Chumashחומש

מחית המכוה. שנימני"ט; כְּשֶׁחָיְתָה הַמִּכְוָה הָפְכָה לְבַהֶרֶת פְּתוּכָה אוֹ לְבָנָה חֲלָקָה; וְסִימָנֵי מִכְוָה וְסִימָנֵי שְׁחִין שָׁוִים הֵם, וְלָמָּה חִלְּקָן הַכָּתוּב? לוֹמַר שֶׁאֵין מִצְטָרְפִין זֶה עִם זֶה — נוֹלַד חֲצִי גְרִיס בַּשְּׁחִין וַחֲצִי גְרִיס בַּמִּכְוָה, לֹא יִדּוֹנוּ כִגְרִיס (חולין ח'):

מחית המכוה IIEALED FLESH OF THE BURNT PART — sainement in old French The text means that when the burnt part was healed it turned into a bright spot variegated or evenly white (i.e. ‎'וכו‎‎ והיתה denotes “and the healed flesh became a white bright spot etc.”). The symptoms of cleanness or uncleanness of a burn and the symptoms of a boil are exactly similar. Why, then, has Scripture mentioned them separately (in two paragraphs, instead of saying ואדם כי יהיה בעור בשרו שחין ומכוה )? To tell us that they cannot be combined one with the other to make up the minimum size of a spot which is a symptom of leprosy — if, e. g., there develops a leprous spot the size of a half of a גריס (a גריס is a half-bean; חצי גריס is a half of this), in a boil (שחין), and one of the size of a half גריס in a burn (מכוה), they do not come under the law of a full ‎‎‏ גריס(the minimum size for an unclean spot) (Chullin 8a).

בראש או בזקן. בָּא הַכָּתוּב לְחַלֵּק בֵּין נֶגַע שֶׁבִּמְקוֹם שֵׂעָר לְנֶגַע שֶׁבִּמְקוֹם בָּשָׂר, שֶׁזֶּה סִימָנוֹ בְּשֵׂעָר לָבָן וְזֶה סִימָנוֹ בְּשֵׂעָר צָהֹב:

בראש או בזקן UPON THE HEAD OR UPON THE BEARD — Scripture intends to make a difference between a plague which is on a place where hair grows and a plague which is on a place where flesh is (already mentioned v. 38) — that as regards this (that on the flesh) its symptom of uncleanness consists in white hair, and as regards the other its symptom consists in gold-coloured hair (Sifra, Braita d'Rabbi Yishmael 14).

ובו שער צהב. שֶׁנֶּהְפַּךְ שֵׂעָר שָׁחֹר שֶׁבּוֹ לְצָהֹב:

ובו שער צהוב AND THERE BE IN IT A GOLD-COLOURED HAIR — This means that the black hair that was in it has turned into gold-coloured (cf. Rashi on v. 3).

נתק הוא. כָּךְ שְׁמוֹ שֶׁל נֶגַע שֶׁבִּמְקוֹם שֵׂעָר:

נתק הוא — this (נתק) is the name of a plague which is on the spot where hair grows.

ושער שחר אין בו. הָא אִם הָיָה בוֹ שֵׂעָר שָׁחֹר טָהוֹר וְאֵין צָרִיךְ לְהֶסְגֵּר, שֶׁהַשֵּׂעָר שָׁחֹר סִימָן טָהֳרָה הוּא בִנְתָקִים, כְּמוֹ שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (פסוק ל"ז), וְשֵׂעָר שָׁחֹר צָמַח בּוֹ וְגוֹ':

ושער שחור אין בו AND THERE IS NO BLACK HAIR IN IT [THE PRIEST SHALL SHUT HIM UP] — Consequently, if there is black hair in it, he is clean, and does not require to be shut up — for black hair is a characteristic of cleanness in cases of נתקים, as it is stated, (v. 37) “if there is black hair grown up in it … [he is clean]” (Sifra, Tazria Parashat Nega'im, Chapter 8 9).

והנה לא פשה וגו'. הָא אִם פָּשָׂה אוֹ הָיָה בוֹ שֵׂעָר צָהֹב טָמֵא:

'והנה לא פשה וגו‏‎‎‎ AND BEHOLD IF [THE SCAB] SPREAD NOT etc. — Consequently, if it spreads or there is in it gold-coloured hair it is unclean.

והתגלח. סְבִיבוֹת הַנֶּתֶק,

והתגלח AND HE SHALL CUT HIS HAIR around the scall,

ואת הנתק לא יגלח. מַנִּיחַ שְׁתֵּי שְׂעָרוֹת סָמוּךְ לוֹ סָבִיב, כְּדֵי שֶׁיְּהֵא נִכָּר אִם פָּשָׂה, שֶׁאִם יִפְשֶׂה יַעֲבֹר הַשְּׂעָרוֹת וְיֵצֵא לִמְקוֹם הַגִּלּוּחַ (נגעים פ"י, ספרא):

ואת הנתק לא יגלח BUT THE SCALL ITSELF HE SHALL NOT CUT THE HAIR OF — this means that he leaves a row of two hairs quite close to it around it in order that it may become discernible if it (the scall) spreads, for if it spreads it passes the hair and will extend to the spot where the hair has been cut off (Mishnah Negaim 10:5; Sifra, Tazria Parashat Nega'im, Chapter 9 7).

אחרי טהרתו. אֵין לִי אֶלָּא פוֹשֶׂה לְאַחַר הַפְּטוֹר, מִנַּיִן אַף בְּסוֹף שָׁבוּעַ רִאשׁוֹן וּבְסוֹף שָׁבוּעַ שֵׁנִי? תַּלְמוּד לוֹמַר פָּשֹׂה יִפְשֶׂה (ספרא):

אחרי טהרתו [AND IF THE SCALL SPREADS AT ALL …] AFTER HIS BEING PRONOUNCED CLEAN — I have here only the statement that he is unclean if it spreads after he has been freed from the quarantine; whence do I know that the same applies if it has spread by the end of the first week and or by the end of the second week? Because it states here: “if it spreads at all” (Sifra, Tazria Parashat Nega'im, Chapter 9 9).

ושער שחר. מִנַּיִן אַף הַיָּרֹק וְהָאָדֹם, שֶׁאֵינוֹ צָהֹב? תַּלְמוּד לוֹמַר "וְשֵׂעָר"; וּלְשׁוֹן צָהֹב דּוֹמֶה לְתַבְנִית הַזָּהָב — צָהֹב כְּמוֹ זָהֹב, אור"פלא בְּלַעַז:

ושער שחור AND [THERE BE] BLACK HAIR — Whence do I know that this applies also to yellow or reddish hair which also, like black hair here mentioned, are not gold-coloured? Because it states ושער “and hair” (whatever its colour may be) (Sifra, Tazria Parashat Nega'im, Chapter 9 14). The expression צָהוֹב denotes anything like the appearance of gold, and צהוב is equivalent to זהוב, orpàle in old French (English = pale gold).

טהור הוא וטהרו הכהן. הָא טָמֵא שֶׁטִּהֲרוֹ הַכֹּהֵן לֹא טָהוֹר:

טהור הוא וטהרו הכהן HE IS CLEAN AND THE PRIEST SHALL PRONOUNCE HIM CLEAN — Consequently a person who is really unclean whom the priest pronounces clean is not clean. [It is true that the declaration is left to the priest — as pointed out by Rashi on v. 2 — but if he erred or willfully pronounced the unclean person clean it is of no effect for Scripture states: he is clean and the priest then — and then only — shall pronounce him clean] (Sifra, Tazria Parashat Nega'im, Chapter 9 16).

בהרת. חֲבַרְבּוּרוֹת:

בהרות are SPOTS.

כהות לבנת. שֶׁאֵין לֹבֶן שֶׁלָּהֶן עַז אֶלָּא כּוֹהֶה:

כהות לבנות DULL WHITE — It means that their whiteness is not intense but a dull white.

בהק. כְּמוֹ לֹבֶן הַנִּרְאֶה בִּבְשַׂר אָדָם אָדֹם, שֶׁקּוֹרִין רוש"ו, בֵּין חֲבַרְבּוּרוֹת אַדְמִימוּתוֹ, קָרוּי בֹּהַק, כְּאִישׁ עַדְשָׁן שֶׁבֵּין עֲדָשָׁה לַעֲדָשָׁה מַבְהִיק הַבָּשָֹר בְּלֹבֶן צַח:

בהק A BRIGHTNESS — just like the white which shows itself in the flesh of a ruddy man, who is termed rouge in old French, between his red spots: this is called בהק “brightness” — like a man who is covered with lentil-like spots, when between one lentil-like spot and another the flesh shows bright with a pure brightness.