D’var Torah on Parshat Tazria

Why does giving birth cause tumah (impurity)?

Parshat Tazria opens with laws related to childbirth. The very first thing we learn in the parsha is that according to Biblical law, giving birth automatically puts a woman in a state of tumah (impurity). But that feels so strange because childbirth is such a joyous, miraculous occasion. How could such a positive moment result in what feels like a negative consequence? And what makes it even more strange is that having children is a mitzvah. Doing mitzvot is a good thing, and it doesn’t make sense that doing a mitzvah would make someone tameh (impure). So, why does giving birth render a woman impure? 

Can the common explanation for tumah explain this case?

One common explanation of tumah, in general, is that it’s caused by coming into contact with death. And according to this common explanation, all other forms of tumah are somehow born from an encounter with death of one kind or another. Chazal (our Sages) seem to support this idea because they refer to a human corpse as אבי אבות הטומאה – the grandfather of all tumah (impurity). But this explanation doesn’t seem to make sense in the context of childbirth because giving birth is about as far away from death as you can get. It’s literally creating new life! So, we’re still left wondering why childbirth would cause a mother to be in a state of tumah.

Can reading the pesukim (verses) give us clarity?

Ideally, reading the pesukim (verses) would give us clarity about this strange childbirth law, but unfortunately, in this case, it doesn't. In fact, the pesukim leave us with a different set of questions surfacing from the text. But the good news is that exploring those questions will lead us on to discovering a fascinating understanding of the tumah of childbirth. So let’s read a few of the pesukim at the start of this parsha and see what questions we can raise:

1. The parsha begins by stating, “אִשָּׁה כִּי תַזְרִיעַ וְיָלְדָה” – “a woman conceived and gave birth” (Leviticus 12:2). There’s something seemingly unnecessary in these words. Isn’t it obvious that the woman conceived before she gave birth? Would anything have been lost if it just said “if a woman gives birth”?
2. The pasuk continues, “וְיָלְדָה זָכָר וְטָמְאָה שִׁבְעַת יָמִים” – “if she gives birth to a boy, she is tame’ah for seven days,” and then the Torah instructs, “וּבַיּוֹם הַשְּׁמִינִי יִמּוֹל בְּשַׂר עׇרְלָתוֹ” – “on the eighth day, the baby boy should be circumcised” (Leviticus 12:3). After this seemingly non-tumah related verse about circumcision, the Torah continues by describing a change in the mother’s tumah status: “וּשְׁלֹשִׁים יוֹם וּשְׁלֹשֶׁת יָמִים תֵּשֵׁב בִּדְמֵי טׇהֳרָה” – “For 33 days she should remain in a state of blood purity” (Leviticus 12:4). It seems odd that the woman is tame’ah for seven days and then, without doing any of the normal purification steps, like immersing in a mikvah, she suddenly enters this 33-day stage of tahara after the child has a brit milah. It almost seems like the circumcision on the eighth day is somehow the point of transition between tumah and tahara. But why should that be the case? What does the baby’s circumcision have to do with the mother becoming tahora?
3. The Torah continues by spelling out the laws when a baby girl is born. “וְאִם־נְקֵבָה תֵלֵד וְטָמְאָה שְׁבֻעַיִם כְּנִדָּתָהּ וְשִׁשִּׁים יוֹם וְשֵׁשֶׁת יָמִים תֵּשֵׁב עַל־דְּמֵי טׇהֳרָה” – “If she gives birth to a girl, [the mother] is tame’ah for two weeks, and for 66 days, she should remain in a state of blood purity” (Leviticus 12:5). In the case of a baby girl, there is a similar period of tumah, followed by an extended stage of tahara, only in this case, there is an additional week of tumah relative to the case of a boy, and the obvious question is…why? Why is the mother tame’ah for an extra week for a girl? And just like we saw regarding the circumcision, this extra week seems to somehow magically transition the mother into a new stage of tahara without her doing anything. How could that be? How does this extra week help?

Reading through these pesukim has raised some additional questions, but how can these questions now help us understand the perplexing tumah laws following childbirth? 

The path to an answer

In this video, the Aleph Beta team finds clues to answer these questions and explain these strange tumah laws. Join us as we discover the deeper purpose and relevance behind these laws. Subscribe now to add meaning to your Shabbat table and be inspired by the beauty of the Torah. 

Parshat Tazria in a Nutshell

Parshat Tazria continues teaching the laws of tumah and tahara (ritual impurity and purity) that were introduced in Parshat Shemini. The first set of laws is about the impurity resulting from childbirth and the purification process afterwards. Then the parsha introduces detailed laws about tzara’at, a type of spiritual contamination, on the skin. After outlining the nuances of where on the body the tzara’at appears, the Torah describes how a metzora, one who has tzara’at, must go into isolation. The parsha concludes with the laws of tzara’at appearing on garments.