[Avodah] Metzorah "The Big House"

[Cantor Wolberg]

The Torah first speaks about tzaraas on the body and clothes, and how  
to purify oneself from tzaraat of body and clothes. Then the Torah  
talks about tzaraas on the house and how to be purified from it.

Why does the Torah separate its discussion of "body and clothes" from  
"house?" Obviously, tzaraas on a house is a different category than on  
"body and clothes."

Vayikra 14:34 tells us the difference: "...and I will place a tzaraas  
affliction upon a house in the land of your possession..." This  
teaches that tzaraas on a house can occur only in eretz Yisroel,  
whereas the other two forms can occur anywhere in the world. Also,  
tzaraas type afflictions on houses are clearly supernatural  
occurrences. (And we must never lose sight of the real Owner of the  
house).

Why the difference?

Rabbi Yaakov Weinberg, Dean of Ner Israel Talmudic College in  
Baltimore, explains: Clothing is mine and my body is mine  –  no  
matter where I live. But my house is not mine  –  except in the Land  
of Israel. For Jews, houses outside of Israel are not true "homes."  
They are for us to rent, sell and occupy until we find somewhere  
else.  Ultimately, we don't belong anywhere else but our land.

Another way I (rw) see it  – the clothing and body is Olam Hazeh and  
the House is Olam Haba. If we purify our clothing and body in "Olam  
Hazeh", we'll ultimately make it to the Big House in "Olam Haba."

R Wolberg
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