Leprosy, for example, wasn't just a disease. According to some Jewish traditions, it could be a sign of something deeper, a consequence of wrongdoing. But what wrongdoing specifically? That's where the stories get interesting.
The book of Bamidbar Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Numbers, grapples with this very question. Specifically, it asks, regarding the verse "They shall send out from the camp every leper…", what was the source of this leprosy? Where did it come from?
Rabbi Yehuda bar Rabbi Simon suggests it stemmed from the sin of the Golden Calf. Remember that story? The Israelites, impatient with Moses's prolonged absence on Mount Sinai, fashioned and worshipped a golden idol. A pretty serious breach of covenant.
But other Rabbis point to the murmurers – those who constantly complained and grumbled against God. It's this second explanation that Bamidbar Rabbah really dives into. So, how did murmuring lead to leprosy?
Well, picture this: God is providing for the Israelites in the desert, raining down manna, that miraculous bread from heaven. According to our Rabbis, this was no ordinary food. God performed miracles so that the Israelites wouldn’t even need to relieve themselves! The idea, they said, was that if God called them “divine” (as it says in (Psalms 82:6), "I had said: You are divine"), they shouldn't have to engage in such mundane activities, just like the angels. Plus, God wanted to distinguish His children from the other nations.
But what did the Israelites do with this incredible gift? They became cynical. They started complaining, saying things like, "This manna doesn't flow down! I'm afraid my stomach will swell up and burst!" As Bamidbar Rabbah tells it, God was deeply offended. He felt provoked. (Numbers 14:11) says, "Until when will this nation continue to provoke Me? Until when will they not believe in Me?" Notice it says, "signs that I have performed in their midst [bekirbo]," not just for them. Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai even interprets bekirbo as "in their innards," suggesting God performed miracles within their very bodies.
The manna, according to (Psalm 78:25), was "the bread of abirim." But the Rabbis play on the word, reading it as "the bread of eivarim" – bread that is absorbed in their organs. Yet, despite all this, they complained!
They longed for the "good old days" in Egypt, remembering the "fleshpots" and abundant food. They declared, "Our soul is parched; there is nothing at all; nothing but the manna to look to!" (Numbers 11:6).
Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai asks a crucial question: Were they really just craving meat? After all, the manna tasted like whatever they desired! He suggests they were using this as an excuse, a "pretext for how to return to Egypt."
God, however, responded to their request for meat. But there was a catch. Those who had murmured against Him would find that the meat would "examine him," and it would come out of his nose! As (Numbers 11:20) says, "Until it comes out of your nose, and it will be lezara for you."
Now, lezara is interpreted in various ways. Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish says it means croup. Rabbi Huna HaKohen (a priest) bar Avin, quoting Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman, says it means vomit and excrement. Rabbi Evyatar suggests it means a tick or a worm in their intestines. Rabbi Aivu bar Nagari sees it as a warning.
But Rabbi Yehuda bar Rabbi Simon offers a particularly striking interpretation: lezara means they became outcasts [zarim]. Just as (Leviticus 22:13) says, "No zar may eat of it," so too, anyone who blasphemes God becomes an outcast. And how does this happen? Leprosy befalls them. God says they are outcasts from the congregation, hence the command to "send out from the camp every leper…"
So, according to this interpretation, the leprosy was a direct consequence of their lack of faith and their constant complaining. It was a physical manifestation of their spiritual separation from God and the community.
But what about Rabbi Yehuda bar Rabbi Simon's other explanation, that the leprosy stemmed from the sin of the Golden Calf? He finds support in (Isaiah 17:11): "On the day of your planting you will flourish, and in the morning your seed will blossom; your branch will be lost on a day of affliction and mortal pain."
Our Rabbis note that forty days after receiving the Torah, the Israelites made the calf. According to tradition, God even hinted at this to Moses, saying they would only be completely devoted to Him for forty days, referencing (Exodus 19:6), “You shall be for Me [li] a kingdom of priests…” The numerical value of the Hebrew letters lamed and yod in the word li, is thirty and ten, respectively, totaling forty.
Different Rabbis debated the exact number of days of true devotion, some saying twenty-nine, others eleven, drawing their interpretations from (Deuteronomy 1:2). Rabbi Shimon ben Ḥalafta even said they were only completely devoted for one day, citing (Deuteronomy 4:10).
Rabbi Meir goes even further, suggesting that even when they said, "Everything that the Lord has spoken we will perform and we will heed" (Exodus 24:7), their hearts weren't in it. As (Psalms 78:36-37) says, "But they enticed Him with their mouth and deceived Him with their tongue. Their heart was not true with Him."
Isaiah echoes this sentiment, saying, "On the day of your planting you will flourish (tesagsegi)" (Isaiah 17:11). God says that on the very day He sought to establish them as His nation, they produced dross (sigim).
The Rabbis then offer a series of analogies. One compares it to a king with a beautiful garden of cabbage, only to find it ruined in the morning. Another compares it to a field of flax that turns to stalks overnight. God says to Israel, "And in the morning your seed will blossom [tafriḥi]" (Isaiah 17:11), which they interpret as meaning the seeds flew out, a sign of deterioration.
Ultimately, the verse concludes with "a day of affliction [naḥala]" and "mortal pain." The Rabbis explain that this refers to a day when God intended to give them an inheritance [naḥala], but they failed to sustain His kingdom. The "mortal pain" is leprosy, a disease that causes the body to decompose, leading to the command to separate the lepers from the camp.
So, what do we take away from all of this? Perhaps it's a reminder that our actions have consequences, both physical and spiritual. Or maybe it's a call to appreciate the blessings we have and to avoid the trap of constant complaining. After all, as these stories suggest, sometimes our inner state can manifest in very tangible ways. And sometimes, what seems like a purely physical ailment might just be a sign of a deeper spiritual malaise.
“They shall send out from the camp…” – from where did the leprosy befall them? Rabbi Yehuda bar Rabbi Simon said: Due to the act of the calf. Our Rabbis say: Due to the murmurers;7See Numbers 11:1. according to the opinion of our Rabbis, the leprosy befell them from the murmurers. How so?8The answer to this question appears at the end of the description of the complaints about the manna. When God rained the manna down for them, God performed several miracles for them. Our Rabbis said: They did not need to relieve themselves in the manner of people. Why did He do so? It is, rather, that God said: If My children need to relieve themselves, how, then, did I write in their regard that they are divine, as it is stated: “I had said: You are divine” (Psalms 82:6)? Rather, just as the angels do not need to engage in this matter, they too will no longer need to engage in this matter. Another matter: God said: The nations eat and need to relieve themselves, and how do I distinguish between My children and the nations. That is why they did not need to relieve themselves. What did they do with the good that God performed on their behalf? They began speaking cynically about it. One said to another: Do you not hear, Shimon my brother? That one says: What do you say, Reuven my brother? He said to him: As you live, have you in all your days seen a person placing wheat in a mill, and after they are ground do not flow down?9Namely, the flour does not flow down. We, too, eat the manna, and it does not flow down. His counterpart said to him: I fear that ultimately my stomach will become swollen and burst because we do not excrete it. At that moment, God said to Moses: ‘I cannot bear and restrain Myself: “Until when will [this nation continue to] provoke Me? Until when will they not believe in Me?”’ (Numbers 14:11). Here, it is not written, “with all the wonders that I have performed with them [imo],” but rather, “[with all the signs] that I have performed in their midst [bekirbo]” (Numbers 14:11). Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai said: How many signs and wonders I have performed in their innards [bekirbeihen], but they provoke Me, like the matter that is stated: “And the innards [vehakerev] and the legs…” (Leviticus 1:13).10This verse is brought as a proof that the term bekirbo can mean in their innards. From where is it derived that it would not emerge from them? As it is stated: “Man ate the bread of abirim” (Psalms 78:25).11The term “the bread of abirim” refers to the manna mentioned in the previous verse. Do not read it as abirim, but rather, “the bread of eivarim,” bread that is absorbed in their organs [eivarim]. Nevertheless, Moses advocated on their behalf, and God reconsidered the evil. Then they said to one another: ‘Remember those days when we were in Egypt, when we would cook cauldrons upon cauldrons of meat, and would sit and eat toasts, and would crumble them into the gravy of the meat. If only we had died there, and God had not taken us out of there,’ as it is stated: “If only our death had been at the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat [by the fleshpots, when we ate bread until satiation]” (Exodus 16:3). ‘Now, we have nothing other than this manna alone; so it is in the evening, so it is in the morning, so it is during the week, so it is on Shabbat. If a person celebrated a good day, he has nothing to eat other than manna. If he marks a bad day, he has nothing to eat other than manna. Therefore, the souls are parched,’ as it is stated: “But now our soul is parched; there is nothing at all; [nothing but the manna to look to]” (Numbers 11:6). Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai said: Were they requesting meat? Did they not taste all the delicacies of the world in the manna? Anyone who desired meat would taste it, and anyone who desired fish would taste it. Anyone who desired rooster, pheasant, peacock, or anything that he sought, would taste that. Why, then, were they murmuring? It was, rather, that they sought a pretext for how to return to Egypt. Nevertheless, God said to Moses: What are they requesting? It is meat. Say to them that I will provide them with meat. You will eat of it not only one or two days, but one entire month. That is what is written: “You will eat, not one day…but until an entire month” (Numbers 11:19–20). At that moment, God provided them with meat. Anyone who did not murmur before God would eat it and enjoy it. Anyone who blasphemed before God would eat, and [the meat] would examine him,12The meat would “check” whether the person eating it was a blasphemer. and it would come out of his nose, as it is stated: “Until it comes out of your nose, [and it will be lezara for you]” (Numbers 11:20). Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish says: [The meat will cause] croup. Rabbi Huna HaKohen bar Avin says in the name of Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman in the name of our Rabbis in the Diaspora: [The meat will cause] vomit and excrement. Rabbi Evyatar says: What is lezara? It is a tick, or, that I will introduce a worm into their intestines. Rabbi Aivu bar Nagari says: It will be a warning [le’azhara] for you that from here on they will be forewarned. Rabbi Yehuda bar Rabbi Simon said: What is, “and it will be lezara for you” (Numbers 11:20)? They all became outcasts [zarim], just as it is stated: “No zar may eat of it” (Leviticus 22:13). So, anyone who blasphemes God becomes an outcast. How does he become an outcast? It is, rather, that leprosy befell them. God said to him: Why did they blaspheme Me? They are outcasts from the congregation: “They shall send out from the camp every leper…” According to the opinion of Rabbi Yehuda bar Rabbi Simon, who said: Due to the act of the calf, leprosy befell them, he derives it from this verse: “On the day of your planting you will flourish, [and in the morning your seed will blossom; your branch will be lost on a day of affliction and mortal pain]” (Isaiah 17:11). Our Rabbis say: Forty days after Israel received the Torah, Israel crafted the calf.13For those forty days they were completely devoted to God. From where is it derived? It is as you find that God alluded to this to Moses. God said to Moses: ‘Do you not see Israel, that they are standing and saying: “Everything that the Lord has spoken we will perform and we will heed” (Exodus 24:7); as you live, they are standing in deceit. They are complete with Me only forty days,’ as it is stated: “You shall be for Me [li] a kingdom of priests…” (Exodus 19:6). Was the verse lacking “li”? Lamed is thirty, yod is ten; there is forty. Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai and Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov: one of them would say: They were completely devoted for twenty-nine days, and one of them would say: They were completely devoted for eleven days. Both derive it from one verse, as it is stated: “Eleven days from Ḥorev…” (Deuteronomy 1:2). One of them says: What is “eleven”? Moses told them: ‘Was it not that you were completely devoted to God for twenty-nine days, but during the final eleven, you were calculating how to craft the calf,’ as it is stated: “Eleven days…” But his counterpart says: For eleven days they were completely devoted to God, and for twenty-nine they were calculating how to craft the calf. Rabbi Shimon ben Ḥalafta says: They were completely devoted for one day, as it is stated: “The day that you stood before the Lord your God at Ḥorev” (Deuteronomy 4:10). Rabbi Meir says: It is neither in accordance with the statement of these nor in accordance with the statement of those, but even at the moment that they were saying, “Everything that the Lord has spoken we will perform and we will heed” (Exodus 24:7), they were saying one matter with their mouth and one matter with their heart, as it is stated: “But they enticed Him with their mouth and deceived Him with their tongue. Their heart was not true with Him” (Psalms 78:36–37). Even on that very day that they were standing before Mount Sinai, their heart was not true to their Creator. That is what Isaiah says to them: “On the day of your planting you will flourish (tesagsegi)” (Isaiah 17:11) – God said to them: On the day that I sought to render you a plant in My name14Namely, on the day that I established you as My nation., you generated dross (sigim).15Tesagsegi is interpreted as: Make sigim. That is: “On the day of your planting you will flourish.” What is, “and in the morning your seed will blossom” (Isaiah 17:11)? Rabbi Ḥama, Rabbi Ḥanina, and Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman: one of them said: To what is the matter analogous? It is to a king who had one garden filled with fine and excellent cabbage. He entered into it at dusk and saw it. He said: How fine and excellent; in the morning I will sell it to the merchants and fill my purse with gold pieces. In the morning he entered to see it and found that it had germinated.16Its leaves had spread and it no longer looked fine and excellent. He said to it: May you be cursed; in the evening you were fine and excellent, and in the morning you germinated. So God said to Israel: “And in the morning your seed will blossom [tafriḥi].”17Tafriḥi is interpreted as meaning that the seeds flew out [hifriḥu], which is a sign of deterioration. His counterpart says: It is analogous to one who had a field of flax. He entered into it in the evening, and it was fine. He came to enter in the morning and found that it had become stalks. So, God said to them: “And in the morning your seed will blossom [tafriḥi] (Isaiah 17:11).”18See previous footnote. “On a day of affliction [naḥala]” (Isaiah 17:11) – on a day that I thought to render you an inheritance [naḥala] in My name, you did not sustain My kingdom over you. “And mortal pain” (Isaiah 17:11) – come and receive leprosy. Why does it call it “mortal [anush] pain”? It is because it is an expression of man [gever],19Enosh and gever both mean man. as it is an affliction that overcomes [hagevartanit]. Alternatively, “and mortal pain” – because it causes the body that it enters to decompose; that is why God said to Moses: Separate the lepers that are in their midst as it is they who performed that act. “They shall send out from the camp every leper…”
