Leviticus 12:1-13:59, Tazria, “Conceive” or “Give Seed”
In this week’s Torah portion, we start out with a summary of the commandments surrounding childbirth. In addition to the obvious commandment of circumcision of male children on the 8th day, there are other differences between what Hashem puts forth in regard to the commandments surrounding childbirth dependent upon the child’s sex. In the case of a male child, the mother will be unclean for 7 days, and then remain in a place of purification for another thirty-three days. In the case of a female child, she will be unclean for two weeks, and remain in a place of purification for another sixty-six days. In either case, at the end of the purification period she is to bring a burnt offering and a sin offering to the priest. The priest is to offer up the sacrifices and make atonement for her at which time she will be “cleansed form the flow of her blood”.
The next chapter focuses entirely on leprosy. In this, we are given a detailed protocol on how the priests are to evaluate a person who might have leprosy, what they are to do with that person during the investigative period (lasting up to several weeks), what they are to do when the leprosy is confirmed, what they are to do if the concern over leprosy is proven false, and how to purify a person who had leprosy but was healed of it.
Verse 13:11 is a bit confusing. It reads “it is a chronic leprosy on the skin of his body, and the priest shall pronounce him unclean; he shall not isolate him, for he is unclean.” (NASB)
At first glance we might think that for some reason, in this particular case, the person is to no longer be required to live in harmony with what is put forth in verses 13:45-46 where we read “As for the leper who has the infection, his clothes shall be torn, and the hair of his head shall be uncovered, and he shall cover his mustache and cry, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’ “He shall remain unclean all the days during which he has the infection; he is unclean. He shall live alone; his dwelling shall be outside the camp.” (NASB)
However, on a deeper reading, I am seeing these two scriptures working in harmony with each other. Verses 13:1-45 are all focused on the time period of evaluation. During the evaluation period the person whose leprosy is in question is to be put into or remain “isolated”. I am understanding this to mean “isolated within the camp” as they have not been proven to have leprosy. This is more of the form of being “quarantined”. Once the leprosy has been proven, then the person is to be moved from “isolation” or “quarantine” within the camp, to “living alone” outside the camp in accordance with verse 13:46. In this, the person who has been proven to have leprosy will no longer be allowed to “live in isolation” within the camp but be forced to abide by what is put forth in 13:46.
Seeing this led me into a concept that is allowing me to tie these two chapters together in a way that I previously did not see. Here is what I am seeing:
Let’s imagine for a moment that we were alive back in the days when the priesthood was active and acting in harmony with God’s instructions. Let’s imagine that we are one of the priests and one of our fiends had a sore and needed to be evaluated for leprosy. He was brought to us and, based on what is outlined, we could not determine if he did or did not have leprosy. As such, we put him into “isolation” for seven days where at the end of the seven days he would be brought back for further evaluation. Now, let’s take the case of another friend. This second friend comes to us just like the first. But in this case, there is no doubt about it. He has leprosy. In this case, we are not to put him into isolation but to treat him in accordance with 13:45-46 because he has been proven to have leprosy.
Now, we have to put ourselves in the position of the priest who has two friends. The second friend could easily argue that the other friend might have leprosy too and that the “isolation” within the camp is adequate for protecting others from the spread of the disease. Afterall, if “isolation” wasn’t adequate, then God certainly wouldn’t have allowed it during the investigative process. Right? How hard would it be to make a good friend go through the formal relocation to the outskirts of town? To force them to live alone? To tear their clothing, uncover their head, cover their mustache, and tell them that they must cry “Unclean! Unclean!” throughout the days that they remain infected?
In cases like this we can so easily start forming opinions about God, about His commandments, and about His love. It is so easy to rationalize that these commandments were based on some human understanding of the spread of disease, are pointless, or even evil. We can do the same for last week’s readings on the food laws, about this week’s reading on the purification laws surrounding child birth, and about countless other statutes and ordinances provided by Him. Questions of what is fair, too hard, or what just doesn’t make sense can easily get in the way of our embracing His ways with our full heart, mind, soul, and strength.
In this case, it is important to understand things from a Hebraic perspective. I would argue that Hebraic thinking looks at God as always loving and always in control. From this perspective, Hebraic thinking is foundationally rooted in seeing things from a spiritual perspective that always ties back to a loving father who is interacting in our lives in a way that fully expresses how deeply He loves us.
This mindset sets a foundation for approaching Him from a perspective of asking Him to reveal to us the deep love and potential grace surrounding all of what He has given us in His Word and all the circumstances of our lives. In the case of leprosy, it has been concluded by the sages, that it is considered to be a spiritual curse brought about through evil speech.
From a Hebraic perspective this is nothing short of love. Hashem gives, and Hashem can take away. In other words, leprosy serves a very important role in leading the person who has it into a place of repentance, transformation, and healing. The physical healing comes through the course of the spiritual healing brought about through a dying to sin and true repentance.
Forcing the person to live outside town, alone, and to verbally speak of their own “uncleanliness” might just be a critical part of leading that person into seeing the error of their own actions. Afterall, when we talk about other people, can’t that lead to their being isolated from others and looked upon in a way that they might find embarrassing at the least? If leprosy truly is given or allowed by Hashem as a direct connection to His attempts to freeing us from a pattern of evil speech, what better ramification could there be then to put us into the same position that our actions caused in the life of another? Wouldn’t this be the best way to help us see the errors of our ways, to lead us into repentance, and to be set free from a life of broken relationships and damaging the reputation of others? After all, are we not to “love our neighbor as we love ourselves”?
The point is, there are many things that Hashem outlines in His statutes and judgments that under first consideration might sound unfair, outdated, pointless, or even evil. For some people, it is very easy to look at some of the commandments and attach words like “ritual” to those things that don’t seem to make sense in this physical world. In so doing, they become wise in their own estimations and shut down any communication in that regard with the Holy Spirit.
I would argue that all of what Hashem has provided has deep and profound spiritual implications, that nothing is simply ritual, and that everything that He has defined as life is in fact life. I trust that everything that He has defined as death simply is death. I trust that He is a loving father and that what He has given has been given in love. In so doing, I trust that there is a reason that when a woman gives birth to a male child, she will remain in a place of impurity for thirty-three days and that if she gives birth to a female child, she will remain in that place of impurity for sixty-six days. I know that Yeshua has replaced the priesthood and the sacrificial system for this time period that we are currently in. As such, we can not walk in the fullness of these ordinances as they are written. However, maybe there is something we should be meditating on that Hashem has for us in these commandments that we don’t fully understand. Maybe there is something that we need to consider and that the Holy Spirit will reveal. In other words, every thing should be looked at as a “seed”, something being “conceived” by the creator whereby new life will be born. Afterall, isn’t this really all about dying to death? About birth? About new life?
What I do know is this: If we make the assumption that these things do not apply to us in any form, that they are simply rituals attached to the physical temple and a physical priesthood, we shut the door for the Holy Spirit to reveal something deeper and more profound into our understanding. At the same time, if we trust that Hashem provided these instructions for a purpose, that the purpose might have some validity in our lives today, and that if we seek a deeper understanding, He will provide the understanding we seek. After all, in Jeremiah 33:3 we are told “Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.” (NASB).
I think the important thing to realize in all this is that when we approach life from this perspective, we must be careful not to expect that spiritual growth will lead to physical change. One of my favorite expressions is this: I seek where Hashem is intending to grow or transform me through the circumstances of life. I know that in the process of change I will draw closer to Him and in and through this I will grow in my ability to be His disciple. This is enough. If the physical manifestations that led to this growth change for the better it is simply a bonus. Nothing else. The physical changes are never the goal of change. The goal of change is simply the growth, my relationship with Him, and to become more in harmony with the man that He created me to be.
I pray that this has been a blessing to you, that you have discovered a few new perspectives, and that in and through this your approach to life will forever be changed in a way that will grow you in your relationship with Him, His Word, and others. Amen Amen.
