parsha bit: Tazria-Metzora

[cellio]

This week's parsha tells us that a man afflicted with tzara'at, or leprosy, must cry out "unclean, unclean". One obvious reason for this is to advise others to keep away from him, but the talmud notes the repetition of the word and offers a second reason: that he should make his distress known so that others will pray for his recovery. The point is not to embarrass him but to help him recover and rejoin the community. (Mo'ed Katan 5a)

Comments

[cellio]

There's a rabbinic tradition that repeated words in the torah (quoted or not) are somehow significant. (Another is "tzedek tzedek tirdof" -- "justice, justice you shall pursue", which is sometimes translated "justice you shall surely pursue" or variations on that.)

Clearly the person is going to repeat his warning some number of times as he goes along his way, so the torah could have just said "he shall say 'unclean'" and that wouldn't have meant only once. So the rabbis are trying to find meaning in the (unnecessary?) extra word.

I'm not agreeing with this, by the way, just explaining it.

Well, except when I do it. I tend to sing out "Oye" so that it lasts a good 10-15 seconds. No need to do that twice. :-)

This is the style I prefer. Aside from being more effective (IMO) at getting people to stop talking and start paying attention, it seems to prevent half a dozen other people from "helpfully" adding their own calls of "oyez" to the mix.

[goldsquare.livejournal.com]

I'm not agreeing with this, by the way, just explaining it.

Oh, I knew that. But, sometimes, it seems that they are trying to get two gallons of lemonade out of one lemon, by squeezing just a little too hard. :-)