The LORD said to Moses,
"
Say to the Israelites: A woman who becomes pregnant and gives birth to a son will be ceremonially unclean for seven days, just as she is unclean during her monthly period." -
Leviticus 12: 1-2
The
Torah portion for this week is a double reading, Tazria-Metzora, from Leviticus 12:1-15:33. Tazria means "conceived," and Metzora means "diseased." The Haftorah is from 2 Kings 7:3-20.
A man once came to a rabbi and very excitedly explained that he had experienced God and now believed in Him. "One day I was driving down a mountainous road when my bike hit a rock and I flew over a cliff down to my death. As I was falling, I experienced two hands catching me and guiding me gently down to the ground. I came out of the accident without a bruise and so I know that God saved me." The rabbi was unimpressed. He said to the man, "I'm glad that you know who saved you, but did you ever consider who pushed you off?"