The Torah in Parashat Mesora (14:35) addresses the situation of “Nigeh Batim” – discolorations that appear on the walls of a person’s home. It commands such a person to approach a Kohen, and inform him that there is a suspected Sara’at affliction in his home. The Kohen then comes to the house to inspect the discoloration. The Torah presents a series of guidelines that must be followed depending on the nature of the affliction on the wall. The Sefer Ha’hinuch explains that G-d would bring an affliction upon a person’s house as a relatively mild punishment, before bringing more severe afflictions. In His infinite compassion, G-d would first strike a person’s home to alert him of the need to repent and improve his conduct. If the person failed to repent, then G-d would bring a Sara’at affliction upon his garments, and if he continued to persist in his wrongful conduct, then G-d would bring the most severe affliction – bodily Sara’at, which surfaces on the individual’s skin. G-d never wishes to bring punishment, and He does so only for the purpose of awakening the person to repent. If the person fails to heed the call, then more severe measures are needed in order to arouse him to repent. Secondly, the Sefer Ha’hinuch writes, G-d would bring Sara’at upon a home for the person’s benefit, so he would discover treasures hidden behind the walls. The Emorim, who inhabited the Land of Israel before Beneh Yisrael, would hide their treasures inside their walls. G-d would therefore afflict the home, thus requiring the walls to be dismantled, and the person – who might at first lament having to dismantle house – would discover the hidden treasures and instantly become wealthy. The Sefer Ha’hinuch writes that G-d could have shown the people these treasures through some other means, such as by sending a prophet to inform them of the hidden treasures, but G-d always prefers following the laws of nature, and minimizing miracles. He thus arranged that people would need to dismantle their homes and discover the treasures in the process. In order for a house to be declared afflicted with Nigeh Batim, there must be two adjacent discolorations, twice the size of a Geris (a certain type of bean). If the discoloration is very dark green, or very dark red, then the house is immediately declared to be afflicted with Sara’at. Likewise, if the discoloration spreads after the Kohen’s initial inspection, the home is declared to have Sara’at. The Torah writes that a person who sees a suspected Sara’at affliction in his home must approach a Kohen and state, “Ke’nega Nir’a Li Ba’bayit” – “The likeness of an affliction appeared to me in my home.” The Sages understood from the word “Ke’nega” (“The likeness of an affliction”) that even if the homeowner is learned, and proficient in the laws of Sara’at, he may not make a definitive ruling about the discoloration in his home. This ruling is issued only by a Kohen, and so even if the homeowner knows with certainty that the discoloration he sees qualifies as Sara’at, he must not speak in definitive terms, and should instead tell the Kohen that he sees “Ke’nega,” something resembling a Sara’at affliction. A house without windows is not subject to the laws of Sara’at Ha’bayit. This is inferred from the homeowner’s statement to the Kohen, “Ke’nega Nir’a Li” – that the affliction is “seen to me,” implying that he sees without any illumination (in the Sages’ words, “Li Ve’lo Le’ori”). This indicates that the discoloration must be visible without a candle, with only sunlight, and thus the home must have windows in order to be declared as having a Sara’at affliction. The house must be at least four square Amot, contain four walls, and be made from either stone or wood; a house made from marble is not subject to the laws of Nigeh Batim. It must also stand on the ground, and thus a treehouse, for example, is not subject to the laws of Nigeh Batim. The Torah introduces this subject by speaking of a Sara’at affliction “Be’bet E