Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 28 Adar II, 5784
Parsha Tazria – “Conceives”: (Leviticus 12:1 – 13:59)
First Portion: Leviticus 12:1 – 13:5

Good morning! We are just about to hit the new month of Nisan, the Solar Eclipse, and Passover!  What a time of transformation!  Today, we begin a new Parsha, Tazria’ – which means “Conceives.”  Today is the start of a parsha that will “conceive” of new ideas and new beginnings that will give birth right around the beginning of 2025.  What is salient and most obvious right now? These are the things to make notes of that will be gestating over the next nine months – right around Kislev – which is when the lights of Hanukkah burn bright, and we transition to Tevet.

The work we are doing now with burn bright at Hanukkah, so make note – these will be the giftings coming!

Let’s dig in…

1And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

2Speak to the children of Israel, saying: If a woman conceives and gives birth to a male, she shall be unclean for seven days; as [in] the days of her menstrual flow, she shall be unclean.

3And on the eighth day, the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.

4And for thirty three days, she shall remain in the blood of purity; she shall not touch anything holy, nor may she enter the Sanctuary, until the days of her purification have been completed.

So – we just got done talking about kosher laws. Today, we talk about a woman being unclean. Now – like Kosher foods, the idea here is about ritual purity. It was not about being a pariah in society – it just meant she could not enter the holy places.  She was “set apart.”

Let’s keep going:

5And if she gives birth to a female, she shall be unclean for two weeks, like her menstruation [period]. And for sixty six days, she shall remain in the blood of purity.

Hold up. Giving birth to a girl means you are “double unpure?”  WHY?

Honestly? Power. It takes more power to give birth to the royal Queen.  A daughter is the ultimate manifester on this planet. A daughter is going to grow a new womb in which to manifest reality from.  There was a need for the extra rest for the mother.

Most of us place value on the idea of clean vs. unclean.  We hear “clean” = good, and “unclean” = bad.  But that is just a paradigm.  What if “clean” = ready to work and “unclean” = “needs rest?” These ideas of clean and unclean and value change, don’t they?

Any woman who has given birth – that first week or two? She just wants to be left ALONE!!!!!  These laws support that, don’t they?

6And when the days of her purification have been completed, whether for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring a sheep in its first year as a burnt offering, and a young dove or a turtle dove as a sin offering, to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, to the kohen.

7And he shall offer it up before the Lord and effect atonement for her, and thus, she will be purified from the source of her blood. This is the law of a woman who gives birth to a male or to a female.

Blood is impure. It is meant for sacrifice.  The birth blood, and the bleeding AFTER birth would be considered unclean.  It isn’t a “sin” in the sense she did anything wrong – it is just something that keeps her separated from approach the holy places and connecting with Hashem.

8And if she cannot afford a sheep, she shall take two turtle doves or two young doves: one as a burnt offering and one as a sin offering. And the kohen shall effect atonement for her, and she shall become clean.

I love the Torah makes accommodations for the poor.  Worshipping Hashem should not be tied to resources. Full stop.

Now.  We are going to dig into lesions.  The worry was about leprosy.

13:1And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying:

2If a man has a se’eith, a sappachath, or a bahereth on the skin of his flesh, and it forms a lesion of tzara’ath on the skin of his flesh, he shall be brought to Aaron the kohen, or to one of his sons, the kohanim.

3The kohen shall look at the lesion on the skin of his flesh, and [if] hair in the lesion has turned white and the appearance of the lesion is deeper than the skin of his flesh, it is a lesion of tzara’ath. When the kohen sees this, he shall pronounce him unclean.

So again – our view of “unclean” may indicate “value” that somehow this dude has less value because he is unclean.  But if we look at this as him needing rest to heal? This changes our perception.

4But if it is a white bahereth on the skin of his flesh, and its appearance is not deeper than the skin, and its hair has not turned white, the kohen shall quarantine the [person with the] lesion for seven days.

5And on the seventh day, the kohen shall see him. And, behold! the lesion has remained the same in its appearance; the lesion has not spread on the skin. So the kohen shall quarantine him for seven days a second time.

So here we have a pretty good quarantine procedure.      If the hair is not white, and the lesion (think mole) still has a dark hair in it? Two full quarantines.

We will see tomorrow where this goes. Which is interesting considering the eclipse coming tomorrow.

Those are my thoughts.  What are yours?

Here are my thoughts from the past two years:

Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 25 Nisan, 5783

Day 10 of the Omer.

So MUCH going on this morning! This will be a really long post – just to warn you. First, let’s talk Omer:

Today is “Tiferet of Gevurah” which means the “Compassion of Discipline.”

From Chabad:

Not just love but compassion has to drive discipline. Love comes from recognizing one’s merits and positive qualities (discipline channels and directs those strengths and weeds out the negative). Compassion is unconditional love. It is love just for the sake of love, not considering the others position. Tiferet is a result of total selflessness in the eyes of G‑d. You love for no reason; you love because you are a reflection of G‑d.

Does my discipline have this element of compassion?

Exercise for the day: Be compassionate to someone you have reproached.

How do we have compassion for those we have hurt? How do we have compassion for the pain we have caused others?

And – how do we do this when we reject ourselves? We abandon ourselves? We reproach ourselves?

Ok. Let’s now dig into this weeks Parshot (yes. Two). This week, we read TWO Parshot: Tazria and Metzora. Lets start with Tazria. Below you will find commentary from last year. Start at the top and work your way down – the post connected here and shared is the last one for today.

One of the big things I am reflecting on is the connection today between the concept of “conception” and the compassion of discipline.

Lately I have been learning about plants. Some plants grow in dry soil well. Succulents, for example, do better with dry soil – if the soil gets too moist? Their roots will rot.

I am also growing an avocado tree from a pit. It requires moist soil. When I started growing the avocado pit and a cactus, I watered them the same. The avocado tree sprouted and is super healthy. The cactus died. Roots died and it fell over.

These roots are conceived in soil. We tend to judge the soil as “too moist” or “too dry.”

Let’s connect this to people. Instead of soil, let’s look at the soul.

We may require a LOT of nourishment for our roots to grow. We are conceived in soil that is moist. Instead of looking at others who may require less and judging ourselves as “needy?” Let’s look at ourselves with the compassion we need to love ourselves. Let’s be honest about the nourishment we need.

Or. We may require very little nourishment for our roots to grow. We were conceived in soil that if it gets too moist, we will rot. We could also judge ourselves as there being something “wrong” with us because we don’t want the nourishment others have.

Instead of judgment. And treating others with what we need (daily nourishment, or waiting for the soil to fully dry out before providing nourishment). What if we instead just looked with curiosity in each moment and asked “what do we need?”

Because the truth is, sometimes those of us who require daily nourishment may need a break and want some space because our soil is too moist and we need to digest. Others who normally may need nourishment when dry may need LOTS of nourishment in the moment. Instead of putting ourselves (and others) into boxes and creating formulas, the key is to be present. In the moment.

And. If we don’t do this? Leprosy can develop. Sickness. We can get root rot. We can die out from a lack of moisture.

And I feel like this is what today’s long Torah portion may be trying to teach us. In this moment.

Thoughts?

Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 24 Adar II, 5782

Today’s Parsha is Tazria which means “conceives.”

From the Chumash I’m reading; “The afflictions of life, of which tzara’at (leprosy) is an example, are not meant to punish us, but to act as a stimulus for personal healing. That is why the laws of childbirth are also included here, suggesting the purpose of any affliction is the rebirth that follows.”

This is crucial to keep in mind; as we have been journeying in the Torah so far, we have come to the place where we understand why the Jews came to the desert. Why they build the tabernacle. And last week we learned what sacrifices Hashem wants us to make.

May this week’s portion bring conception and birth to new spiritual ideas and wisdom!

Todays portion begins with child birth;

God spoke to Moses and told him to tell the people of Israel:

1. If a woman conceives and gives birth to a male (or miscarries) she will be ritually impure for seven days – even if no flow of blood accompanied the birth. She will be impure just like the days of her menstrual flow
2. On the eighth day, the flesh of the child’s foreskin should be circumcised
3. After 7 days, when the woman enters the Mikveh, then for 33 days she will have a waiting period in which even if she sees blood she is ritually pure to her husband. However, she should not touch or eat any holy animal, nor may she enter the sanctuary until the 33 days are completed
4. If she gives birth to a female she will be ritually impure for two weeks, just like during her menstruation period. Then for 66 days she will have a waiting period.

Ok hold up. Why longer if she gives birth to a female? Are women “dirtier” than men and require more time for purification? No. The Talmud says

“When a woman experiences the pain of birth, she swears that she will never have children again. When a boy is born she soon regrets her oath, after seven days. After a girl is born, the concern is deeper, knowing that when the baby grows up she too will suffer the pain of childbirth–so it takes longer for the mother to regret her oath”

That’s a fascinating take!

Also, Kabbalah says “All souls in the upper world are both male and female. When the souls come below they initially emerge as male and female; then each side separates and goes its own way. If you merit, the two will join together again as one unit. Your marital partner will be your true soul mate. You will join together as one unit in everything, in spirit and in body.”

Let’s keep going. Next after childbirth, we are going to talk Leprosy.

The basic mitzvahs are; if you find Tzara’at on your body, you are to bring it to the priest. The priest examines – if there are two hairs within lesion that turned from black to white it is a genuine Tzara’at lesion.

If the hair has not turned white, then…get this…they get quarantined for seven days. If the lesion spread, then he should Be pronounced ritually impure. If it hasn’t they get quarantined an additional 7 days. 14 days of quarantine so far.

This is fascinating to think the Torah addresses a quarantine situation. The portion closes on a cliffhanger as we don’t know what happens after the second quarantine.