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Our Torah portion this week, Parashat Tazria, begins with a somewhat perplexing statement about the situation of a mother directly after having given birth to new life, a baby boy or girl. She is told that, for a certain brief period of time, she should be separated from the rest of the community.
Our first reaction to this notion will most likely be to take offense. Why would this be the case? Are we to understand that there is something problematic about a woman after childbirth which would cause her to need to spend some time in isolation? This, on the surface, would appear to be a misogynistic notion which, unfortunately, is something that we do encounter at times in our ancient literature.
However, as modern egalitarian Jews we can attempt to interpret our texts in ways which make sense to us today and, hopefully, bring meaning and value to our lives.
Certainly, giving birth is a challenging and exhausting experience from which many women require time to heal and to recover. It may not be easy to interact with the outside world as usual in the days immediately following giving birth. It might be that a short stage of quiet time, outside the public eye, could benefit many women as they recover from the process of childbirth. Perhaps this may be a reason why the Torah suggests that a woman should not interact with people outside of her family for several days after giving birth.
Whether we are comfortable or not with the Torah's instructions in this area, what certainly can be agreed upon is that creating offspring is one of the greatest commandments which can be fulfilled by a human being. Every single mother is worthy of much praise for carrying a child in her womb and allowing all human life to thrive from generation to generation.
Shabbat Shalom!
Cantor Zachary Konigsberg
cantorzkonigsberg@gmail.com
917-696-0749
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