Parashat Tazria, Leviticus 12:1-13:59; Shabbat HaChodesh, Ex. 12:1-20

Ritual impurity is not a value judgment.

Things ain't what they used to be: How often we employ this lament! Life was simpler and better when we were young. The world is more complex, and somehow more dangerous. In many regards, though it really is a good thing that "things ain't what they used to be." I know; I too miss the candy bars that were cheaper and bigger, the films that were creative and original, and time that moved at a more leisurely pace. On the other hand, I am rather partial to the fact that housing has improved, transportation is better, and there really is much to be said for indoor plumbing and running water. Given a choice between much that existed in the "good old days" and what we have today, I'm happy to be living in our day and age.

For one thing, back in the "good old days" a lot of people I know would not have made it to whatever age they are now. We are able to treat an astounding array of complex physical problems that were beyond our ability and imagination way back when. We also view many things as routine which at one time were not. Like the fact that most women who give birth get to hold their babies and watch them grow. In the golden days of yore up to 25% of women only reached the threshold of motherhood, succumbing to what was known as "childbed fever."

Thing changed slowly but significantly. In 1843, an overachieving New Englander named Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. published a report entitled The Contagiousness of Puerperal Fever, in which he argued that the source of this deadly disease among new mothers was actually being carried from patient to patient by their caregivers. Among his recommendations were that physicians clean their instruments and burn their clothes after a fatal delivery. He actually termed this a moral obligation on the part of the doctor.

Four years later and half a world away, Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis of Vienna, concerned with the same obstetrical problem, reached a similar conclusion and mandated that doctors in his wards wash their hands in a chlorinated lime solution before treating each patient. Both men were largely ignored at that time, despite the results of their innovations. Holmes, in fact, was taken to task by a well-known obstetrician of his day who remarked that "Doctors are gentlemen, and gentlemen's hands are clean." It was only thanks to Louis Pasteur's germ theory of disease that the practice of antiseptic cleanliness developed by Semmelweis began to be practiced.

Until these pathfinders came along, there was a strong possibility that the joy of bringing a new life into the world would be followed by its opposite: the death of either infant or mother. Is it any wonder then, that the ideas of birth and death were often intertwined?

This congruence is evident in this week's parasha, Tazria, which deals with a woman after childbirth and the offerings she is to bring as part of the purification ritual. Subsequently, it goes on to detail a number of skin ailments that are to be brought to the attention of the kohen (priest), as well as the actions the priest must take at this point. The kohen is not a healer but a purifier. Not surprisingly, purification is the focus of Tazria, and it is also the focus of next week's portion, Metsora.

What is the problem with impurity? It represents the opposite of holiness. There is a balance between the holiness of life and the impurity of death.

Biblical religion regarded the dead as impure in the extreme and forbade priests from participating in funerary rites. In the commentary it is maintained that this prohibition was aimed at preventing a cult of the dead from becoming part of Israelite worship. To the extent that a higher form of religious expression is served by avoiding the cult of the dead, the devotion of kohanim [priests] to the ancient purity restrictions has contributed significantly to this goal.

Baruch Levine, Leviticus, Jewish Publication Society Commentary, p. 221

But what does all this have to do with mothers and newborn infants? Isn't the birth process perceived as the opposite of death?

…in the Israelite mind, blood was the archsymbol of life. Its oozing from the body was no longer the work of demons [a worldwide view], but it was certainly the sign of death. In particular, the loss of seed in vaginal blood was associated with the loss of life. Thus it was that Israel - alone among the peoples - restricted impurity solely to those physical conditions involving the loss of vaginal blood and semen, the forces of life, and to scale disease, which visually manifested the approach of death.

Jacob Milgrom, Leviticus, Anchor Bible p. 767

So to summarize this rather graphic parashah: Impurity results from contact with the dead. Skin afflictions, translated misleadingly into English as "leprosy" in Leviticus, make one look dead. Genital fluids are generative matter and represent the loss of potential life.

Now let's get back to mother and child. Even in the good old days, commentaries made a symbolic connection between birth and death: "The Torah states that a woman is in a state of impurity for seven days after birth. Similarly, there is a seven-day period of mourning for the dead. All is counted by the number seven." (Yaakov ben Yitzchak Ashkenazi, Tzenah Urenah 2:589)

This Shabbat is also designated as Shabbat HaChodesh (Sabbath of the New Month), which is the first Shabbat of the month of Nisan, when we observe Pesach. The additional Torah reading is Exodus 12:1-20, dealing with the Paschal sacrifice. Here too, in a different context, we see the importance of blood and its association with both life and death. When the paschal lamb was sacrificed, its blood was placed on the doorposts and lintels of the houses of the Israelites. (Exodus 12:7) This was a sign to protect their inhabitants from Divine wrath: And the blood on the houses where you are staying shall be a sign for you: when I see the blood I will pass over you, so that no plague will destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. (Exodus 12:13)

Nonetheless, our modern sensibility is generally uncomfortable with the idea that a new mother is somehow "impure." In answer, we need to remind ourselves that ritual impurity is not a value judgment.

Just as ritual "holiness" may be transmitted by contact (6:11) so too defilement. Both the tamei [ritually impure] and the kadosh [holy] emit a sort of energy. As with modern asepsis, so with ancient ritual: positive measures are needed to overcome defilement. In contrast, ritual purity is a neutral state and is not transmissible. A bandage is no longer sterile if it falls on the floor, yet it does not transmit its former sterility to the spot on which it falls.

W. Gunther Plaut, The Torah: A Modern Commentary, revised edition, p. 723

As was pointed out last week, the book of Leviticus is focused on order and having everything in its proper place. Even things that are natural can be considered to be outside the ideal order: blood in the body is fine, outside the body it’s problematic. Skin diseases and certain bodily discharges are not so good either. We are somewhat sensitive to this as well. Gruesome films depend on blood, ooze, guts and what-not to bring about a reaction in us. Judging from the amount of money they make, it works.

The levitical mindset is concerned with bringing about the proper reaction, which just can't happen when certain factors are not in their proper places. The sanctity and holiness of the mishkan, God's abode, must be protected; and proper precautions are necessary to do so. Just as bad things can happen if an operation takes place in an unsterile environment, bad things can happen if God's abode is not ritually pure. Tazria instructs the reader on the protocols for situations that are out of the ordinary; among the protocols are ways of correcting things that are out of place. The time of blood purification for the new mother is an example of this. Blood plays a role in the purification of priests and of those with skin afflictions as well, although in the latter case the blood has a different source.

Tazria encourages us to contemplate blood and its deep connection to life. Here, and in numerous other parts of Leviticus, the connection is deeply symbolic. We may struggle with the symbolism, but surely we understand the basic physical connection. Having said that, consider the importance of blood and how a simple blood donation on your part can be pivotal in pikuach nefesh (saving a life). Once Shabbat is over, how about doing your part to turn symbolism into reality?

Shabbat shalom,
MS

Yom Kippur, Leviticus 16:1-34

This week's parashah has been generously sponsored in loving memory of Meryl Gardner's mother, Harriet H. Cohen. Kolel is grateful to Meryl for her ongoing support and appreciates its weekly sponsors.

Since the world is sustained through human actions and interactions, it is in our relationships to others to that the greatest infractions of holiness occur.

This is a special Shabbat, the holiest day of the year, the Sabbath of Sabbaths: Yom Kippur. An old tradition explains that during ten days of teshuvah (repentance) we draw nearer to heaven; on Yom Kippur, God draws nearer to us. No wonder this is the most important day in the Jewish calendar.

The Day of Atonement has its own Torah portions, one for the morning and one for the afternoon. In traditionalist congregations, these are Leviticus 16 and Leviticus 18, and in Reform congregations they are selections from Deuteronomy 30 and Leviticus 19. The latter is also the alternative reading in a number of Conservative congregations.

Our focus this week will be on the traditional morning reading, Leviticus 16, which describes the offerings that Aaron, the High Priest, is to bring before God as atonement for his sins, the sins of his household and of the entire community. In addition, this chapter describes the scapegoat ritual. And so, without further ado…

Housecleaning: You either love it or hate it. However you feel about it, it is a necessity of life. If, or in some cases, when, the chores don't get done – the dust bunnies turn to dirt monsters, the laundry takes over an entire room, or the mail piles up on the dining room table so there is no room to eat – life becomes chaotic. How embarrassing to have someone drop by!

Leviticus 16 is about maintaining a proper home. Not just any home, but God's home. Obviously, this is an important and crucial task. To understand why, we must put ourselves in a Levitical mindset.

This third book of the Torah is permeated with the idea and ideal of holiness. Holiness is a separate realm which can be dangerous if not handled correctly. The very first verse of the Yom Kippur reading is evidence of this: Adonai spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron who died when they drew too close to the presence of Adonai. The events surrounding the deaths of Aaron's sons are recounted in Leviticus 10: Now Aaron's sons Nadab and Abihu each took his fire pan, put fire in it, and laid incense on it; and they offered before Adonai alien fire, which God had not enjoined upon them. And fire came forth from Adonai and consumed them; thus they died at the instance of Adonai. Basically, they didn't follow directions and made an offering that was inappropriate –either in terms of time or the actual ritual.

Leviticus teaches that holiness must be handled precisely; there is a correct time, a proper procedure, and appropriate attire. The role of the priest is to make sure that everything is carried out in exactly the right way. This makes it possible for God's presence to be in the midst of the people, and ensures that the universal order is maintained and the world continues to function properly. Hence, Aaron's task as described at the beginning of the parashah:

Adonai said to Moses: Tell your brother Aaron that he is not to come at will into the Shrine behind the curtain, in front of the cover that is upon the ark, lest he die; for I appear in the cloud over the cover. Thus only shall Aaron enter the Shrine: with a bull of the herd for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. — He shall be dressed in a sacral linen tunic, with linen breeches next to his flesh, and be girt with a linen sash, and he shall wear a linen turban. They are sacral vestments; he shall bathe his body in water and then put them on. — And from the Israelite community he shall take two he-goats for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering.
Aaron is to offer his own bull of sin offering, to make expiation for himself and for his household. Aaron shall take the two he-goats and let them stand before Adonai at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting; and he shall place lots upon the two goats, one marked for Adonai and the other marked for Azazel. Aaron shall bring forward the goat designated by lot for Adonai, which he is to offer as a sin offering; while the goat designated by lot for Azazel shall be left standing alive before Adonai, to make expiation with it and to send it off to the wilderness for Azazel. (Leviticus 16:2-10)

The Hebrew word for holy is kadosh, a word that also means "set aside;" the root k-d-sh forms the basis of much that is significant in Judaism. When we perform Kiddush we are setting the boundary between the holiness of Shabbat and the mundane week. Kiddushin, the Jewish marriage, means that the partners in this holy relationship are setting themselves apart for each other. The main thrust of the rituals in Leviticus is to makes sure that the holy is set apart from the profane, thus imposing order on a chaotic world. To maintain order and the proper boundaries, Aaron is to undertake this annual ritual cleansing. He performs three sacrifices: for himself, his household, and the entire community, in addition to the scapegoat ritual. These rituals of expiation are formalized in the Temple service for Yom Kippur and are the basis of the Avodah service reenacted in modern synagogues on this holy day.

The danger of holiness is found throughout the Torah. Recall that the people of Israel stayed a distance from Mount Sinai because coming into contact with God could cause them to perish. Only the High Priest was allowed into the Holy of Holies and only at certain times. Holiness is its own realm; and when the sacred "breaks forth" and meets the mundane, it is like matter and anti-matter; the consequences can be devastating, even fatal, as happened to Aaron's sons.

As Baruch Levine explains in his commentary on Leviticus:

The primary objective of expiatory rites like the ones set forth in chapter 16 was to maintain a pure sanctuary. An impure, or defiled, sanctuary induced God to withdraw His presence from the Israelite community. Obviously, the greatest threat to the purity of the sanctuary came from the priesthood itself whose members functioned within its sacred precincts and who bore primary responsibility for its maintenance. The sanctuary was also threatened by major transgressions of the laws of purity involving the entire Israelite community or by the failure of individual Israelites to attend to their own purification—for example, after contamination by a corpse. This occurred because such serious impurities were considered to be contagious and thereby ultimately affected the sanctuary, which was located within the area of settlement. As long as impurity persisted, God remained offended, so to speak, and the danger of His wrath and possible alienation was imminent.

How do we get from the ancient ritual cleansing of the sanctuary to the modern spiritual purification of the individual? Baruch Levine points out that the key element is found in Leviticus 16:30:

“For on this day atonement shall be made for you to cleanse you of all your sins; you shall be clean before the Lord.” The purification of the sanctuary was understood to extend to the people—to relieve them of their transgressions as well. However, no ritual of purification was actually performed over the people, as was the case on other occasions.

But times change, and as the Yom Kippur liturgy developed, our spiritual purification now includes a series of confessions. Interestingly, none of the confessions we undertake as a community deals with ritual infractions. Our modern acts of purification are concerned with the moral and ethical realm. Since the world is sustained through human actions and interactions, it is in our relationships to others to that the greatest infractions of holiness occur; and breaches in such relationships are what threaten the modern boundaries between holiness and chaos. On this Sabbath of Sabbaths we stand together as a community, each responsible for the other and for the entire world. This is quite a large house that we are cleaning, but the joint effort makes the task that much easier.

One final thought about our annual spiritual housecleaning comes from a story about the Baal Shem Tov. The Hassidic master was away from home on the High Holy Days. Arriving at his destination he asked the inhabitants of the city about the Yom Kippur service. They said it was conducted by the local rabbi who led the service in a joyful manner. Thinking this to be somewhat strange, the Baal Shem Tov went to see the rabbi who explained the reason he sang the confessions with great joy:

"Lo, a servant who is cleaning the courtyard of the king, if he loves the king, is very happy cleaning the refuse from the courtyard, and sings joyful melodies, for he is giving pleasure to the king." Said the Baal Shem Tov, "May my lot be with yours!" (Or Yesharim as quoted by S.Y. Agnon, Days of Awe)

May we all be written and sealed for a good year.

G'mar hatimah tova,
MS