We now delve deeper into tumah, precipitated by the departure of Divine life spirit. Thus even a new mother is impure, after her foetus departs into his/her brave new world. Ma's sin offering expresses her feelings of inadequacy, as she faces an awesome task- to raise a fine holy Jew.

CH. 13 describes a mystical affliction, TZARAAT, which attacks humans, cloth, and leather; its traditional cause is moral turpitude, e.g. negative speech about others; it engenders tumah; one afflicted must mourn and repent outside the Jewish camp (45-6).

CH. 14 gives the procedure for restoring the cured victim of tzaraat to the community and Temple. Tzaraat may also contaminate a house in Israel, and God teaches how to deal with it.

CH. 15 deals with tumah from bodily discharges. The departure of the Divine Presence here is due either to moral turpitude or to physical loss of the basis of life, the sperm or the egg.

THE HAFTORA is II K 7:3-20. 4 lepers are excluded from the camp. They're helpless- Aram besieged the starving Jews. They seek Aram's mercy and find the camp deserted, loads of booty left behind. The 4 immediately bring back the good news. The Jews joyously confirm that Aram fled, hearing the noise of a huge force (God's hoax- cf. 1948)!