Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 11 Nisan, 5784
Parsha Metzora’ – “Tzara’at sufferer”: (Leviticus 14:1 – 15:33)
Sixth Portion: Leviticus 15:16 – 15:28

Good morning!  We are getting our final rest before we enter the Passover.  This weekend is a time of peace and joy.

Today we are digging into the reproductive systems and how they become “unclean.”  If you think about it, the reproductive systems are connected with knowledge.  Not the type of knowledge we get from googling something. But the type of knowledge that comes with the intercourse of wisdom and understanding.

We often devalue knowledge. We strive for wisdom or understanding.

And. We love sexual intercourse don’t we? I mean most of us. I understand and validate those who do not. Why is this important? Because the human sexual and reproductive system – the system designed to manifest new humans? It’s quite messy.

To be frank.

It’s not clean.

Knowledge is messy. When you bring wisdom and understanding together? It can be quite unclean.

And that’s ok.

Let’s dig in:

16A man from whom there is a discharge of semen, shall immerse all his flesh in water, and he shall remain unclean until evening.

17And any garment or any leather [object] which has semen on it, shall be immersed in water, and shall remain unclean until evening.

18A woman with whom a man cohabits, whereby there was [a discharge of] semen, they shall immerse in water, and they shall remain unclean until evening.

Interesting. Seminal discharge involves being “unclean” until evening. That’s it. And if the dude is with a woman? She’s unclean until evening too.

The masculine energy is around understanding. When we as men discharge understanding, it gets all over the place. Like planting seed, we just scatter It all around. This is the idea of understanding.

Let’s keep going:

19If a woman has a discharge, her flesh discharging blood, she shall remain in her state of menstrual separation for seven days, and whoever touches her shall become unclean until evening.

20And whatever she lies on during her menstrual separation, shall become unclean, and whatever she sits on, shall become unclean.

21And anyone who touches her bedding, shall immerse his garments and immerse [himself] in water, and he shall remain unclean until evening.

22And anyone who touches any object upon which she will sit, shall immerse his garments and immerse himself in water, and he shall remain unclean until evening.

23And if he is on the bedding or on the object, upon which she is sitting, when he touches it, he becomes unclean until evening.

And a woman on her period? She’s unclean too.  For seven days.  This is the feminine power of wisdom. Wisdom is more powerful than understanding – which is likely why it’s been co-opted by men. Just sayin.

And guess what? If a dude has sex with her?  If we bring knowledge and understanding together?

24If a man cohabits with her, [the uncleanness of] her menstruation shall be upon him, and he shall be unclean for seven days, and any bedding he lies upon, shall become unclean.

So BASICALLY if a dude has sex with a woman on her period? He is in the same boat as her. He becomes unclean for seven days.

Knowledge needs time to gestate within us. We become “unclean” in our knowledge and to sort it all out takes time.  A week to be exact (according to Torah).

I am not saying we should strive to be “unclean.”  I am saying, it may not be as “judgmental” as we might think.  It’s not fire and brimstone. It’s just being “unclean.”

We aren’t “meant to” have sex with a woman on her period. AND. The consequence is a lack of being clean until evening.

We are meant to bring wisdom and understanding together in intimacy.  And let it digest for seven days.

25And a woman whose flow of blood flows for many days, outside of the time of her menstrual separation, or she has a discharge after her menstrual separation, then all the days she has her unclean discharge, she shall be just like the days of her menstrual separation.

What is interesting here? I wonder if the Torah is saying wisdom comes in cycles. And sometimes the cycle doesn’t make sense. Wisdom comes at odd times. And we should treat it the same. Digest it.

26Any bedding upon which she lies during all the time of her discharge, will have the same [uncleanness] for her, as the bedding of her menstruation. And any object upon which she will sit, shall become unclean. like her menstrual uncleanness.

27And anyone who touches them shall become unclean; he shall immerse his garments and immerse [himself] in water, and he shall remain unclean until evening.

28And if she becomes clean of her discharge, she shall count for herself seven days, and after this, she may be cleansed.

And once she starts digesting the wisdom? She should wait an additional seven days to let it sink in.

Just something I am reflecting on. How about you?

Here is my commentary from two years ago:

Here is my commentary from two years ago:

Tyler’s Torah Thoughts For 7 Nisan, 5782

Let’s continue our journey of the reproductive system, shall we?

Todays portion starts off with the idea of the ritual impurity of seminal emissions:

Hashem tells Moses and Aaron; if a man has an emission of semen, he should immerse all his body in the mikveh. He will remain ritually impure until evening.

Any garment or leather object which has semen on it should be immersed in the mikveh and will remain ritually impure until evening.

If a woman will lie with a man and he will have a seminal emission, they should immerse themselves in a Mikveh and they will remain ritually impure until evening.

So let’s stop for a moment. It would seem to me, reading these verses; that masturbation is treated similarly as sex between a man and a woman is. Masturbation seems to be one of those topics of debate, and there are other passages that weigh in on it. But it does seem in terms of the concepts of “ritual impurity” the idea of a dude having a seminal emission and the idea of a dude having a seminal emission with a woman is treated the same.

Food for thought.

Next we move to a woman’s menstruation.

Hashem tells Moses and Aaron; if a woman has a menstrual discharge, and the discharge is blood, she will remain in a state of niddah (physical separation) for seven days.

Whoever touches her will become ritually impure until evening.

Why does the Torah say that a menstruating woman is forbidden to her husband for seven days?

The Talmud puts it this way:

“In order to strengthen their marriage. If he were to be allowed to be with his wife whenever he desired, he would become disenchanted with her. Therefore the Torah says, let her become forbidden to him for seven days, and that will renew and invigorate his love for her as strong as it was when they first were married.”

This is an interesting thought and concept. What do you think?

Getting back to the portion:

While in niddah; whatever the woman sleeps on or sits on becomes ritually impure. Anyone who touches the bedding or an object she sits on should immerse their garments and themselves in the mikveh. They will remain impure until evening.

There is a small exception; riding gear. If someone touches riding gear she has used, he will become ritually impure until evening – but does not have to immerse in the mikveh.

Ok. So what happens if a husband lies with his menstruating wife?

Hashem says basically the husband takes her menstruation on himself and he becomes niddah – impure for seven days. The same rules about bedding would apply to him.

The Torah EVEN discusses abnormal menstruation.

The same rules apply – if it isn’t normal menstruation, she needs to count seven “clean” days before immersing herself in the mikveh to become ritually pure.

Fascinating.

What are your thoughts on the Torah’s sex education here?