ספורנו — והקריב אותו לאשם

Q — Why does the metzora, on the day of purification, bring an *asham* — a korban usually reserved for me'ila, misappropriation of holy property? What has the metzora misappropriated?

A — For Sforno the answer joins two facts. First, the asham's defining function is to atone for מעילה בקודש. Second, Chazal (Arachin 16a) list lashon hara and ga'avah as two of the causes of tzara'at. Sforno's chiddush: BOTH sins are forms of מעילה. Lashon hara is spoken בסתר — and Chazal (Chagigah 16a) say "העובר עברה בסתר כאילו דוחק רגלי שכינה" — the speaker behaves as if Hashem is absent from the room. That's a denial of the Shechinah's presence, a misappropriation of the kodesh of His all-presence. And ga'avah is even more directly me'ila: "ה' מלך גאות לבש" (Tehillim 93:1) — *gaut* is one of Hashem's garments. The proud man "גונב מלבושי" — wears stolen royal clothing. Hashem says "אין אני והוא יכולים לעמוד בעולם אחד" (Sotah 5a). The textbook case is Uzziyahu: "וכחזקתו גבה לבו... וימעל בה' אלקיו, והצרעת זרחה במצחו" — the verse explicitly links ga'avah, me'ila, and tzara'at in one chain. The asham is therefore the structurally correct atonement; the metzora's sin was a hidden theft from the King.