Torah Portion: Metzora
“והיה ביום השביעי יגלח את כל שערו…” (ויקרא יד ט)
It is a positive commandment that the person [recovering from] tzara’as shall shave off all his hair. This is the second purification [he must undertake].
Among the roots of the mitzvah is the idea we mentioned above, in connection with immersion in water—the person should view himself as though he was created today and so his hair is beginning to sprout today. With this in mind, he will renew his deeds for the good, for when a person is clean of all hair, he is easily cleaned of all dirt. It is therefore proper that when he is returning from his contaminated state of tzara’as that he perform upon himself a cleaning activity with all his might, so that his deeds will also be cleansed with all his might, and he will transform them from evil to good.
This mitzvah applies to both men and women, in all places and at all times that there are kohonim who are great sages and know how to rule on matters relating to tzara’as. One who transgressed this and did not shave off his hair has violated a positive commandment, and he remains tamei-impure.
