Metzora (parsha)

Metzora (parsha)

Metzora, Metzorah, M’tzora, Mezora, Metsora, or M’tsora (מְּצֹרָע — Hebrew for “one being diseased,” the ninth word, and the first distinctive word, in the parshah) is the 28th weekly Torah portion (parshah) in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the fifth in the book of Leviticus. It constitutes Leviticus 14:1–15:33. Jews in the Diaspora generally read it in April.

The lunisolar Hebrew calendar contains up to 55 weeks, the exact number varying between 50 in common years and 54 or 55 in leap years. In leap years (for example, 2014 and 2016), parshah Metzora is read separately. In common years (for example, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017, and 2018), parshah Metzora is combined with the previous parshah, Tazria, to help achieve the needed number of weekly readings.

The parshah deals with ritual impurity. It addresses cleansing from skin disease (tzara’at), houses with an eruptive plague, male genital discharges, and menstruation.

Read more about Metzora (parsha):  Commandments, In The Liturgy