Torah Portion Summary

The twenty-eighth reading from the Torah is Metzora, a word that means “leper.” The word appears in the second verse of the reading, which says, “This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing” (Leviticus 14:2). Leviticus 14 spells out the complex purification rituals for the cleansing of a biblical leper and a leprous home. Leviticus 15 briefly covers the laws regarding ritual unfitness stemming from bodily emissions. Except in biblical calendar leap years, Metzora is read together with the previous Torah portion, Tazria.

* Shabbat HaGadol ("The Great Sabbath") is the Shabbat immediately before Passover. There is a special haftarah reading from Malachi. Israel celebrated the very first Shabbat HaGadol in Egypt on the tenth of Nisan, five days before their redemption. On that day, the Children of Israel received their first commandment, which applied only to that day but not to future generations: "On the tenth day of this month … each man should take a lamb for the household, a lamb for each home" (Exodus 12:3).

Haftarh Portion Summary

The Haftarah reading for Metzora relates the story of how Gehazi, Elisha's servant who was afflicted with tzara'at for his greed (see 2 Kings 5:20-27), discovered that the LORD delivered Israel from the Syrians who had besieged them. The skeptical captain of Israel, who doubted Elisha's words about Israel's deliverance was killed by the mob rushing out to plunder the camp of the Syrians.

The Haftarah for Shabbat HaGadol (Malachi 3:4-24) foretells of Yom Adonai (יוֹם יהוה), the great Day of the LORD, and the return of Yeshua as Mashiach ben David. May that day come soon, chaverim. For more information, click here. Note: If the miracle occured on Nisan 10th, then why don't we celebrate this as its own holiday? According to Jewish tradition, the prophetess Miriam (the sister of Moses) died on Nisan 10, exactly one year before the Israelites entered the Promised Land (i.e., 40 years after the Exodus), and therefore Shabbat HaGadol is commemorated on the Shabbat before Passover rather than on the calendar date of Nisan 10 itself.

B'rit Chadashah Portion Summary

The Brit Chadashah reading for Metzora includes reference several miracles that the Mashiach Yeshua performed during His first visitation, including the healing of a leper. Matthew connects the healing ministry of Yeshua as the fulfillment of what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: "He took our illnesses and bore our diseases" (Isaiah 53:4). Many of us are in various states of denial regarding our own sinful condition and need for deliverance, which can be illustrated by the case of the metzora and its progression in the life of the afflicted.

A doctor friend of mine recently reminded me that tzara'at was an infectious condition. As long as the affliction was spreading across the body, the person was metzora and therefore tamei (unclean), but if the tzara'at (finally) covered the person from head to toe, he was to be considered "clean" (Lev. 13:12-13). In other words, in some cases the metzora needed to be entirely covered with their affliction before they were set free, and this further reminds me of our need to be fully identified with the death of Yeshua in order to experience the resurrection life! It is only by understanding how radical the need for our deliverance that Yeshua's "healing touch" can be manifest...

All Portions this week (LINK)
Torah	Haftarah	B'rit Chadashah
Leviticus 14:1-15:33	2 Kings 7:3-20	Matthew 23:16-24:2
Exodus 12:1-20	Malachi 3:4-4:6	Matthew 17:9-13
		Matthew 8:1-17

COMMENTARY
Fruits of Torah	Torah Resource	Hebrews for Christians
Ardelle -ver1	Tim Hegg -part1	Torah Table Talk
Ardelle -ver2	Tim Hegg -part2	Shabbat HaGadol
Ardelle -ver3		Removing Chametz

AUDIO COMMENTARY (Nehemia's Wall)
Portion	Torah Pearls	Prophet Pearls
Metzora