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19 โ[1] ** ืฉืืช ืืื ื ืื ืืืจืช ืืื ื, "a white rising or a very bright spot, etc."** According to *Torat Kohanim* the reason the Torah writes ืืื ื, white, is to exclude ืืืืืืช, a ืฉืืช of a reddish appearance; the words ืืืจืช ืืื ื ืืืืืืช refer to a ืืืจืช mixed with a reddish appearance. [I did not find this in my edition of *Torat Kohanim* on this verse. Ed.] How do I know that the rules stated in our verse apply to a ืฉืืช ืืืืืืช, and to ืืืจืช ืืื ื that instead of the ืฉืืื there is now a completely white spot of the intensity called ืืืจืช? This is why the Torah added the words ื ืืข ืฆืจืขืช, "it is a form of leprosy," in verse 20. At first glance it seems that these extra words should have been necessary only in respect of ืฉืืช, the rising on the skin which was of a mixed colouring (white and reddish); seeing that the basic colour was not an intense white I might have presumed that it did not qualify anymore as a symptom conferring ritual impurity. We never would have assumed this of an area which contained the kind of bright whiteness known as ืืืจืช. We never find that ืฉืืช is more susceptible to impurity than ืืืจืช.
โ[2] The true explanation of the verse then is this: "a white rising on the skin of the kind called ืฉืืช ืืื ื or an intensely white spot called ืืืจืช which contains also some reddish appearance is still a symptom of ritual impurity because the colour of ืืืจืช contains some rising, ืฉืืช, and will not result in purification seeing a leprosy like appearance grew in it." The words ื ืืข ืฆืจืขืช are not necessary except to tell us that the ืฉืืช underwent a dimming of its white colour. While it is true that the author of *Torat Kohanim* speaks of two divisions, the second one is mentioned as incidental not because we needed the words ื ืืข ืฆืจืขืช to convey this information.
Version: Or Hachayim, trans. Eliyahu Munk
Source: http://www.urimpublications.com/or-hachayim-commentary-on-the-torah-5-vols.html
License: CC-BY