Neghaʿim (
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...
: נגעים, "Blemishes") is the third tractate of the order of
Tohorot in the
Mishnah
The Mishnah or the Mishna (; , from the verb ''šānā'', "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first written collection of the Jewish oral traditions that are known as the Oral Torah. Having been collected in the 3rd century CE, it is ...
. It consists of fourteen chapters. Nega'im describes the various forms of ''
tzaraath
''Tzaraath'' (Hebrew language, Hebrew: ''ṣāraʿaṯ''), #Name, variously transcribed into English and frequently translated as leprosy (though it is not Hansen's disease, the disease known as "leprosy" in modern times), is a term used in the ...
'', a
leprosy
Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a Chronic condition, long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the Peripheral nervous system, nerves, respir ...
-like disease described in the
Parshiyot of
Tazria
Tazria, Thazria, Thazri'a, Sazria, or Ki Tazria (, ' heconceives', is the 13th word—and the first distinctive word—in the ''parashah'', wherein the root word means "seed") is the 27th weekly Torah portion (, ''parashah'') in the annual Jud ...
and
Metzora in the
Torah
The Torah ( , "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () ...
, which affected people,
clothing
Clothing (also known as clothes, garments, dress, apparel, or attire) is any item worn on a human human body, body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin s ...
, and homes. The tractate describes the different types of blemishes symptomatic of the disease, and the various rituals involved in purifying someone who has been affected by it.
This tractate, along with
Oholot, was considered one of the most difficult tractates; according to a Jewish legend, King
David
David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament.
The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...
is said to have asked of God that reading the
Book of Psalms
The Book of Psalms ( , ; ; ; ; , in Islam also called Zabur, ), also known as the Psalter, is the first book of the third section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) called ('Writings'), and a book of the Old Testament.
The book is an anthology of ...
be considered the equivalent of studying the tractate of Negaim and Oholot.
Midrash Tehillim
Midrash Tehillim (Hebrew: מדרש תהלים), also known as Midrash Psalms or Midrash Shocher Tov, is an aggadic midrash to the Psalms.
Midrash Tehillim can be divided into two parts: the first covering Psalms 1–118, the second covering 119 ...
1
There is no
Gemara
The Gemara (also transliterated Gemarah, or in Yiddish Gemore) is an essential component of the Talmud, comprising a collection of rabbinical analyses and commentaries on the Mishnah and presented in 63 books. The term is derived from the Aram ...
for Nega'im in either the
Babylonian or
Jerusalem Talmud
The Jerusalem Talmud (, often for short) or Palestinian Talmud, also known as the Talmud of the Land of Israel, is a collection of rabbinic notes on the second-century Jewish oral tradition known as the Mishnah. Naming this version of the Talm ...
.
References
{{Judaism-stub
Jewish ritual purity law