We were all born, we all developed cell by cell, organ by organ, laid out and folded like a notebook, all our needs are met. We all stayed in this reserved, protected, crowded place, with a lighted candle on our heads watching and looking from the end of the world. And in one unknown, unexpected or unplanned moment, something pushed us out into the circumstances of our lives (not before the angel slapped us and made us forget the entire Torah).
"Speak unto the children of Israel, saying: If a woman be delivered" (Leviticus 12:2) - Parashat Tazria opens with the words of God, through Moses to the people. In words that seem to be taken from an accounting book, God wants to make order to the people, to give some certainty, in this chaotic and beautiful event called birth.
And this is the law for her that gives birth, in a nutshell:
Did you give birth to a boy? Mazel Tov! You won seven days of impurity and another thirty-three days of purity.
Did you give birth to a girl? Well done! You won two weeks of impurity and another sixty-six days of purity.
Are you done resting? Nice, pregnancy is not a disease, it's time to return to the community.
On the way to the community, they go to the priest's place for atonement and purification with two sacrifices, one for the olah (burnt offering) and one for hatat (sin offering).
This is the law for her who gives birth and I like it, how important the rest after giving birth is, to heal the body and mind, to recover from this shocking event, to return to life. The days of blood protect the woman giving birth, allowing her a moment to be in between - between impurity and purity, but not to be part of the crowd, the woman giving birth is outside of time. But there are also some questions:
Why is there even a time of impurity after birth? And what is the difference between a time of impurity and a time of purity?
Every woman who has given birth knows how much this event blurs the boundaries of humanity, it is animal and unimaginable while it is happening. Purity and holiness are part of a cycle of life and death, they are not ends but parts that complement each other. There must be impurity for there to be purity and vice versa. Our body is a vessel that contains both states, but we need transition times between moods (and changes of the body).
Why is the time of impurity and purification after the birth of a girl twice the time of the birth of a son?
A daughter already from the moment of her birth as female, holds the potential for her future birth, a woman who gives birth to a daughter in a certain sense carries another generation in her womb, maybe this is why the birth of a daughter requires a double recovery.
Olah (burnt offering) made in thanksgiving for a birth that ended in peace is understandable, but what does the woman need to atone for with a hatat (sin offering)?
"The students of Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai asked him: For what does the Torah say a woman after childbirth brings an offering? He said to them: At the time that crouches to give birth, she impulsively takes an oath that she will not engage in intercourse with her husband. Therefore, the Torah says she must bring an offering" (Babylonian Talmud, Niddah 31b). If so, the sacrifice cleanses the woman giving birth from thoughts of celibacy that arise in her during the labor pains (something like: "This is the last time I'm doing this!!!!!!!").
Another possibility is the expiation of the original sin of Eve, the mother of all living. Her eating from the fruit of the tree knowledge brought upon her, and upon us her daughters, the punishment "in pain thou shalt bring forth children" (Genesis 3:16).
And last is the possibility of cleansing and atonement for delusions of grandeur that may have arisen in the mother who is tempted to think that she is an equal partner with God in the act of creation.
These instructions are brought to the entire People, because it is important that we always remember them, and especially at this time. Even if we have already grown up, we were all ejected from a merciful womb, at the end of months of pregnancy, that went through our all our mothers with fear and trembling, with nausea and anxiety.
May it be your will, God of our Patriarchs and our Matriarchs, that the fact that we were born to mothers of flesh and blood, will give our hearts compassion for every living creature, in times of abundance and in times of scarcity, in times of peace and times of war. May all the abductees return soon, in good health of body, mind and spirit. "The lamb shall return his mother's embrace, / Lay down in the pen and fall asleep" (Leah Goldberg, An Eve Before Mount Gilad).
Translation: Rabbi Sigal Asher
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Michal Zamir, a fellow in the Israeli rabbinical program of the Hartman Institute and Hamidrasha at Oranim, and director of activities of young people in Israel at the Jewish Agency. Engages in connections between ends, a student and practitioner of meditation and Buddhism. Mother, spouse, member of the "Kama" community and lives in Be'er Sheva.
"Speak unto the children of Israel, saying: If a woman be delivered" (Leviticus 12:2) - Parashat Tazria opens with the words of God, through Moses to the people. In words that seem to be taken from an accounting book, God wants to make order to the people, to give some certainty, in this chaotic and beautiful event called birth.
And this is the law for her that gives birth, in a nutshell:
Did you give birth to a boy? Mazel Tov! You won seven days of impurity and another thirty-three days of purity.
Did you give birth to a girl? Well done! You won two weeks of impurity and another sixty-six days of purity.
Are you done resting? Nice, pregnancy is not a disease, it's time to return to the community.
On the way to the community, they go to the priest's place for atonement and purification with two sacrifices, one for the olah (burnt offering) and one for hatat (sin offering).
This is the law for her who gives birth and I like it, how important the rest after giving birth is, to heal the body and mind, to recover from this shocking event, to return to life. The days of blood protect the woman giving birth, allowing her a moment to be in between - between impurity and purity, but not to be part of the crowd, the woman giving birth is outside of time. But there are also some questions:
Why is there even a time of impurity after birth? And what is the difference between a time of impurity and a time of purity?
Every woman who has given birth knows how much this event blurs the boundaries of humanity, it is animal and unimaginable while it is happening. Purity and holiness are part of a cycle of life and death, they are not ends but parts that complement each other. There must be impurity for there to be purity and vice versa. Our body is a vessel that contains both states, but we need transition times between moods (and changes of the body).
Why is the time of impurity and purification after the birth of a girl twice the time of the birth of a son?
A daughter already from the moment of her birth as female, holds the potential for her future birth, a woman who gives birth to a daughter in a certain sense carries another generation in her womb, maybe this is why the birth of a daughter requires a double recovery.
Olah (burnt offering) made in thanksgiving for a birth that ended in peace is understandable, but what does the woman need to atone for with a hatat (sin offering)?
"The students of Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai asked him: For what does the Torah say a woman after childbirth brings an offering? He said to them: At the time that crouches to give birth, she impulsively takes an oath that she will not engage in intercourse with her husband. Therefore, the Torah says she must bring an offering" (Babylonian Talmud, Niddah 31b). If so, the sacrifice cleanses the woman giving birth from thoughts of celibacy that arise in her during the labor pains (something like: "This is the last time I'm doing this!!!!!!!").
Another possibility is the expiation of the original sin of Eve, the mother of all living. Her eating from the fruit of the tree knowledge brought upon her, and upon us her daughters, the punishment "in pain thou shalt bring forth children" (Genesis 3:16).
And last is the possibility of cleansing and atonement for delusions of grandeur that may have arisen in the mother who is tempted to think that she is an equal partner with God in the act of creation.
These instructions are brought to the entire People, because it is important that we always remember them, and especially at this time. Even if we have already grown up, we were all ejected from a merciful womb, at the end of months of pregnancy, that went through our all our mothers with fear and trembling, with nausea and anxiety.
May it be your will, God of our Patriarchs and our Matriarchs, that the fact that we were born to mothers of flesh and blood, will give our hearts compassion for every living creature, in times of abundance and in times of scarcity, in times of peace and times of war. May all the abductees return soon, in good health of body, mind and spirit. "The lamb shall return his mother's embrace, / Lay down in the pen and fall asleep" (Leah Goldberg, An Eve Before Mount Gilad).
Translation: Rabbi Sigal Asher
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Michal Zamir, a fellow in the Israeli rabbinical program of the Hartman Institute and Hamidrasha at Oranim, and director of activities of young people in Israel at the Jewish Agency. Engages in connections between ends, a student and practitioner of meditation and Buddhism. Mother, spouse, member of the "Kama" community and lives in Be'er Sheva.