Parashat Tazria 5766

Parashat Tazria 5766
Our parasha opens with the laws of a yoledet (a woman who gives birth). As we go through the
section discussing these laws, we find a passuk that commands us to perform the mitzvah of brit milah
on the eighth day, from which Chazal learn that the brit milah must be performed by day, not by night,
and that it is performed even if the eighth day falls on Shabbat. This raises the following question,
asked by both the Chizkuni and the Ohr HaChaim: Why does the Torah interrupt the halachot of
yoledet with a passuk discussing brit milah? This passuk seemingly belongs in parashat Lech Lecha
with the rest of the halachot of brit milah, not here in the middle of the halachot of yoledet!
The Chizkuni and Ohr HaChaim suggest that we might have mistakenly thought that brit milah was
performed on Shabbat only before kabbalat haTorah, but now that we have the mitzvah of Shabbat, the
brit milah would be pushed to Sunday if the eighth day was Shabbat. This passuk therefore teaches us
that even after kabbalat haTorah, brit milah on the eighth day trumps Shabbat. Although the answer of
the Chizkuni and the Ohr HaChaim explains the necessity of this passuk, it doesn't seem to explain its
seemingly incongruous placement in the middle of the section discussing yoledet! This, then, is our
first question: What is the passuk of brit milah doing here in the middle of the parasha of yoledet?
The Torah goes on to obligate the yoledet to bring a korban chatat (a sin-offering). What exactly was
the sin of the yoledet? The gemara in Niddah (31b) explains that the chatat is brought in order to atone
for the woman's oath during childbirth never to give birth again because of the intense pain involved.
The gemara's explanation is difficult to understand, however, because certainly not every yoledet, even
with the great pain of childbirth, takes an oath to never again give birth! Yet the Torah obligates every
yoledet to bring a korban chatat, not just those who take this oath. Our second question is: What sin
did the yoledet commit that obligates her to bring a korban chatat?
To answer these questions we turn to the Ramban on sefer Bereishit. When HaKadosh Baruch Hu
created the world, He regarded every aspect of the Creation as "‫כי טוב‬, That it was good." The Ramban
explains that "‫ "כי טוב‬means that Hashem desired that His handiwork last forever. The only thing
HaKadosh Baruch Hu does not regard as "‫ "כי טוב‬at the time of its creation was Man. When HaKadosh
Baruch Hu created Adam HaRishon, the Torah says, "‫וייצר‬, And He created," with two yuds. Rashi
explains that one yud represents a yetzirah for this world and one yud represents a yetzirah for olam
haba. In other words, when a person is born, it is unclear whether his creation was a good thing. As
Iyov puts it, "‫ועיר פרא אדם יולד‬, Man is born a wild animal" (11:12). Man is born a wild animal, an ‫עיר‬
‫פרא‬, but must ripen into an ‫אדם‬. If a person works on himself to be spiritually reborn, then he can be
described as "‫כי טוב‬," for at that point HaKadosh Baruch Hu certainly desires that His handiwork last
forever.
How does one achieve spiritual rebirth? The only way to accomplish this is to bring oneself to live a
life of kedushah and taharah. Tumah comes into being wherever there is a termination of life or of the
potential to create life. One who touches a live animal does not become tamei, but one who touches a
dead animal does. Similarly, one who touches a live person does not become tamei, but one who
comes into contact with a dead person does. This is also one of the explanations for tumat niddah—
since potential for new life existed within the niddah, when this potential is terminated, tumah is
created. In contrast, a pregnant woman does not have tumat niddah since she is actively involved in the
creation of life.
In general, tumah arrives after a state of taharah or vice versa. Only at one time do tumah and taharah
appear simultaneously—at the moment of birth. On the one hand, the baby represents taharah and new
life. On the other hand, at that very moment the yoledet becomes t'meiah. The reason for this is that
the baby has already begun to die, as it is one moment closer to its predestined time. (This is why
Chazal refer to the womb as "‫קבר‬, grave" since it is not only the source of life, but the source of death
as well.)
All of this is because of the sin of our great-grandmother, Chava, who ate from the eitz hada'at. This,
then, is the reason why the yoledet brings a korban chatat—together all of the chata'ot will atone for
the sin that brought death to the world and bring us back to eternal life. The way to fix the sin of our
great-grandparents Adam and Chava is to strive for lives of kedushah and taharah.
This also explains why the mitzvah of brit milah appears in the middle of the parasha of yoledet—the
brit milah reminds one of the kedushah within, through which we merit the ability to transform every
‫( נגע‬plague) into ‫( ענג‬delight) and every ‫( צרעת‬leprosy) to ‫( עצרת‬holiday). This ability comes about
through the middah of anavah. The gemara in Erchin (16a) says that tzara'at afflicts a person because
of ga'avah, lashon hara, and tzarut ayin (stinginess), all of which reflect the opposite of humility. The
more we work on achieving anavah, the more we bring kedushah and taharah into our lives, and the
closer we come to the fulfillment of the words of the navi, " ‫וזרקתי עליכם מים טהורים וטהרתם מכל טומאותיכם‬
'‫וגו‬, And I will sprinkle pure waters upon you and purify you from all of your impurities…" (Yechezkel
36:25).
Shabbat Shalom!
Meir Goldwicht
Rav Meir Goldwicht’s weekly sichah on the Parsha and Moadim
is a service of YUTorah, the online source of the Torah of
Yeshiva University. Get more parsha shiurim and thousands of
other shiurim, by visiting www.yutorah.org.

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