This week we read Parshat Tazria. It is also Rosh Chodesh Nisan and Shabbat Ha Chodesh. It is a busy week. On Shabbat three Torah scrolls will be taken out.
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Tazaria, תַזְרִיעַ means sow a seed or inseminated.
Parshat Tazria begins by setting out the rules and purification rituals which govern a woman upon giving birth. In order to regain a status of ritual purity. She must undergo a time-related sanctification process. This process varies in length depending on whether she has given birth to a boy or a girl. It is 41 days for a male child and 81 days for a baby girl.
This raises a question: Why is additional time required when a mother has given birth to a girl?
The beginning of the ritual purification is set out at 12:2 (in part) -
אִשָּׁה כִּי תַזְרִיעַ, וְיָלְדָה זָכָר--וְטָמְאָה שִׁבְעַת יָמִים
"If a woman be delivered, and bear a man-child, then she shall be unclean seven days".
And continues at 12:5 -
וְאִם-נְקֵבָה תֵלֵד, וְטָמְאָה שְׁבֻעַיִם כְּנִדָּתָהּ; וְשִׁשִּׁים יוֹם וְשֵׁשֶׁת יָמִים, תֵּשֵׁב עַל-דְּמֵי טָהֳרָה
"And if she gives birth to a female, she shall be unclean for two weeks, like her menstruation. And for sixty six days, she shall remain in the blood of purity".
I think the reason for the additional time goes like this:
During the period of gestation there is a presumption that the mother knows or thinks she knows that she is carrying a girl. At that point the mother realizes that it is incumbent upon her to pass on the superior wisdom and understanding, spirituality, sensitivity and teaching skills inherent in a woman to her unborn daughter.
She does this having in mind that one day the unborn daughter will have children of her own and likewise have the responsibility to educate them. Passing on this bounty to her unborn daughter depletes the mother of her natural gifts, and she needs more time to spiritually recover and resume her maternal responsibilities.
What do you think?
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At 12:3 -
וּבַיּוֹם, הַשְּׁמִינִי, יִמּוֹל, בְּשַׂר עָרְלָתוֹ
And in the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.
At Rabbi Seltzer's shiur, Reb Yitz raised the question as to why the penis was chosen as the place to be snipped. It could have been located somewhere else, a piece of an ear for instance.
The answer may be found in 19:23 where there is a three year prohibition from eating fruit from a newly planted fruit tree.
"וַעֲרַלְתֶּם עָרְלָתוֹ, אֶת-פִּרְיוֹ; שָׁלֹשׁ שָׁנִים, יִהְיֶה לָכֶם עֲרֵלִים--לֹא יֵאָכֵל..."
"... its fruit for three years will be uncircumcised;
its fruit they shall be surely uncircumcised for you, three years it will be for you uncircumcised not to be eaten".
It seems that in order for the the fruit of a tree to be sanctified for eating, it is
blocked or forbidden for a certain amount of time, and likewise our organ of creation must be sanctified by circumcision in order for it to be used.
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Outside the Camp
In Parashah Tazria at 13:46 provides that the person with skin disease "shall dwell alone; without the camp shall his dwelling be,".
The Parshah Tazaria concerns a person punished with a spiritual disorder called צָּרַעַת, tzara'at. It manifests itself on a person’s skin, something akin to psoriasis. A Kohen is called upon to diagnose the disease.
The only treatment offered for a person with tzara’at is quarantine for a period of time outside of the camp and shaving of the body. After a period of time, if the treatment is effective as determined by the Kohen, the person undergoes a purification process. Firstly the person immerses in a Mikveh, a sort of spiritual repair and cleansing. The person must wait until the end of the day, for nightfall, and the beginning of a new day before entering back into the camp. He is now permitted to partake in, to eat sacred food, the Korban, a part of the holy offering. By consuming some of the Korban, the person has been fully restored to spiritual health
Tzara'at may also affect one’s clothing. The Torah discusses "clothing tzara'at," a green or red discoloration which can affect certain types of materials. The garment is shown to a priest who quarantines it for up to two weeks. At the conclusion of the quarantine period, depending on the circumstances the garment is either declared pure, or completely burnt, or only the part which was discolored is torn out and burnt.
We don't have this type of disease currently and we do not understand how all the details are relevant to our practical lives. But we do know that there are times when our spiritual being has been diseased and requires repair and purification.
It is not difficult to connect the Torah readings with the situation that we have been facing for some time with the Covid 19 virus. I’ll leave it to you to make your own conclusions
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Woodcut From The Cologne Bible 1478-80
The Tazria haftarah when we are not celebrating the new month is from 2 Kings 4:42 - 5:19 concerns Naaman, a general in the Aramean army who is stricken with skin disease. The prophet Elisha heals him by having Naaman immerse seven times in the Jordan River. This episode takes place around 850 BCE, not in Judah where the Temple is located, but in Samaria, the Northern Kingdom.
The account opens up with a farmer bringing 20 loaves of barley bread to Elisha, the farmer's "first Fruits". This is interesting, among other things, in that the obligation of bringing Bikkurim is being followed in Samaria, and that Elisha must be a Kohen.
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Shabbat HaChodesh, Rosh Chodesh Nisan
Shabbat HaChodesh, the "Sabbath of the month" שבת החודש takes place on the Shabbat preceding the first of Nisan or on the 1st of Nisan. A special maftir, Exodus 12:1-20 is read, in which the laws of Passover are defined.
On the first day of Nisan, God presented the first commandment of how to "sanctify the new moon" (kiddush hachodesh) for the onset of Rosh Chodesh making Nisan the first month of the Jewish year.
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