Footnote

a Rabbinic rules stated that no one should come within four cubits (about six feet) (1.8 m) of a leper. But if a wind was blowing, the leper had to be kept at least 100 cubits (about 150 feet) (45 m) away. The Midrash Rabbah tells of one rabbi who hid from lepers and of another who threw stones at lepers to keep them away. Lepers thus knew the pain of rejection and the feeling of being despised and unwanted.