Parshah Summary – P’sha
The parshah opens with the laws of purification after a woman gives birth, which includes immersing in a mikvah (a naturally gathered pool of water) and bringing offerings. All male infants are to be circumcised on the eighth day of life. It then details the subject of tzaraat, an affliction which can afflict people’s skin as well as garments or homes. If white or pink patches appear on a person’s skin (dark red or green in garments), a kohen is summoned. Judging by various signs, such as an increase in size of the afflicted area after a seven-day quarantine, the kohen pronounces It tamei (ritually unfit) or tahor (ritually fit). A person afflicted with tzaraat must dwell alone outside of the camp (or city) until they are healed, and the afflicted area in a garment or home must be removed. If the tzaraat recurs, the entire garment or home must be destroyed.
Torah of Awakening | Jewish Meditation Teaching
דַּבֵּ֞ר אֶל־בְּנֵ֤י יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר אִשָּׁה֙ כִּ֣י תַזְרִ֔יעַ וְיָלְדָ֖ה זָכָ֑ר וְטָֽמְאָה֙ שִׁבְעַ֣ת יָמִ֔ים כִּימֵ֛י נִדַּ֥ת דְּוֺתָ֖הּ תִּטְמָֽא׃ וּבַיּ֖וֹם הַשְּׁמִינִ֑י יִמּ֖וֹל בְּשַׂ֥ר עׇרְלָתֽוֹ׃ וּשְׁלֹשִׁ֥ים יוֹם֙ וּשְׁלֹ֣שֶׁת יָמִ֔ים תֵּשֵׁ֖ב בִּדְמֵ֣י טׇהֳרָ֑הֿ בְּכׇל־קֹ֣דֶשׁ לֹֽא־תִגָּ֗ע וְאֶל־הַמִּקְדָּשׁ֙ לֹ֣א תָבֹ֔א עַד־מְלֹ֖את יְמֵ֥י טׇהֳרָֽהּ׃ Speak to the Children of Israel, saying: When a woman conceives and gives birth to a male, she shall be tamei seven days; like the days of her menstrual separation, she is tamei. On the eighth day, the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. For thirty-three days she shall dwell in the blood of taharah: Any holy thing she shall not touch, and into the holy space she shall not enter until her days of taharah are full… - Vayikra (Leviticus) 2-4; Parshat Tazria
Rabbi Mendel was sunk in great poverty. One day, when he was a guest at Rabbi Elimelekh’s opulent table, a servant forgot to give him a spoon. When they came to the soup course, everyone ate except for Rabbi Mendel. The tzaddik noticed and asked him, “Why aren’t you eating? Is the soup not to your liking?”
“I have no spoon,” said his guest sheepishly. “Look,” said Rabbi Elimelekh, “one must know enough to ask for a spoon, and a plate too, if need be!” Rabbi Mendel took the word of his teacher to heart. From that day on, his fortunes were on the mend. The story points out a potential danger of a living a committed spiritual life. In ordinary life, when we become involved with worldly endeavors, our tendency is to become emotionally “attached” to our goals – meaning, our sense of “rightness” becomes conditional. If we are successful, we are okay; if not, we are miserable. Spiritually speaking, this kind of attachment to the fruits of action is poison, causing us to lose our connection with the Eternal as we become caught up in the dramas of the temporal. But, as Rabbi Elimelekh points out, attempting to avoid involvement with the world altogether is absurd; one must “ask for a spoon or a plate” when necessary. The trick, of course, is balance. If we wish to lead a committed spiritual life, we will still need to dip into the temporal. After all, the material world is the vehicle through which we can come to realize the Eternal; the two are not separate. אִשָּׁה֙ כִּ֣י תַזְרִ֔יעַ וְיָלְדָ֖ה – When a woman conceives and gives birth… On the metaphorical level, “conceiving” and “giving birth” means to create some effect in the world. Whatever it is we are trying to accomplish, action begins with “conceiving” – with the spontaneous arising of thought in the mind. Then, as our thoughts become clarified into decisions and manifest as actions, we “give birth” to something. This “conceiving” and “giving birth” is represented by the letter ה hei, the path of self-expression and individual uniqueness. וְטָֽמְאָה֙ – she shall be ritually impure… Whenever we engage in worldly action, we enter the world of time; we envision a particular goal and risk its failure by involving ourselves in the time-bound process of trying to bring that goal about. And as we dip into the temporal, there is the tendency to lose our connection with Eternal; meaning, to lose our identification with the open space of awareness beyond the thinking mind, as we become involved with the particular project in which we are engaging. We seem to lose whatever inner freedom we may have gained through meditation; we forget all about the space of this moment and get tangled up our situations. That is the state of tamei, the “ritual impurity.” שִׁבְעַ֣ת יָמִ֔ים – seven days… When we become “stuck” and we try to return to inner spaciousness, we may still feel “stuck. That is because before we can return fully to inner freedom, we first need to simply be present with whatever mind state we’re already in. The important thing is not to become disheartened and give up – but to just be wherever we are at. That is the “seven days” of being tamei – “ritually unfit” to enter the mikdash – the sacred space. “Seven days” means the world of time created by the mind that imagines past and future, as in the “seven days of creation.” כִּימֵ֛י נִדַּ֥ת דְּוֺתָ֖הּ תִּטְמָֽא – like the days of her separation… Niddah refers to the time of menstruation, but it literally means “separation,” hinting: when we are caught by the dramas of time, we temporarily lose connection with our inherent Wholeness; we feel “separate” from the moment, as our minds and hearts aim toward a different moment. But if we can stay with it, being conscious of the feelings of constriction that arise in the body, being present with our state of disconnection, the barrier to Wholeness will ultimately drop away. וּבַיּ֖וֹם הַשְּׁמִינִ֑י יִמּ֖וֹל בְּשַׂ֥ר עׇרְלָתֽוֹ – On the eighth day, the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised… The foreskin – the orlah – is a metaphor – a strange metaphor perhaps, but as a barrier, it hints at the feeling of separation that the ego feels. The number eight represents Eternity, as it is one step beyond seven, and on its side it is the symbol for infinity. The message is that when we are involved in “giving birth” to something in the world, there can be an inherent orlah – a feeling of separation, and that is okay and natural. So, when you find yourself in those “seven days” of disconnection from the sacred – just be there. It is only temporary. Stick with the practice, meditating and being present with the experience as it is. When you do this, you will certainly come to יּוֹם הַשְּׁמִינִי yom hashmini – the experience of the Eternal in the present moment, that sense of “arrival” where all barriers drop away. In this week of Shabbat Tazria – The Sabbath of Conception – let us remember to fully embrace whatever states we find ourselves in, and in that affirmation of life, seek to co-birth a more kind, loving and conscious world.
Read past teachings on Tazria HERE
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