Aggada -- Translations into English; Bible. Old Testament -- Legends; Jewish legends; Midrash -- Translations into English
The law in regard to lepers was particularly severe, for they were
denied the right of staying within the camp, whereas the unclean were
prohibited merely from staying near the sanctuary. [412] The lepers
were the very ones who had worshipped the Golden Calf, and had as a
consequence been smitten with this disease, and it was for this reason
that God separated them from the community. Thirteen sins are punished
with leprosy by God: blasphemy, unchastity, murder, false suspicion,
pride, illegal appropriation of the rights of others, slander, theft,
perjury, profanation of the Divine Name, idolatry, envy, and contempt
of the Torah. Goliath was stricken with leprosy because he reviled God;
the daughters of Zion became leprous in punishment of their unchastity;
leprosy was Cain's punishment for the murder of Abel. When Moses said
to God, "But behold, they will not believe me," God replied: "O Moses,
art thou sure that they will not believe thee? They are believers and
the sons of believers. Thou who didst suspect them wrongly, put not
they hand into thy bosom,…..and he put his hand into his bosom: and
when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as snow. " Uzziah
presumed upon the rights of the priesthood, and went into the Temple to
burn incense upon the altar of incense. He was just about to commit the
offence, when "the leprosy brake forth in his forehead." Leprosy fell
upon Naaman, who had grown arrogant because of his heroic deeds. For
slandering Moses Miriam became leprous as snow; and Gehazi was punished
by leprosy because he frustrated the purpose of Elisha, who desired to
accept nothing from Naaman in order that the cure might redound to the
glory of God. [413]
Another important law revealed on this day referred to the celebration
of "the second Passover feast." Mishael and Elzaphan, who had attended
to the burial of Nadab and Abihu, were godly men, anxious to fulfil the
commandments of God, hence they went to the house where Moses and Aaron
instructed the people, and said to them: "We are defiled by the dead
body of a man; wherefore are we kept back that we may not offer an
offering of the Lord in His appointed season among the children of
Israel?" Moses at first answered that they might not keep the Passover
owing to their condition of uncleanness, but they argued with him,
asking that even if, owing to their condition, they might not partake
of the sacrificial meat, they might, at least, be permitted to
participate in the offering of the paschal lamb by having the blood of
the offering sprinkled for them. Moses admitted that he could not pass
judgement on this case before receiving instruction concerning it from
God. For Moses had the rare privilege of being certain of receiving
revelations from God whenever he applied to Him. He therefore bade
Mishael and Elzaphan await God's judgement concerning their case, and
sentence was indeed revealed immediately. [414]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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