsora last week.
Question! Is your house sick? and your clothes, have they ever been sick? Silly question, but, the answer is interesting;
From chapter 13:47 it talks about "leprosy in clothing" Can clothing bear leprosy? Tza-arat? Well, in modern terminology, we call it "mold and mildew." I am sure that we have all smelled that in our clothes from time to time, when clothing is not completely dry and is put away a bit moist, and it is hot and humid in the summer time. Mold and mildew form.
I think we can see mold and mildew even in food, yet some mold is beneficial, the green mold in bread is processed into Penicillin, and bleu cheese, well, that's moldy cheese but it tastes good, and that's the way it is prepared.
Yet mold in clothing is dangerous, if we put on moldy clothing, and the smell reaches our noses, and we breath it in, it can get us sick. The verses state in some translations; "The woofs and the warps". No, it isn't that a dog is barking at moldy clothing. The "woofs and the warps" are the threading that make up the fabric. Look at your shirt under a magnifying glass and you will see the crisscross pattern of the thread that makes up your garment. When the garment get moldy, the mold sticks to those "woofs and warps" as they are called.
Mold existed in Biblical times too. The priest would look at the clothing and isolate the clothing for 7 days, afterwards, if the mold did not spread, the owner would wash it well and let it dry. If there was no more mold, the owner could put it on again, if the mold returned, it was isolated again, and if it would not disappear with washing, it had to be destroyed. God knew the dangers of mold and mildew and wanted to protect his people from disease. One asks, what kind of soap was used back then? The Babylonians used a mixture of animal fat and ashes to make soap as far back as 3000 B.C. seriously? No, not for me. I prefer the modern soap.
This parasha also talks about mold on the walls of the houses. Same procedure. The house had to be locked up for 7 days, and then inspected by the Levite priests. If the mold had not spread, then the stones and plaster that made up the walls were scraped and the scrapings were taken outside and dumped far from camp. If the mold and mildew appeared again, then, the stones would have to be removed and replaced, if the mold spread throughout the house, then, the house would have to be demolished. The owner would have to rebuild, (or sleep in a tent).
We ask, how does all this apply to us as believers? The clothing we wear tells a lot about us. How should we dress? I would say, "neatly, clean, yet modest. Some people like to dress with so much gold and silver they look like a mobile Fort Knox. This might symbolize pride and arrogance, (but not always). Maybe, just maybe, a moldy shirt could symbolize how the wearer of that shirt is inside. It might be an indicator that an inner change is needed. Just like Tza-arat on the skin is a revelation of corruption inside. Probably not the case for a mildewy shirt, but it is something to think about. The next time you might smell mildew or see mold on your shirt, take it as a reminder to check inside yourself. Are you smelly inside? is something inside not smelling like roses? maybe some hidden sin?
How is a person's household? A house is only a structure with 4 walls, a floor and a roof. Once a family moves in, it becomes a home. Could moldy walls in a home indicate a spiritual problem within that home? Something to think about. Might not be the case, but...who knows?
Another interesting aspect about this parasha is the method of cleansing of the leper after the infirmity has left, even the clothing and the walls of the house. Two birds are used, cedar wood, scarlet material, and hyssop, and also, "running water". One bird is killed and the living bird is dipped in the blood of the dead bird under running water, then the living bird is set free? And the other materials? Might the scarlet thread be wrapped around the cedar wood and the hyssop?
The "Running water" is the "Living Water" (Mayim Chayim) What does the cedar wood remind us of? The doorposts on the Hebrew houses in Goshen? the cross at Calvary? The humanity of Yeshua who was a carpenter and perhaps even a stone worker? The scarlet? the blood of Yeshua which was shed on the cross of Calvary? The blood on the doorposts in Goshen? The hyssop? that which was used to apply the blood on the doorposts in Goshen? Symbolism to think about.
Two birds. One was sacrificed, the other let go free. What does this remind us of? Yom Kippur! Where one goat was sacrificed and the other set free. Yeshua bore our sins and our sins were casted away, never to return to us. But why birds? Do birds like to talk? Yes, a lot. At dusk, they sit on telephone wires by the hundreds and just chatter away. Talking about who knows what. Perhaps that is a reminder that as humans, we tend to, at times, talk too much, and this might lead to "Leshon Hara" gossip, idle talk, meaningless talk, Leshon Hara? leading to Tza-arat? I would like to think that birds praise God in their own language, thanking the LORD for their daily provision of food, bread crumbs, left over French Fries, worms, etc.
Things to think about, wouldn't you say?
Modern day Ashdod, in Israel, view from the top of a 14 story building "Prayer Terrace"
I just wanted to add a bit more to this parasha, since I sent out a Midrash on both Tazria and Metsora last week.
Question! Is your house sick? and your clothes, have they ever been sick? Silly question, but, the answer is interesting;
From chapter 13:47 it talks about "leprosy in clothing" Can clothing bear leprosy? Tza-arat? Well, in modern terminology, we call it "mold and mildew." I am sure that we have all smelled that in our clothes from time to time, when clothing is not completely dry and is put away a bit moist, and it is hot and humid in the summer time. Mold and mildew form.
I think we can see mold and mildew even in food, yet some mold is beneficial, the green mold in bread is processed into Penicillin, and bleu cheese, well, that's moldy cheese but it tastes good, and that's the way it is prepared.
Yet mold in clothing is dangerous, if we put on moldy clothing, and the smell reaches our noses, and we breath it in, it can get us sick. The verses state in some translations; "The woofs and the warps". No, it isn't that a dog is barking at moldy clothing. The "woofs and the warps" are the threading that make up the fabric. Look at your shirt under a magnifying glass and you will see the crisscross pattern of the thread that makes up your garment. When the garment get moldy, the mold sticks to those "woofs and warps" as they are called.
Mold existed in Biblical times too. The priest would look at the clothing and isolate the clothing for 7 days, afterwards, if the mold did not spread, the owner would wash it well and let it dry. If there was no more mold, the owner could put it on again, if the mold returned, it was isolated again, and if it would not disappear with washing, it had to be destroyed. God knew the dangers of mold and mildew and wanted to protect his people from disease. One asks, what kind of soap was used back then? The Babylonians used a mixture of animal fat and ashes to make soap as far back as 3000 B.C. seriously? No, not for me. I prefer the modern soap.
This parasha also talks about mold on the walls of the houses. Same procedure. The house had to be locked up for 7 days, and then inspected by the Levite priests. If the mold had not spread, then the stones and plaster that made up the walls were scraped and the scrapings were taken outside and dumped far from camp. If the mold and mildew appeared again, then, the stones would have to be removed and replaced, if the mold spread throughout the house, then, the house would have to be demolished. The owner would have to rebuild, (or sleep in a tent).
We ask, how does all this apply to us as believers? The clothing we wear tells a lot about us. How should we dress? I would say, "neatly, clean, yet modest. Some people like to dress with so much gold and silver they look like a mobile Fort Knox. This might symbolize pride and arrogance, (but not always). Maybe, just maybe, a moldy shirt could symbolize how the wearer of that shirt is inside. It might be an indicator that an inner change is needed. Just like Tza-arat on the skin is a revelation of corruption inside. Probably not the case for a mildewy shirt, but it is something to think about. The next time you might smell mildew or see mold on your shirt, take it as a reminder to check inside yourself. Are you smelly inside? is something inside not smelling like roses? maybe some hidden sin?
How is a person's household? A house is only a structure with 4 walls, a floor and a roof. Once a family moves in, it becomes a home. Could moldy walls in a home indicate a spiritual problem within that home? Something to think about. Might not be the case, but...who knows?
Another interesting aspect about this parasha is the method of cleansing of the leper after the infirmity has left, even the clothing and the walls of the house. Two birds are used, cedar wood, scarlet material, and hyssop, and also, "running water". One bird is killed and the living bird is dipped in the blood of the dead bird under running water, then the living bird is set free? And the other materials? Might the scarlet thread be wrapped around the cedar wood and the hyssop?
The "Running water" is the "Living Water" (Mayim Chayim) What does the cedar wood remind us of? The doorposts on the Hebrew houses in Goshen? the cross at Calvary? The humanity of Yeshua who was a carpenter and perhaps even a stone worker? The scarlet? the blood of Yeshua which was shed on the cross of Calvary? The blood on the doorposts in Goshen? The hyssop? that which was used to apply the blood on the doorposts in Goshen? Symbolism to think about.
Two birds. One was sacrificed, the other let go free. What does this remind us of? Yom Kippur! Where one goat was sacrificed and the other set free. Yeshua bore our sins and our sins were casted away, never to return to us. But why birds? Do birds like to talk? Yes, a lot. At dusk, they sit on telephone wires by the hundreds and just chatter away. Talking about who knows what. Perhaps that is a reminder that as humans, we tend to, at times, talk too much, and this might lead to "Leshon Hara" gossip, idle talk, meaningless talk, Leshon Hara? leading to Tza-arat? I would like to think that birds praise God in their own language, thanking the LORD for their daily provision of food, bread crumbs, left over French Fries, worms, etc.
Things to think about, wouldn't you say?
Modern day Ashdod, in Israel, view from the top of a 14 story building "Prayer Terrace"
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