Parashat Tazria

The portion begins with the mother after childbirth: the days of impurity, the circumcision of a son on the eighth day, and the offerings brought when the period ends. Then it turns to tzaraat, a skin condition traditionally understood as a spiritual affliction rather than a medical one. The priest, not a doctor, examines swellings, scabs and bright spots, isolates the person for seven days, and declares them pure or impure. A person confirmed with tzaraat tears their clothes, covers their lip and lives outside the camp. The same condition can appear in wool, linen and leather garments, which are washed, examined again and burned if it spreads.