Parashat 27/28 - “Tazria” “when she conceives” & “Metzorah” “the one who has tzara’at”

Vayikra/ Leviticus 12:1 –15:33

According to the sages these two Torah portions “tazria and metzorah” reveal great mysteries of the Messiah.

The ancient sages had no doubt in their minds that this Torah portion and the next (metzora) had more to say about the Messiah than any other Torah portions in the Torah.

The Sages believe that the one true evidence that the Messiah had come is that he would be the one to heal “leprosy” or “tzara’at”.

Thus the Talmud (Sanhedrin 98b) describes Moshiach as a metzora, signifying that the messianic age is a time in which evils that have infested the world and mankind rise to the surface, so that they can be decisively overcome and cured.

Blessing for the Torah:

Baruch atah YHVH, Eloheynu, Melech ha-O’lam, asher bachar banu m’kol ha-amim,

v’natan lanu eht Torah-to. Baruch atah YHVH, noteyn ha-Torah. Ameyn.”

(Blessed are you, YHVH, our Elohim , King of the Universe,

you have selected us from among all the peoples, and have given us your Torah.

Blessed are you, YHVH, giver of the Torah. Ameyn.)

Torah Readings (when Tazría is read together with Metzorah):

1. 12:1 – 13:23
2. 13:24-39
3. 13:40-54
4. 13:55 – 14: 20
5. 14:21-32
6. 14:33 – 15:15
7. 15:16-30
8. Maftir: 15:31-33

Haftarah: 2 Kings 4:42 – 5:19

Aliyah Rishon 12:1-13:23

Vayiqra/Lev 12:1  And יהוה spoke to Mosheh, saying,

When a male child is born:

       Lev 12:2  “Speak to the children of Yisra’ĕl, saying, ‘When a woman has conceived, and has given birth to a male child, then she shall be unclean seven days, as in the days of her monthly separation she is unclean.

       ‘When a woman has conceived” “Tazria” is a hiphil feminine imperfect verb and therefore more accurately translates as “when a seed is caused to come forth from within her body” this implies ovulation or even conception. In  vs 2 we see that this ovulation brought forth conception and finally birth.

       This statement could also refer to the promised seed (Messiah) given in Beresheet/Gen 3:15

        Ber/Gen 3:15  “And I put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed¹. He shall crush your head, and you shall crush His heel.” Footnote: ¹First promise of the Messiah.

She is “nidat dotah” or she is “separated to infirmity” for seven days. “Niddah” is not some defiling act that a woman must endure -  it should be seen as a prophetic reminder that we, the bride of Messiah have also being “separated to infirmity” for seven millennia before complete and perfect restoration occurs in the eighth millennium.

Lev 12:3  ‘And on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin is circumcised.

Lev 12:4  ‘And she remains in the blood of her cleansing thirty-three days. She does not touch whatever is set-apart, and she does not come into the set-apart place until the days of her cleansing are completed.

When a Female child is born:

Lev 12:5  ‘But if she gives birth to a female child, then she shall be unclean for two weeks, as in her monthly separation, and she remains in the blood of her cleansing for sixty-six days.

“In Hebrew thinking every child is seen as a gift of YHVH. In Hebrew thinking the task of raising children is taken very seriously and great devotion and care is taken to raise children according to the instructions of Torah to help bring about the restoration of all things in coming generations. Childbirth is wondrous. To be a parent is the closest any of us come to YHVH Himself. That, incidentally, according to the sages is why women are closer to YHVH than men, because they, unlike men, know what it is to bring new life out of themselves, as YHVH brings life out of Himself. The idea is beautifully captured in the verse in which, leaving Eden, Adam turns to his wife and calls her Chavah [Eve] “for she is the mother of all life.” Ber/Gen 3:20

We see that in the case of the girl that her time of separation and dedication are twice as long as that of the male because she, Yah willing will in later years become a source of life herself.’

As one rabbi eloquently stated the reason why a mother is separated is as if YHVH Himself is saying: “I exempt you from coming before Me in the place of set apartness because you are fully engaged in one of the set apart acts of all, nurturing and caring for your child. Unlike others you do not need to visit the Temple to be attached to life in all  its set apart splendor. You are experiencing it yourself, directly and with every fiber of your being. Days, weeks, from now you will come and give thanks before Me (together with offerings for having come through a moment of danger). But for now, look upon your child with wonder. For you have been given a glimpse of the great secret, otherwise known only to YHVH. Childbirth exempts the new mother from attendance at the Temple because her bedside replicates the experience of the Temple. She now knows what it is for love to beget life and in the midst of mortality to be touched by an intimation of immortality.”

Lev 12:6  ‘And when the days of her cleansing are completed, for a son or for a daughter, she brings to the priest a lamb a year old, as a burnt offering, and a young pigeon or a turtledove as a sin offering, to the door of the Tent of Meeting.

Lev 12:7  ‘And he shall bring it before יהוה, and make atonement for her, and she shall be cleansed from the flow of her blood. This is the Torah for her who has given birth to a male or a female.

Lev 12:8  ‘And if she is not able to bring a lamb, then she shall bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons, one as a burnt offering and the other as a sin offering. And the priest shall make atonement for her, and she shall be clean.’ ”

Luk 2:21  And when eight days were completed for Him to be circumcised, His Name was called יהושע, the Name given by the messenger before He was conceived in the womb.

Luk 2:22  And when the days of her cleansing according to the Torah of Mosheh were completed, they brought Him to Yerushalayim to present Him to יהוה –

Luk 2:23  as it has been written in the Torah of יהוה, “Every male who opens the womb shall be called set-apart to יהוה” –

Luk 2:24  and to give an offering according to what is said in the Torah of יהוה, “A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”

“ Metzora “. The Torah now gives intruction concerning “tzara’at” A certain teacher rather eloquently summed up this disease in the following words: : “Biography Becomes Biology”

In other words the story of our lives, hidden and seen will manifest itself in our physical condition.

“Miriam, Moshe’s sister, received leprosy for speaking ill of Moshe. From this the midrash derives that tsoraat, termed leprosy, is a punishment for the sin of ‘lashon hara’, speaking ill of others.

The meaning of this punishment is that the evil in one’s being is physically manifested. This punishment is therapeutic as it forces the sinner to come to grips with his misdeeds and change himself from the inside.

By being made repulsive to others (having tzara’at), one feels what his victims have experienced. The obligation that the Metzora, the person with tsoraat, will experience is isolation and they will be aware that something deep inside their beings is not right. This causes them to face their own true self and they focus on their own shortcomings instead of those of others.

Caroline Myss’s work “The Anatomy of Spirit” argues that “biography becomes biology”. Who we are, our thoughts, feelings and the way we live our life, impact on our physiology.

We participate in the creation of our diseases; we have the responsibility to take part of the process of healing. This approach gives insight on the Torah’s approach to Metzora, on the interplay between body and soul.

From the spirit the physical problems emerge, from the spirit the physical problem will be overcome.”

Lev 13:1  And יהוה spoke to Mosheh and to Aharon, saying,

Lev 13:2  “When a man has on the skin of his body a swelling, a scab, or a bright spot, and it shall become on the skin of his body like a leprous infection, then he shall be brought to Aharon the priest or to one of his sons the priests.

Lev 13:3  “And the priest shall look at the infection on the skin of the body. And if the hair on the infection has turned white, and the infection appears to be deeper than the skin of his body, it is a leprous infection. And the priest shall look at him, and pronounce him unclean. (tamei)

Lev 13:4  “But (ve im = and if) if the bright spot is white on the skin of his body, and does not appear to be deeper than the skin, and its hair has not turned white, then the priest shall shut up the infected one seven days.

Lev 13:5  “And the priest shall look at him on the seventh day and see, if the infection appears to be as it was, and the infection has not spread on the skin, then the priest shall shut him up another seven days.

Lev 13:6  “And the priest shall look at him again on the seventh day and see, if the infection has darkened, and the infection has not spread on the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him clean. It is a scab, and he shall wash his garments and be clean.

Lev 13:7  “But if the scab spreads further over the skin, after he has been seen by the priest for his cleansing, he shall be seen by the priest again.

Lev 13:8  “And the priest shall look and see, if the scab has spread on the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean, it is leprosy.

Lev 13:9  “When the infection of leprosy is on a man, then he shall be brought to the priest.

Lev 13:10  “And the priest shall look and see, if the swelling on the skin is white, and it has turned the hair white, and there is a spot of raw flesh in the swelling,

Lev 13:11  it is an old leprosy on the skin of his body, and the priest shall pronounce him unclean. He does not shut him up, for he is unclean.

Lev 13:12  “And if leprosy breaks out all over the skin, and the leprosy shall cover all the skin of the infected one, from his head to his foot, wherever the priest looks,

Lev 13:13  then the priest shall look and see, if the leprosy has covered all his body, he shall pronounce the infected one clean. It has all turned white, he is clean.

Lev 13:14  “But the day raw flesh appears on him, he is unclean.

Lev 13:15  “And the priest shall look at the raw flesh and pronounce him to be unclean – the raw flesh is unclean, it is leprosy.

Lev 13:16  “Or when the raw flesh changes and turns white again, he shall come to the priest.

Lev 13:17  “And the priest shall look at him and see, if the infection has turned white, then the priest shall pronounce the infected one clean, he is clean.

Lev 13:18  “And when the body has a boil in the skin, and it is healed,

Lev 13:19  and in the place of the boil there comes a white swelling or a bright spot, reddish-white, then it shall be seen by the priest.

Lev 13:20  “And the priest shall look and see, if it appears deeper than the skin, and its hair has turned white, the priest shall pronounce him unclean, it is a leprous infection which has broken out of the boil.

Lev 13:21  “But if the priest looks at it and sees no white hairs in it, and it is not deeper than the skin, but has faded, then the priest shall shut him up seven days;

Lev 13:22  and if it has spread further over the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean, it is a leprous infection.

Lev 13:23  “But if the bright spot stays in its place, it has not spread, it is the scar of the boil, and the priest shall pronounce him clean.

The Great Mystery Concerning Tzara’at.

The first aliyah introduces both major themes of this Torah portion viz. Instructions concerning childbirth as well as the skin disease called “tzara’at” or psoriasis. This must not be confused with Hansens disease or leprosy.

Some Hebrew Terms Relating to This Passage:

tzaraas: skin disease (improperly translated as “leprosy” in some Translations)

niddah: someone who is separated or menstruous

tumah: spiritual impurity

metzora: one with a skin disease; a contraction of the Hebrew word motzi and ra meaning “one who speaks slander” ie you want to give the idea that a person is unclean and should be avoided.

The only disease discussed in the Torah that includes laws pertaining to its manifestation and cure is tzara'at. This renders tzara'at the archetypical, all-inclusive disease.

The sage go on to say that Tzara’at, is derived from a lack of humility, from the failure to yield one's own will to the will of one's Creator.

Each 3-letter root in the Hebrew language has six possible permutations. In all the Hebrew language there are only seven 3-letter roots whose six permutations all have meaning.

The Six Permutations of Tzara (Rabbi Ginsberg – Inner.org)

Let us now explore the cycle of images created by the root of tzara'at--tzara (tzadik, reish, ayin):

Root	Word	Meaning
tzadik, reish, ayin	tzara	leprosy
tzadik, ayin, reish	tza'ar	hardship, pain
reish, ayin, tzadik	ra'atz	to smash
reish, tzadik, ayin	ratza	to inflict stripes (by whipping with a strap)
ayin, tzadik, reish	atzar	to halt or rule to prevent anarchic expansion
ayin, reish, tzadik	aratz	to respect (a tyrant) because of his power

When a tzadik suffers, this does not at all interfere with his faith in YHVH. The suffering even enhances his faith, as he is happy with the knowledge that all that happens to him comes from YHVH and is for his ultimate good. This is the origin of his ultimate healing

According to the Talmud, prior to his revelation, the Mashiach is a leper who sits at the gateway of Rome (Western civilization). When this leper is healed, he will transform to the revealed Mashiach.

The quintessential cure for this frustration and disease is the manifestation of the Mashiach, who will bring redemption to the entire world.

This all has a profound application on us today as believers in Moshiach. One of the most significant evidences that we are in Messiah is that we would have experienced the pain of isolation due to our “infections.” We need to understand that as long as our attitudes and behaviour defile others we ourselves are defiled and need “cleansing and separation.”

Many of us have felt the pain of this separation for years and now we realize that this was not for our punishment but for our cleansing and being able to serve as true priests of YHVH.  How can a priest recognize and sympathize with an “infected” person if that priest himself has not experienced the pain and separation caused by his incompleteness and brokenness?

In the coming days of the great tribulation a “prepared priesthood” will be able to minister to those who realize that YHVH has to put his children under ‘quarantine’ for seven days (seven years of tribulation) in order for them to be clean. The bride of Messiah will be without spot or wrinkle.

Ignorance of this instruction can cause great harm to come upon those who are believers in Messiah and seek to be part of the bride of Messiah.

Hos 4:1  Hear the word of יהוה, you children of Yisra’ĕl, for יהוה has a case against the inhabitants of the land: “For there is no truth or kindness or knowledge of Elohim in the land.

Hos 4:6  “My people have perished for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being priest for Me. Since you have forgotten the Torah of your Elohim, I also forget your children.

Aliyah Sheni 13:24-39

Lev 13:24  “Or when the body receives a burn on its skin by fire, and the raw flesh of the burn shall become a bright spot, reddish-white or white,

Lev 13:25  then the priest shall look at it and see, if the hair of the bright spot has turned white, and it appears deeper than the skin, it is leprosy broken out in the burn. And the priest shall pronounce him unclean, it is a leprous infection.

Lev 13:26  “But if the priest looks at it and sees there are no white hairs in the bright spot, and it is not deeper than the skin, but has faded, then the priest shall shut him up seven days.

Lev 13:27  “And the priest shall look at him on the seventh day. If it spreads further over the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean, it is a leprous infection.

Lev 13:28  “But if the bright spot stays in its place, and has not spread on the skin, but has faded, it is a swelling from the burn. And the priest shall pronounce him clean, for it is the scar from the burn.

Lev 13:29  “And when a man, or a woman, has an infection on the head or in the beard,

Lev 13:30  then the priest shall look at the infection and see, if it appears deeper than the skin, and there is thin yellow hair in it, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean, it is an eruption, a leprosy of the head or beard.