Tazria- Sanctity in Women

Isha ki tazria v’yalda zachar v’tam’a shivat yamim kimei nidat dotah titma… Ushloshim yom ushloshet yamim teisheiv bidmei tahara … V’im n’keiva teileid v’tam’a shvu’ayim k’nidatah v’shishit yom v’sheishet yamim teisheiv al d’mei tahara.

A woman who gives birth to a male, seven days she shall be tamei as [she is] during her menstrual period… And 33 days she will remain in blood purification…. And if she gives birth to a female, she shall be tamei two weeks, as during her menstruation and 66 days she will remain in blood purification.

In the previous parasha illuminated holiness through what we eat. Parshiyot Tazria-Metzora focus on what happens when our bodies become tamei, usually translated as impure. The discussion of childbirth at the start of Tazria has at led to accusations of misogyny throughout the centuries. Why is this here before a discussion of the treatment of skin disease? Why is time following the birth of a daughter twice the period following the birth of a son?

The placement is not as important as the second question. Placement comes after a section dealing with impurity following to deaths of Nadav and Avihu. In the moment the issues surrounding contact with a corpse had to be addressed. While death removes the neshmah, the soul, from its vessel that is the body, the body remains holy and must be cared for with respect. Its status, however, has changed, and with that anyone who comes in contact becomes tamei. Tamei is not so much impure as taboo, which in its full meaning is beyond forbidden including sacred. Even the Kohain Gadol in performing the ultimate purification ceremony, the red heifer, becomes tamei in performing this ritual.

While seemingly the opposite of death childbirth is similar in its status. Once she reaches the age of menstruation a women carries within her the potential for life beyond her own. Each month, as that potential leaves us, women become tamei. A fetus is not considered life in Jewish law, but the potential for life encapsulated in the woman’s body. With childbirth that potential leaves the woman’s body, turning her to a state of niddah, the same state as following menstruation. But birth is not menstruation. With birth the potential is gone from her body, but a new being has entered the word. The woman has not just had potential within her, but has felt that potential grow into a life, has felt its movement, and understood the meaning of this beyond her own body. With the change of this budding life to new being, the loss to the woman’s body is much more significant.  The new soul is now separate from her. For this she remains in a state of damei tahara, blood purification, no longer tamei, she is also not herself and not ready to resume regular activity. With the birth of a daughter this period is doubled. The new mother has not only given birth to a child, but a child that carries within her the same potential for life, doubling the loss. It is not a sign of misogyny, but rather a symbol of the strong matriarchal roots Judaism maintains.

Zen in Nature

I witnessed the most amazing sight this morning.

On the edge of the grass by the road were two grackles.  Both were small, clearly young.  One grackle was busily pecking at the soil right by the curb, digging up clumps, searching again and again for his breakfast.  Clumps of soil were flying, but no matter how much effort he put out, there was no reward.  The second grackle sat nearby, within inches of the first, eyes closed, seemingly settled in for the long haul.  Then, without warning, the second grackle rose, took one step to the soil's edge, and poked in his beak drawing a worm the length of his body from the soil.  A quick change of his grasp on his prize, the second grackle flew away, leaving the first to his frantic search.

An interesting lesson.

Caught & Released

Additional information-  It seems that my story was slightly off about Jesse.  Nora actually did get out of the house.  Jesse ran back inside to retrieve the cat treats.  Gandalf tried to follow when Jesse slammed the inner door, locking himself on the porch.  Thankfully Nora responded to the treats so Jesse didn't have to leave the house.

Best part of the story... Jesse understands how funny this is.  The morning following I reported the incident to our carpool (including a friend from school), then I blogged about it.  Jesse is fully aware of this and accepts it.  My revenge for being awoken at 1:00 AM is to tell the world.

Jesse's catch & release program isn't over.  Tonight he asked me to help get a spider into his jar.  After a few reminders to unlock the doors as he stepped outside (this time fully clothed), Jesse, convictions intact, had released the spider back into the free world.

Parashat Shemini- Mourning Takes Time & Effort

Vayomer Moshe el Aharon ul’Elazar ul’Itamar banav rosheichem al tifra’u uvigdeichem lo tifromo v’lo tamutu v’al kol ha’eidah yiktzof.

And Moshe said to Aaron and to his sons, Elazar and Itamar, “Do not bare your heads or rend your clothes lest you die and anger strike the whole community.

The position of leader brings with it many limitations. We see this throughout Moshe’s life, from his relationship with his family to his own death. After his personal encounter with God at Har Sinai, Moshe is also physically separated, his face covered with a veil whenever in public.

In parashat Shemini, Nadav and Avihu, two of Aaron’s sons, burn “strange fire” to God, causing their deaths. Moshe instructs two nephews, non-priests, to remove and bury the bodies. Aaron and his remaining sons are instructed not to display signs of public mourning lest it effect all of B’nei Yisrael. As spiritual leaders of Israel, Aaron and his sons must continue with business as usual, their personal feelings, their necessary mourning set aside for private time only.

The week of shiva, followed by the hodesh and the shannah of Kaddish, are extremely important to the process of mourning. The tearing of one’s clothes, a physical expression of grief, is meant to begin the physical catharsis that continues through the year. Shiva, in the best of circumstances, continues this process. The mourners are given time to ignore normal day-to-day needs in favour of focusing upon the process of mourning, sharing memories of the deceased and giving into the rollercoaster of emotion. The communal support during shiva, which in the most closely knit communities continues through the hodesh and the shannah, allows the mourners to share and process this emotion and gradually return to community life.

Aaron and his family are denied this opportunity. All too often individuals and families in the public eye are critiqued for their reactions to emotional events. Their every action is reported on news and gossip shows. If they are too emotional they are criticized for their inability to “hold it together,” and if stoic for not caring enough. Leaders and personalities are not characters in a reality TV show. They are real people with needs for privacy and the ability to share emotions within their own communities without reports of their every action like hockey scores.

Parashat Vayikra- Kiddush HaShem

Vayikra el Moshe vayidabeir Hashem eilav meiohel moed leimor. Dabeir el b’nei Yisrael v’amarta aleihem...

And God called to Moshe and spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting saying, “Speak to the children of Israel and say to them...

It’s been a difficult week for Jews in France and around the world.  The brutality of the tragedy that occurred in Toulouse shocked the Jewish community and the world.  We are beginning the month of Nisan, a month in which public mourning is forbidden.  Divrei Torah are substituted for eulogies.  There are changes to funeral services. Yet, this is also the month is which we celebrate Pesach, the ultimate, “They tried to kill us; we survived; let’s eat” holiday. It’s a theme that spreads throughout our celebrations, and perhaps connects to this week’s parasha.

Vayikra is the Levitical book.  It is filled with material for the Levi’im, and yet it is included in the Torah to be read publically to the entire community.  Questions of why God included Vayikra abound.  I believe the answer is in the name- Vayikra, and He Called.  The text is clear, God calls Moshe to speak with him, but the meaning is so much greater.  In speaking to Moshe, God speaks to all of us. We are told often that we are to be an Am Kadosh, a holy people and a community of priests.  As such we are also to be an Or LaGoyim, a light to the nations, but this is also rendered as Or HaGoyim, a light among the nations.  We are called upon as a community to shine, sometimes in joy, and sometimes in tragedy.

Nisan is also the month in which we observe Yom HaShoah  u’G’vurah, called in English, Holocaust Remembrance Day.  The date is chosen for its connection to the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, but the Hebrew name and it’s placement in Nisan speak volumes.  Yom HaShoah- the Day of the Holocaust, u’G’vurah- and the heroism.  We must focus on our ability to overcome tragedy in our lives and emerge victorious, marching out of the depths of the sea, a holy people.

May the memory of the seven who murdered in France this past week be for a blessing, and may God comfort their families and friends among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.