<html><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 16.0px 0.0px; font: 17.0px Helvetica; color: #161713"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px;">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.</span></font></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 18.0px 0.0px; font: 17.0px Helvetica"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px;">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."</span></font></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 18.0px 0.0px; font: 17.0px Helvetica"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px;">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).</span></font></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 18.0px 0.0px; font: 17.0px Helvetica"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px;">Why the difference?</span></font></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 18.0px 0.0px; font: 17.0px Helvetica"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px;">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. </span></font><span style="color: #11170d"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px;">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.</span></font></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 18.0px 0.0px; font: 17.0px Times"><span style="color: #11170d"><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px;">Another way I (rw) see it </span></font></span><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px;"> – the clothing and body is <i>Olam Hazeh</i> and the House is <i>Olam Haba</i>. If we purify our clothing and body in "Olam Hazeh", we'll ultimately make it to the Big House in "Olam Haba."</span></font></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 18.0px 0.0px; font: 15.0px Times">R Wolberg</p></body></html>