No Plague Upon Jerusalem Houses

When you come into the land of Canaan which I give you for a possession, and I put a plague of tzara’at in a house of the Land of your possession.                      Leviticus 14:34

The laws of plagues do not apply to the houses of Jerusalem; for it is written “in the Land of your possession” and Jerusalem was not divided among the tribes.

                                Babylonian Talmud, Bava Kamma 82b

Jerusalem does not belong to any of the twelve tribes of Israel, rather to all twelve equally. Thus, as a legal technicality, the laws of tzara’at of a house do not apply in Jerusalem.

Beyond the technicality, Jerusalem’s exemption from the laws of tzara’at of a house presents a moral lesson. Clearly, our Sages understood the role of Jerusalem, indeed its destiny, to be uniting the People of Israel. Thus, the city could not be divided among the tribes, for this would foster disunity. Perhaps the abovementioned halacha is intended to teach that when Jerusalem’s residents allow her to fulfill her destiny there cannot be tzara’at in the Holy City’s houses. Tzara’at results from speaking lashon hara (ill of others), which both reflects and generates disunity. When Jerusalem achieves its ideal of uniting all of Israel, there will no longer be any lashon hara, and hence no tzara’at of houses.