TAZRIA - METZORAH, Leviticus 12:1-15:33
Yom HaShoah, Rosh Chodesh Iyar,
This week we have a double Torah Portion: Tazria and
Metzora. In addition we are observing Yom HaShoah and celebrating
the arrival of the month of Iyar, . And let's not forget the
counting of the Omer, It is a busy week.
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Parshat Tazria begins by setting out the rules 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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Tazaria, תַזְרִיעַ means sow a seed or inseminated. מְּצֹרָע means "one who is diseased", literally “a leper”. .
The Parshah Tazaria and Metzora concern 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 and even one’s home. 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.
The
Tazria-Metzora and one of the haftarah for Metzora when read alone deal with
people stricken with skin disease. In Parashah Tazria at 13:46 provides
that the person with skin disease "shall dwell alone; without the camp
shall his dwelling be,".
It is
not difficult to connect the Torah readings with the situation that we still have
been facing today with the Covid 19 virus. I’ll leave it to you to make
your own conclusions.
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YOM HASHOAH
Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day in Israel begins at sundown at the 17th of April, the 27th of Nissan. Nationwide the Israeli flag is lowered to half-mast; the President and the Prime Minister will deliver speeches, Holocaust survivors light six torches symbolizing the approximately six million Jews murdered in the Holocaust and the Chief Rabbis will recite prayers. Restaurants, shops and public entertainment venues are closed by law. Israeli television airs Holocaust documentaries and Holocaust-related talk shows, and low-key songs are played on the radio.
At 10:00 in the morning an air raid siren sounds throughout the country and Israelis are observe two minutes of solemn reflection. Almost everyone stops what they are doing, including motorists who stop their cars in the middle of the road, standing beside their vehicles in silence as the siren is sounded.
In our home we will light a Memorial Candle.
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