Metzora - The Leper Messiah

This name might be the result of wordplay. The word used for "the leper" in this passage is the Aramaic word chivera (חיוורא), which is similar to the Hebrew word chavurah (חבורה), i.e., "scourging," an important attribute mentioned in Isaiah 53:5, in the description of the suffering servant:

The same root of this word is used to describe the affliction of Israel in Isaiah 1:6: "Bruises, welts (chabburah) and raw wounds, not pressed out or bandaged, nor softened with oil."

Because of these connections and a couple others, the sages referred to the suffering Messiah, Messiah son of Joseph, as "The Leper." The suffering Messiah carries the suffering of the Jewish people like a leper carries his affliction. The sages understood that the Messiah took on the nation's “leprosy”, so to speak.

This same interpretation of the Messiah is found in a story from the Talmud, where Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi asks Elijah the prophet where he might find the Messiah. Elijah answers that the Messiah sits in the gates of Rome. Ben Levi asks, "How will I recognize Messiah when I see him?"

Why is the Talmud’s name for Messiah "The Leper?" The title seems diminutive, contradicting with the Bible's description of the Messiah. It says in Isaiah 52:13, "Behold, My servant will prosper, He will be high and lifted up and greatly exalted." Adding on to this, the Bible lists the Messiah as the wisest of all men, exalted above Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and even the angels. It says that his stature will exceed all the great men and kings on earth. There has to be some deeper meaning to the Talmudic name of Messiah, "The Leper."

A Chasidic passage explores this deeper meaning. It states that the redeemer is impatiently waiting for the final redemption, waiting for the time where he can purify the nation, but until that happens, he is personally suffering from the pain of Israel's leprous-like affliction, the agony of the ongoing exile. For as long as the exile persists, the Messiah is called The Leper. The messiah is pure and perfect, his affliction referring to the condition of exile. The "day of his purification" refers to the coming redemption, when the Messiah will be revealed, his leprosy will fall away, and his righteousness will be revealed to all. The final redemption will demonstrate how, in Messiah, Leviticus 14:3 will be fulfilled: "The infection (nega) of leprosy has been healed in the leper"

The Talmud calls the Messiah "The Leper", but the full quotation refers to the Messiah as "The Leper of the House of Rabbi," which could also mean, "The Leper of the House of Study" or "The Leper Scholar."

It says in b.Sanhedrin 98b:

The phrase "Leper of the House of Rabbi", must have been corrupted, as it should have followed the formula presented by the previous opinions in the Talmud's discussion. The original version must have read, "The house of rabbi So-and-so said, 'His name is the Leper,' as it is written ..." At some point in the transmission of tractate Sanhedrin, the words must have been jumbled, resulting in the Messiah's name being "Leper of the House of Rabbi." Even so, the jumbled text hints towards Yeshua. “The house of Rabbi”, can be translated as, “The house of learning”, referring to the place where Rabbis, Sages, and Scribes spent all their time. The "Leper of the House of Rabbi" can be interpreted as an allusion to the sages' rejection of Yeshua. Yeshua experienced plenty of rejection from the scribes and Pharisees of his time. In the Apostolic Era, the sages solidified their rejection of Yeshua and his teachings, ostracizing his talmidim (disciples), treating them like lepers and banning them from the synagogues and study halls. Yeshua the Messiah is "despised and forsaken" by the sages, "like one from whom men hide their face He was despised." The scholars of Israel "did not esteem Him." Surely he bore their grief, and their sorrows he carried, yet the men of learning "esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted", as it says in Isaiah 53:3-5.

In this Torah portion, we learn about the leper, and how leprosy illustrates the spiritual sickness of sin. At the same time, it points towards the pain and punishments that befall the nation of Israel for breaking the covenant. The leper represents Israel under international ostracization, driven into exile. The leprous house represents the corruption of the Holy Temple and its ultimate destruction. Because of these connections Yeshua's emphasis on healing and cleansing lepers takes on greater significance. Furthermore, Yeshua’s contact with lepers strengthens his connection with the later, talmudic idea of the Leper Messiah, who suffers on behalf of Israel. While you can still speak of leprosy as the literal, biblical disease of tzara'at, an archetype for human disease and mortality, it is said that this disease is caused by the spiritual corruption of sin, that it is a symbol for God's punishments. It is not that far of a leap to see the leprosy of the Bible as an allusion to the sorrows and sufferings of Israel's exile. In all cases of Biblical Leprosy, Yeshua offers the solution, as it says in Isaiah 53:5 "He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed."