פירוש על נגעים 3:1

הכל מיטמאין (all are made unclean) – and even a minor. For you might have thought that (Leviticus 13:44): “The man is leprous.”/"איש-צרוע", it comes to teach us that, as it is written (Leviticus 13:2): “[When a person has] on the skin of his body.”

Everyone can become impure from negaim, except for a non-Jew and a resident alien. The laws of negaim apply to all Jews, even to minors and even to slaves. They do not apply to non-Jews or to the "resident alien (ger toshav)." According to one, common, definition of this category is that it refers to a non-Jew who has accepted upon himself to observe the seven Noahide laws.

הכל כשרים לראות את הנגעים – and even though he is not an expert in them and in their names/designations, if a Sage is with him, he may examine, but on his own if he is not an expert in them and in their names/designations, he doesn’t examine the plagues.

All are qualified to inspect negaim, but only a priest may declare them unclean or clean. He is told, "Say: 'unclean,'" and he repeats "unclean," or "Say: 'clean,'" and he repeats "clean." In light of the Torah, we would think that only a priest is qualified to examine a nega. However, the rabbis say that while the priest must declare whether the person has a nega or not, anyone can determine whether it is a nega or not. The mishnah goes on to describe a priest being told by a sage whether to pronounce the nega clean or unclean. This seems to be part of the general rabbinic tendency to make the priests subservient to the sage. We need the priest, but the priest does not have the learning (according to the rabbis) to know when a discoloration of some sort is the type of nega referred to in the Torah.

שהטומאה והטהרה ביד כהן – an Israelite Sage examines the plagues and says to the Kohen, even though he is an imbecile/שוטה, “Say, ‘unclean/impure’” [or] “Say, “pure/clean’”.

Two negaim may not be inspected simultaneously whether in one man or in two men; rather he inspects one first and isolates him, certifies him as unclean or pronounces him clean, and then he inspects the second. One is not supposed to examine two negaim at the same time, whether both negaim are on the same person or on two different people.

בין איש אחד בין בשני אנשים – that there appeared two plagues on one person or on two people, a Kohen does not examine [both of] them at the same time, for the Kohen is not able to see well two plagues as [he sees] one.

One who is isolated may not be isolated again nor may one who is certified unclean be certified unclean again. One who is certified unclean may not be isolated nor may one who is isolated be certified unclean. If someone has been isolated already, and then he gets another nega, he is not isolated again based on the second nega. Neither can one who is already declared impure be declared impure for a second nega. Similarly, one who is already isolated cannot be declared impure, nor can one who is impure be isolated. Basically, if one already has one status, isolated/impure, he cannot be changed to the other status based on a second nega.

ומסגירו – if he is locking up (i.e., isolating) a [presumed] leper for trial, such as through the four appearances of plagues (see Tractate Negaim, Chapter 1, Mishnah 1).

But in the beginning, or at the end of a week, he may isolate on account of the one nega and isolate him on account of another one; he may certify him unclean on account of one sign and also certify him unclean on account of another sign; he may isolated the one sign and declare the other clean, or certify the one unclean and declare the other clean. However, if the second nega appears before he is isolated for the first nega, or it appears at the end of the first week of isolation for the first nega before he is isolated for a second week or determined unclean or declared pure, then the priest can isolate or determine him unclean/clean for both negaim at the same time. Or he can isolate or determine him unclean for one nega, and declare him clean from the other. Basically, since the first week is up or has not yet even begun, he can determine the status of two negaim at the same time.

ומחליטו – if he is worthy for being declared a [certified] leper, such as through white hair or a half-healed (having only a thin covering).

ופוטרו – if he is below from four appearances [of plagues].

וחוזר לשני – after the second person [had plagues] that appeared prior to his isolating/shutting in the first or declaring him to be a certified leper.

אין מסגירים את המוסגר – and similarly, we also do not declare someone to be a certified leper who is in isolation/shut up. For if they isolated him with one plague and afterwards another plaque appeared to him after it was fit to isolate him or declare him to be a certified leper, he does not engage with him. For if he is isolated/shut up from the first [plague], there is nothing regarding the second plague, neither the designation of being locked up [pending the priest’s observation – see Leviticus 13:4] or from the designation of being declared a confirmed leper, until he will need him (i.e., the Kohen).

אבל בתחלה בסוף שבוע מסגיר ומסגיר – if at the beginning of the week, a second [plague] appeared prior to his being isolated/shut up for the first [plague], he shuts him up/isolates him over the first [plague] and shuts him up/isolates him over the second [plague]. And similarly, at the end of the first week, if the first [plague] remained unchanged, he shuts him up/isolates him and goes back and shuts him up/isolates him on the second plague.

מחליט ומחליט – he declares him a certified leper on the first [plague] and goes back and declares him a certified leper on the second [plague].

מסגיר ופוטר – he (i.e., the Kohen) isolates him/shuts him up on the first [plague] but releases him on the second [plague].

מחליט ופוטר – he declares him a certified leper on the first [plague] and releases him on the second [plague]. And the same law applies in the opposite direction, he (i.e., the Kohen) shuts him up/isolates him [for the first plague] and declares him to be a certified leper [for the second plague] or declares him to be a certified leper [for the first plague] and shuts him up/puts him in isolation for the second plague or releases him [for the first plague] and isolates him/shuts him up [for the second plague] or shuts him up/isolates him for the first plague and declares him to be a certified leper [for the second plague].