to be interpreted as a medical malady, but rather as a spiritual affliction. The verse itself arguably suggests this, as it directs those who find themselves afflicted to seek out a Kohen (priest) and not a doctor, while the Torah does permit and even encourages those who are in need of medical care to seek treatment from physicians. The Torah's emphasis is clearly on the tumah (טומאה, "ritual impurity") that results from a diagnosis of tzaraath because the verses focus on the kohens declaration of "unclean" – וראהו הכהן וטמא אתו ("The kohen will see [the eruption] and [declare] him impure"). The Talmud, and the majority of historic Jewish literature in general, regards tzaraath as a punishment for sin; it lists seven possible causes for tzaraath: an evil tongue (malicious gossip) (elsewhere, this is supported by the wordplay metzora (leper) - motzi [shem] ra (slanderer)) murder a vain oath illicit sexual intercourse pride theft miserly behavior One midrashic source categorically states that tzaraath only appeared as punishment for evil tongue, while others add further reasons to the list in the Talmud. Unlike the modern medical approach, which seeks to cure by natural means, the classical Jewish sources argue that cure from tzaraath only came about through repentance and forgiveness. In particular, the Midrash Rabba sees the different types of tzaraath as increasing levels of punishment, which could be curtailed at any stage if repentance was made: the first stage in the Rabbah's view was the infection of homes, and if repentance came here it only required removal of the affected stones for a cure. in the second stage, the entire house must be torn down as the tzaraath would not go away, and the infection came upon one's clothes; if repentance came here it required only washing of the clothes for a cure. in the third stage of Rabbah's scheme, the clothes must be burnt, and the infection enters the person's skin; if repentance occurs here then purification could occur. in the fourth stage, which only occurs when the person has completely refused to repent, the person is forced to dwell alone. As a "physical manifestation of a spiritual malaise," tzaraath is a "divine retribution for the offender's failure to feel the needs and share the hurt of others." Although the medical and chemical conditions, which scholars consider the descriptions to fit, have obvious natural causes in the light of