The Torah lesson for this week is about skin diseases: tzara’at, but as we’ll see, this external condition is really a sign of an internal moral condition.
Question: What does TAZRIA mean in English? She conceives or bearing seed
Leviticus 12:1 And יהוה spoke to Moses saying, 2 Speak to the Children of Israel saying, If a woman has conceived and given birth to a male child: then she will be unclean seven days just like when she is having her menstrual period. C-MATS
Question: What does this mean? If the woman gives seed first, she gives birth to a male; if the man gives seed first, she gives birth to a female. Chumash (A sperm can live up to 3 days after intercourse.)
Question: What is the form of the embryo? At the beginning of its formation it is like the species of locust called rashon; its two eyes resemble two fly-drippings, likewise its two nostrils and two ears; its two arms are like two threads of crimson silk, its mouth is like a barley-grain, its trunk like a lentil, whilst the rest of its limbs are pressed together like a formless object, and it is with regard to this that the Psalmist said, “Thine eyes did see my unformed substance. ” (Psalms 139:16). Chumash
Question: How does the embryo lie in its mother’s womb? It is folded up and lying like a writing-tablet. Its head lies between its knees, its two hands rest on its temples, its two heels on its two buttocks; its mouth is closed, but its navel is open; its food is that which its mother eats, its drink is that which its mother drinks, and it does not discharge excrement lest it should kill its mother. When it issues forth into the open world, that which had been closed is opened, and that which had been open is closed. The mouth and eyes are opened and its navel is closed. Chumash
Question: What does it mean that the woman is unclean? Upon giving birth, a woman becomes unclean with the same regulations as those of a woman in menstruation (literally, the word niddah means someone who is “separated”). She remains separated from marital relations and may not come into the Temple to present offerings. Chumash
Leviticus 12:3 And on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin will be circumcised. C-MATS
Question: When should a male child be circumcised? The Torah specifies that it be done on the eighth day — a child must be circumcised on that day, even if it falls on the Sabbath, unless, of course, the infant’s health requires a delay. Chumash