This pasuk (verse) introduces the next stage in the treatment of the spiritual malady of tzara’at, which we studied last week. As we have previously discussed, the word ‘Torah’ can, in some contexts, refer to the instructions for putting a Mitzva (commandment) into practice. From the perspective of peshat (the straightforward meaning of the text), this verse introduces the procedure for curing tzara’at, a cure administered by the spiritual figure of the Cohen and not by a doctor, as tazar’at is a spiritual, not a medical malady.

In his work ‘Keli Yakar’, the 16^th century scholar, Rabbi Shlomo Ephraim from Lunchitz in Germany, identifies some important themes in the procedure for curing tzara’at. Keli Yakar notes that the order of the pasuk suggests that the metzora is still referred to as such on the day that he is cleansed. Furthermore, the end of the pasuk uses a passive verb, so that the metzora is brought to the Cohen. This is surprising because since the Cohen can apply the curing procedure, we might expect the metzora to go actively and even happily to the Cohen!

Keli Yakar suggests that the use of the passive and the description of the metzora as such on the day of cleansing, tells us about the nature of the metzora. Tzara’at came as a result of various sins which the metzora decided to perform. These decisions show spiritual decline. Tzara’at was a physical manifestation of this spiritual decline.

Had the metzora originally gone to the Cohen to learn and to apply the Torah, then the metzora may not have got into this situation. Accordingly, since the metzora has shown that he is most likely to be somebody who would not normally go to a Cohen, the passive verb is used to make this point. Therefore, as an alternative to the explanation of the word ‘Torah’ suggested above, use of the word ‘Torah’ according to Keli Yakar’s understanding is an allusion to the Torah that Cohen can teach to cure and then to prevent a recurrence of the spiritual malady of tzara’at.