Don Isaac Abravanel, sometimes spelled Abarbanel (1437-1508) was a probing and penetrating Jewish thinker, as well as a prolific
Biblical commentator. Leviticus 13 covers the mysterious and elusive subject of Biblical leprosy.
“And God spoke unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying: When a man shall
have in the skin of his flesh a rising, or a scab, or a bright spot, and it
become in the skin of his flesh the plague of leprosy, then he shall be
brought unto Aaron the priest, unto one of his sons the priests. And the
priest shall look upon the plague…and pronounce him spiritually
unclean.”
On Biblical leprosy, in short, Abravanel poses two basic questions:
- When it comes to Biblical leprosy, why does the Torah require the suspected, spiritually
contaminated man to summon a priest in order to determine his status – spiritually clean or
unclean? After all, in no other cases of malady does the Torah require a priest’s input. - Why doesn’t the Torah treat Biblical leprosy as other medical ailments? That is, why isn’t there
medical intervention and/or natural remedies, such as prescribing emetics, laxatives, or
purgatives? Of course, there are no shortages of treatment plans that practitioners are wont to
administer. Alternatively, if the Torah wanted to eschew conventional medicine altogether, it
could have urged these potential lepers to follow the example of Elisha. Recall, the prophet
employed “unorthodox” means to heal Naaman, Aram’s military chieftain. Instead, we read
here about quarantine: “Then the priest shall shut him up that has the plague for seven days.”
Abbreviated, Abravanel’s answer goes like this. Biblical leprosy bespeaks an imbalance within man. It
manifests itself through symptoms, as described in the verses above (skin eruptions, scabs, blotchiness
etc.). That is, initially Biblical leprosy appears as a dermatological disorder. Should things progress, this
imbalance results in the affected man emitting respiratory droplets, that pose a danger to those in close
proximity to him.
“When a man shall have in the skin of his flesh a rising” reveals a key clue to the infirmity; it attacks
man, insofar as he is delicately-tuned. If an imbalance throws him out of kilter, Biblical leprosy may
follow. Animals, however, lack man’s intricate inner balance, and thus are not at risk of contracting
leprosy. To be sure, Abravanel writes more on this arcane subject. For our purposes here, Biblical
leprosy falls under the purview of priests, since they are expert in matters of spiritual cleanliness or
contamination. Furthermore, because this malady isn’t a medical disorder, but rather indicates an inner
irregularity, there is no point to consulting with doctors or healers. See Abravanel’s World.
