Summary of the Parasha

Metzora (“the leper”) continues the laws of Tzara’at with the purification of the person who has been healed. The Kohen goes outside the camp to examine them, then comes a ceremony with two birds, cedar wood, scarlet wool and hyssop; the person shaves, washes, and brings offerings after seven days.

The Torah then speaks of Tzara’at on houses, which will strike after the entry into the land of Israel. The Kohen has the house emptied and examines it, and if the mark persists, the affected stones are removed, or even the house torn down. Our Sages teach that this could be good news: the Canaanites had hidden treasures in the walls, and the demolition revealed them. The parasha ends with further laws of purity for men and women.

The lesson of Tzara’at: evil speech isolates. One who has divided people with words must live apart for a while, to understand the value of being connected to others.

Summary of the Haftara

“V’Arba’ah Anashim” (“And four men”)
Text in II Kings 7:3–20

The city of Samaria is besieged by the army of Aram and the famine is terrible. The prophet Elisha announces that by the next day, flour will be sold cheaply; an officer of the king mocks the prophecy. Four Metzora’im, living at the city gate, decide to surrender to the Arameans: they find the camp empty. God made the Arameans hear the sound of a great army, and they fled, leaving everything behind. The four men eat, then realize they cannot keep the good news to themselves and go to tell the city. The prophecy comes true, and the officer who doubted it is trampled to death at the gate. According to tradition, these four men were Gehazi, Elisha’s servant, and his sons.

Parasha-Haftara Connection

The parasha speaks of Metzora’im sent outside the camp; in the haftara, it is precisely Metzora’im, kept outside the city, who discover the salvation and bring it to everyone. Those who were set apart become the messengers of deliverance.