Metzora- Following Directions (with a bonus flow chart)

This week's post is based on Vayikra 14;33-57. It is the section of the parsha where Hashem tells Moshe and Aaron how to handle cases of tzara'at on the structure of a person's home. 

Continuing in my theme of graphs and charts, this week we'll look at how to make sense of the information given by converting it into a direction based format. How can we break down the information into step-by-step instructions for a person or Kohen to follow? Processing information by following step-by-step instruction (younger grades) or by breaking it down into its basic steps (older grades) is a skill that is critical for learning logical thinking (younger grades) and then for creating logical solutions to solve problems (older grades).

Following Directions:

While helpful in many areas in life, being able to follow a given direction is an important tool for success in math. Given the logical, step-by-step nature of mathematics, establishing a process and following through with that process is a necessary skill for working through problems and developing methods for problem solving.

Parsha Connection:

In this week's parsha, Hashem gives Moshe and Aaron step-by-step directions for how to handle a case of tzara'at that is detected in the structure of a house. In order to "cure" the spiritual disease, it is important for the afflicted and for the Kohen to follow a specific order of directions. Let's break it down into the individual steps.

1) "...the one to whom the house belongs shall come and declare to the Kohen, saying: Something like an affliction has appeared to me in the house." ~Vayikra 14;35

2) "The Kohen shall command, and they shall clear the house when the Kohen has not yet come to look at the affliction, so that everything in the house should not become impure;"  ~Vayikra 14;36

3) "...and afterward shall the Kohen come to look at the house."  ~Vayikra 14;36

4) "He shall look at the affliction and behold!- the affliction is in the walls of the house, depressed, deep greens or deep reds; and their appearance is lower than the wall."  ~Vayikra 14;37

5) "The Kohen shall exit from the house to the entrance of the house;"  ~Vayikra 14;38

6) "...and he shall close off the house for a seven-day period."  ~Vayikra 14;38

7) "The Kohen shall return on the seventh day; he shall look and behold!- the affliction had spread in the walls of the house."  ~Vayikra 14;39

8) "The Kohen shall command, and they shall remove the stones that contain the affliction, and they shall cast them outside the city onto an impure place."  ~Vayikra 14;40

9) "And the house shall be scraped from within, all around; the mortar that they have scraped at the edges they are to pour outside the city onto an impure place."  ~Vayikra 14;41

10) "They shall take other stones and bring them in place of the stones; and they shall take other mortar and plaster the house."  ~Vayikra 14;41

Bonus: A Flowchart- Did the tzara'at return? (Vayikra 14;43-53)

At the end of the section about tzara'at in the home, we have information about how to determine if the home has been "cured" of tzara'at or if it is still present. This information can be organized nicely into the flowchart below.