Un Baheret brillant [type de patch malade qui crée des impuretés] semble terne sur une personne à la peau claire [allumé. Allemand] et un terne semble brillant sur une personne à la peau foncée [allumé. Éthiopien]. Rabbi Yishmael dit: Bnei Yisrael, que je sois leur expiation, voici, ils sont comme du buis, pas noirs et non blancs, mais intermédiaires. Rabbi Akiva dit: Les peintres ont des pigments avec lesquels ils peignent des formes noires ou blanches ou intermédiaires. On apporte un pigment intermédiaire et l'entoure [le Nega ] de l'extérieur, et il apparaîtra à l'intermédiaire. Le rabbin Yehudah dit: Les apparitions de Negaim [taches malades sur la peau, les vêtements ou les maisons qui créent des impuretés, devraient être décidées] pour la clémence [en cas de doute] mais pas pour la rigueur: il [le prêtre examinateur] devrait regarder la lumière- personne à la peau [comparée avec] sa peau pour la clémence et la personne à la peau foncée en [comparaison avec] un [colorant] intermédiaire pour la clémence. Les Sages disent: Tant ceci et ce [cas doit être comparé avec] intermédiaire [colorant].
Bartenura on Mishnah Negaim
בהרת. גרמוני (an intensely white bright spot appears faint on the skin of a Germanus – Teuton) – the most white. And the intensely bright spot that sparkles like snow appears on him faint as a result of the great whiteness that is on his skin, and they release him.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Negaim
Introduction
Our mishnah deals with the problem that the color of negaim appear differently depending upon the skin color of the person being examined. This could undermine the objectivity of the examination
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Bartenura on Mishnah Negaim
והכהה – appears. בכושי עזה ([the faint spot] appears bright on a Cushite) – as a result of the fact that his skin is black. And they lock up/isolate the leper [pending examination by a Kohen]. For we follow after how his skin appears.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Negaim
The bright spot in a German appears as dull white, and the dull white spot in an Ethiopian appears as bright white. A "bright spot" is impure, but on a pale German (I assume this means anyone from northern Europe) it will look dull. This would mean that he will be declared pure, even though he should not be. On the opposite end of the spectrum, a dull spot, which should not be impure, will look bright on an Ethiopian's skin. This will cause him to be isolated and then, if it remains, to be declared impure. The question is how do we deal with this situation?
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Bartenura on Mishnah Negaim
בית ישראל אני כפרתן – as a result of his love for them, he would say, “I am their atonement.” Meaning to say that all the punishment that is appropriate to come upon them I accept upon myself in order to atone for them. For they are “intermediate” and placed in the middle and do not lean to one of the two extreme ends.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Negaim
Rabbi Ishmael says: the children of Israel (may I be atonement for them!) are like boxwood, neither black nor white but of an intermediate shade. Rabbi Ishmael says that we use the skin of Israelites, which is dark but not black, as the barometer. This is because the laws of negaim were stated with regard to Israelites. As an aside, Rabbi Ishmael offers to take upon himself vicarious atonement for Israel's sins.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Negaim
לא לבנים ולא שחורים – but rather like boxwood/ebony which is neither white nor black (but of an intermediate color). [The word] אשכרוע, is a species of cedar, BOSHU in the foreign language. (Isaiah 41:19): “[I will plant cedars in the wilderness, acacias and myrtles and oleasters; I will set cypresses in the desert,] box trees and elms as well,” אשכרוע –boxwood. And Rabbi Yishmael holds that he would declare one [person] pure, he would declare all of them pure, and just as he would defile one [person], he would defile all of them. And Rabbi Yishmael and Rabbi Akiva share the same approach.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Negaim
Rabbi Akiva says: painters have materials with which they portray figures in black, in white, and in an intermediate shade; let, therefore a paint of an intermediate shade be brought and applied around the outside of the nega, and it will then appear as on skin of intermediate shade. Rabbi Akiva says that we actually paint the person's skin, at least around the nega. This way we can get an unbiased portrait of what shade the nega really is.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Negaim
ציירין – artists that paint shapes for beauty.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Negaim
Rabbi Judah says: in determining the colors of negaim the law is to be lenient and not stringent; let,therefore, the negaim of the German be inspected on the color of his own body so that the law is lenient, and let that of the Ethiopian be inspected as if it were on the intermediate shade so that the law is also lenient. Rabbi Judah says that we always rule leniently. Therefore, if the spot looks dull on the German, he is pure. And if it looks bright on the Ethiopian, we estimate how it would look on a person of average skin color.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Negaim
כבינוני – an intermediate paint/color
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English Explanation of Mishnah Negaim
The sages say: both are to be treated as if the nega was on the intermediate shade. The sages disagree and say that all negaim are judged based on an average background. This opinion seems to agree with Rabbi Akiva.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Negaim
מראות נגעים להקל (the appearance/colors of plagues are meant to produce a lenient decision) -And the reason of Rabbi Yehuda is explained in Torat Kohanim/Sifra. One verse states (Leviticus 13:2): “And it develops into a scaly affection on the skin of his body”/ "והיה בעור-בשרו לנגע צרעת" and another verse states (Leviticus 13:3): “The priest shall examine the affection on the skin of his body”/"וראה הכהן את-הנגע בעור-הבשר" (i.e., note that one verse states "בעור בשרו" and the next verse states "בעור הבשר"), we found that appearances of plagues are meant to produce lenient decisions but not to produce stringent/rigorous ones. How so? Let the German/Teuton be examined with his skin (which is faint) to be lenient, he fulfills [the verse]: "בעור בשרו"/ “on the skin of his body" (Leviticus 13:2) and the Cushite [be examined] as an intermediate to be lenient, is found that he fulfills [the verse]:"בעור הבשר" / “on the skin of his body.”
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Bartenura on Mishnah Negaim
זה וזה כבינוני – The German/Teuton and the Cushite are seen as intermediate, which is [the opinion] of Rabbi Akiva.
