Metzora / The ear, finger and toe

My daughter and I were recently learning Metzora, and she asked me why the process of getting rid of tzaraat included a ritual of placing blood on the ear, thumb and toe of the afflicted individual, on the one hand, and why it is specifically on the right (and not the left) of all extremities.

The simple answer is that the ritual described in 14:14 and 14:25 is meant to parallel, in a way, the ritual that was invoked in the transforming of Aharon and his sons from Levites to Kohanim. (8:23) Many aspects of both rituals are similar — including the specific kinds of sacrifices and offerings, what is done with the blood, and the shaving of the hair.

To run the parallel to one possible conclusion, perhaps both processes were meant to bring the person to a new level of spiritual fulfillment. Just as the Kohanim could achieve things as Kohanim that they could never have done as Levites, the former metzora is leaving behind a life of sinning and depravity to embrace a new existential reality through his renewed commitment to G-d and to his treatment of his fellow Man.

But it turns out the symbolism runs much deeper than parallel rituals. [I did not find an answer for why the right over the left — but perhaps it is a reflection of the preference the Torah has for the right side in general.]

The Alshich, for example, creates a tale of extremes that could come from the act of lashon hara, gossip, one of the recognized main causes of the tzaraat affliction. Lashon hara could be responsible for the deaths of three people. Perhaps someone tells his friend something about another person, which drives the listening party to murder. The relatives of the murdered chase down the murderer. G-d now avenges the deaths of these two people, through tzaraat upon the one who started it all, who opened the chain of events through saying lashon hara that should not have been shared.

The placing of the blood follows the acts of guilt. An ear heard the lashon hara. A hand was used to kill the subject of the lashon hara. Feet were used to chase down the murderer. The blood of guilt is, therefore, placed on these body parts of the tzaraat-afflicted.