(א) בית המנוגע לא היה ולא עתיד להיות למה נכתב אלא לומר דרוש וקבל שכר. ר"א בר"ש אומר מקום היה בתחום עזה והיו קורין אותו חורבתא סגירתא. ר"ש בן יהודה אומר איש כפר עכו מקום היה בגליל והיו מציינין אותו שהיו אומרים אבנים מנוגעות היה בו וירושלים אינה מטמאה בנגעים אמר רבי יהודה אני לא שמעתי אלא בבית המקדש בלבד.
The afflicted house never was and never will be. Why was it written? To learn and receive reward.
Rabbi Elazar ben Rabbi Shimon says: there was a place in the vicinity of Gaza and it was called Churveta Sagirta.
Rabbi Shimon ben Yehuda says in the name of the man from Akko: there was a place in the Galilee, and they marked it out for they said it had afflicted stones in it.
Jerusalem is never made impure with afflictions.
Rabbi Yehudah said: I only heard that concerning the Temple itself.
כמאן אזלא הא דתניא בן סורר ומורה לא היה ולא עתיד להיות ולמה נכתב דרוש וקבל שכר כמאן כרבי יהודה איבעית אימא ר' שמעון היא דתניא אמר רבי שמעון וכי מפני שאכל זה תרטימר בשר ושתה חצי לוג יין האיטלקי אביו ואמו מוציאין אותו לסקלו אלא לא היה ולא עתיד להיות ולמה נכתב דרוש וקבל שכר אמר ר' יונתן אני ראיתיו וישבתי על קברו כמאן אזלא הא דתניא עיר הנדחת לא היתה ולא עתידה להיות ולמה נכתבה דרוש וקבל שכר כמאן כר' אליעזר דתניא רבי אליעזר אומר כל עיר שיש בה אפילו מזוזה אחת אינה נעשית עיר הנדחת מאי טעמא אמר קרא (דברים יג, יז) ואת כל שללה תקבוץ אל תוך רחבה ושרפת באש וכיון דאי איכא מזוזה לא אפשר דכתיב (דברים יב, ד) לא תעשון כן לה' אלהיכם אמר רבי יונתן אני ראיתיה וישבתי על תילה כמאן אזלא הא דתניא בית המנוגע לא היה ולא עתיד להיות ולמה נכתב דרוש וקבל שכר כמאן כר' אלעזר בר' שמעון דתנן ר' אלעזר ברבי שמעון אומר לעולם אין הבית טמא עד שיראה כשתי גריסין על שתי אבנים בשתי כתלים בקרן זוית ארכו כשני גריסין ורחבו כגריס
... it was taught: There has never been a stubborn and rebellious son and there will never be one in the future. And why, then, was it written? So that you may expound and receive reward.... Rabbi Yonatan says: I saw one and I sat on his grave. ...
It was taught: There has never been an idolatrous city and there will never be one in the future. And why, then, was it written in the Torah? So that you may expound and receive reward... Rabbi Yonatan says: I saw one, and I sat on its ruins...
It was taught: There has never been an afflicted house and there will never be one in the future. And why, then, was it written? So that you may expound and receive reward.
In accordance with whose opinion is this? It is in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Elazar, son of Rabbi Shimon, as we learned in a mishna (Nega’im 12:3) that Rabbi Elazar, son of Rabbi Shimon, says: A house never becomes impure with leprosy until a mark about the size of two split beans is seen on two stones in two walls that form a corner between them, the mark being about two split beans in length and about one split bean in width.
Rabbi Yirmeya raises a dilemma: If one leg of the chick was within fifty cubits of the dovecote, and one leg was beyond fifty cubits, what is the halakha? And it was for this that they removed Rabbi Yirmeya from the study hall.
And when many halakhic concepts do not correspond with the phenomena of the real world, halakhic man is not at all distressed. His deepest desire is not the realization of the Halakhah but rather the ideal construction which was given to him from Sinai, and this ideal construction exists forever. “There never was an idolatrous city and never will be. For what purpose, then, was its law written? Expound it and receive a reward…” The foundation of foundations and the pillar of halakhic thought is not the practical ruling but the determination of the theoretical Halakhah.
The fact that these rules appear in the Torah constitutes an important educational measure. "Expound and receive reward" – one who studies these laws cannot fail to be seized by fear and trembling and will almost certainly be so deeply influenced that some of the perversity in his heart will be cured. Indeed, the very act of engaging with these laws may have the capacity to open blind eyes and deaf ears, so that "all Israel will listen and be afraid."There is no need whatsoever for such nightmarish punishments to be carried out in the real world. The reward for studying them is their remaining forever theoretical and abstract. Schoolchildren who are aware of the laws of the stubborn and rebellious son will never become one. A community whose adults study the laws of the wayward city can be assured that it will never give rise to the "root bearing gall and wormwood" of idolatry. And one who has learned to recognize the hand of God in natural phenomena and natural disasters will no longer need afflicted buildings to inspire in him thoughts of repentance. Similarly for all the commandments whose object has already been achieved in the betterment of life in practice; they retain their heuristic force. Even if humanity has progressed and risen above the minimal level that certain commandments were given to ensure, continued study of the laws associated with those commandments can refresh the intellect and direct it to even higher levels, while preserving its existing accomplishments. The idolatrous impulse has departed the world, but study of the laws related to its prohibition can arouse in us a recognition of genuine spirituality. The more impressed we are by the stringencies imposed in prohibiting idolatry, the more intense our sense of holiness becomes.
(ב) הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב (איוב כ, כח): יִגֶל יְבוּל בֵּיתוֹ נִגָּרוֹת בְּיוֹם אַפּוֹ, יְהוּ גוֹרְרִין וּמוֹצִיאִין, אֵימָתַי, בַּיּוֹם שֶׁיְּגָרֶה הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא אַפּוֹ בְּאוֹתוֹ הָאִישׁ, הָא כֵיצַד אָדָם אוֹמֵר לַחֲבֵרוֹ הַשְׁאִילֵנִי קַב חִטִּים וְאָמַר לוֹ אֵין לִי, קַב שְׂעוֹרִים, אֵין לִי, קַב תְּמָרִים, אֵין לִי. אִשָּׁה אוֹמֶרֶת לַחֲבֶרְתָּהּ הַשְּׁאִילִנִּי נָפָה, הִיא אוֹמֶרֶת אֵין לִי, הַשְּׁאִילִנִּי כְּבָרָה, וְאוֹמֶרֶת אֵין לִי, מָה הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא עוֹשֶׂה מְגָרֶה נְגָעִים בְּתוֹךְ בֵּיתוֹ, וּמִתּוֹךְ שֶׁהוּא מוֹצִיא אֶת כֵּלָיו הַבְּרִיּוֹת רוֹאוֹת וְאוֹמְרוֹת לֹא הָיָה אוֹמֵר אֵין לִי כְּלוּם, רְאוּ כַּמָּה חִטִּים יֵשׁ כָּאן, כַּמָּה שְׂעוֹרִים, כַּמָּה תְּמָרִים יֵשׁ כָּאן. לְוַוט בֵּיתָא בְּאִלֵּין לְוָוטַיָא. רַבִּי יִצְחָק בְּרַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר מַיְיתֵי לָהּ מִן הָדֵין קְרָא (ויקרא יד, לז): שְׁקַעֲרוּרֹת, שָׁקַע בֵּיתָא בְּאִלֵּין לְוָוטַיָא. לְפִיכָךְ משֶׁה מַזְהִיר אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל: כִּי תָבֹאוּ אֶל אֶרֶץ כְּנַעַן.
(2) This is what is written, "That one's household will be cast forth by a flood, Spilled out on the day of God's wrath" (Job 20:28). When will this happen? On the day that anger of the Holy Blessed One will be stirred up against that person. How would it happen? When a person says to their neighbor, "could you lend me a kav [roughly 1.5 liters] of wheat?" And they reply, "I don't have any." "A kav of barely?" "I don't have any." "A kav of dates?" "I don't have any." Or a woman says to her neighbor, "could you lend me a strainer?" And she replies, "I don't have one." "Could you lend me a sieve?" And she replies, "I don't have one." What does the Holy Blessed One do? The plague erupts within that house, and while the person is bringing out their possessions, the people see, and say, "Didn't they say they didn't have anything at all?! Look at how much wheat there is, how much barley, how many dates there are! A cursed house with these curses!"...
The plague that appears on his house is not regular mold, and it cannot be treated in natural ways. It is a special plague sent by God. This plague is meant to remind the person Who the true Owner of the house is. Only if the person mends his ways will his house be healed. The healing process may be relatively short: the objects are removed from it, it is sealed up for seven days, the specific stones that are affected are removed, and new stones are put in their place. But if the person has not repented, and the plague once again erupts on his house, the entire house must be taken apart.
The removal of the objects from the house teaches the person that his property is not entirely in his own possession. If this step does not have the effect of causing him to repent, and the plague attacks his house once again, then it is dismantled. Taking the house apart is a more drastic step; it teaches him that this type of house is not worthy of being inhabited. Only when a person recognizes the true House owner, is his house worthy of being lived in.