There are 4 places (that I know of) where things that the Torah declares
Tamay are interpreted as diseases:
Tzarath vs leprosy
Zav vs Gonorrhea
Kosher food vs e.g. trichinosis
Niddah (which has been perceived as an "unwell" state of the woman)
Possibly we could eliminate the last one since we know what Niddah is and
we know that menstruation is not intrinsically an illness.
My understanding is also that:
*The above 4 connections are all incorrect
*The above 4 connections are part of a general attack on the Divinity of
the Torah -- more specifically, the claim is that Moses was a genius and
knew that leprosy, Gonorrhea and trichinosis was "bad" for society and
therefore "invented" Tumah, the concept of "religious separation" in order
to "protect" people (However, since today, we are (medically) enlightened
these religious protections are not necessary (and by implication the Torah
could not be Divine since its Author did not know of future medical
developments).
Does anyone out there know of a general treatment of this subject (in one
place) with details on the meanings of the categories.
Respectfully
Russell Jay Hendel, Ph.d, ASA