unclean

The Leper Messiah

Parashat Shemini contains the primary passages in the Torah that spell out the laws of kashrut, laws pertaining to clean and unclean foods. It is entirely in regard to animals. It defines which animals may be eaten by the Children of Israel and which animals may not be eaten. Many modern-day readers quickly dismiss these laws as antiquated, irrelevant, and having been repealed in the New Testament. However, these attitudes do not reflect those of Yeshua or the Apostles. Let’s briefly review what the Torah says about food and then look at one implication for us today.

This week’s Torah portion discusses two topics largely skipped over by Bibles students today: the laws of purification after child birth and biblical leprosy. These two topics are a typical cross-section of the various topics covered by the book of Leviticus and why it is largely avoided by even the most serious students of the Scriptures. However, since the LORD considered these topics important enough to populate the Holy Scriptures, we would do well to at least familiarize ourselves with them. Let’s take a brief look at the topic of biblical leprosy.