Tazria
12:2 When a woman conceives and gives birth to a male
If we can recognise its human form such as when it is an articulated mass of embryonic skin the mother is definitely impure, and if we cannot recognise its form she is impure out of doubt.
In the opinion of the Sages, the embryo is formed from the blood of the female and the white substance (semen) of the man, both of which are referred to as seed, and similarly they said there are three partners involved in the creation of a person. The father seeds the white substance from which the body's sinews, bones and whites of the eyes are formed. The mother seeds the red substance blood from which the skin, flesh, hair and black of the eye are formed. And this is the opinion of doctors regarding conception as well.
But in the opinion of the Greek philosophers the entire body of an embryo is formed from the blood of the woman. There is nothing in the embryo contributed by the man but the force that is known in the Greek language as hule, which enables matter to take on form. for there is no difference between a hen's egg that is produced after having been fertilized by a male and an egg that is born from a hen that rolls in the dirt. Yet the former produces a chick, while the latter is not seeded and does not sprout because the elemental heat that serves as it hule has been withheld from it.
Her affliction {dota} separation
The best explanation for all instances of the word madveh (related to dota) is that it is something like affliction and anguish, As in the verses "my heart is anguished {davai} within me" (Jeremiah 8:18) and "for this our heart was anguished {daveh}" (Lamentations 5:17), which are to be understood "like each man knowing the affliction {negah} of his heart" (Kings I 8:38). Now the flow of menstrual blood is certainly an affliction for a woman even though it is natural for her.
12:4 For thirty-three days she shall remain {teshev} in blood of purity
And it is plausible to say that the expression teshev here is like the related word in the verse "Live{teshvi} with me many days" meaning 'be my wife', for a woman who lies with her husband is called 'living{yoshevet} with him". And since the Torah said regarding the first seven days after childbirth she shall be contaminated for a seven day period, meaning that she is contaminated regarding cohabiting with her husband and regarding touching sacred foods all seven days, it now states that after those seven days she may live (cohabit) with her husband for thirty-three days in blood of purity but still she may not touch anything sacred and she may not enter the sanctuary even if she does not see any blood during those days. And she may "live" with her husband during those days even if she does see blood.
The best explanation in my eyes is that a woman in the days she sees blood is called a niddah (banished) because all people banish her and keep her at a distance and men and women distance themselves from her and she sits in isolation not speaking with people at all, for even her speech was considered by them contaminated and even the dirt on which she treads was considered by them contaminated like the dust of decayed bones of corpse. It is further cautioned through a negative commandment that she should not touch anything sacred and not come to the Sanctuary.
It is the norm that a woman after childbirth discharges blood continuously from the uterus and it is commanded that she wait another thirty-three days 'sitting' {teshev} in her house to clean her body. For during these days she will discharge the remaining blood and the moist and fetid fluid that comes from the remaining blood. Then she will be cleansed "from birth and from the womb and from conception and she may come to the House of God".
And our Sages ob'm received a tradition that she is pure regarding her husband during these thirty-three days because the Torah says regarding the first seven days after childbirth that they are as during the days of her separation-affliction, but regarding the thirty-three days it says only that she is contaminated regarding sacred foods in the sanctuary but not regarding unconsecrated foods and not regarding her husband.
According to the opinion of Rabbi Yishmael, the reason for the doubling of the days of purity and impurity for a female over a male child is that a male embryo is completed in forty-one days after conception while a female is completed in eighty-one days. However according to the sages who said both male and female embryos are completed in 41 days the reason is because the nature of a female is cold and moist and the fluid in the womb of the mother is very abundant and cold and that is why she gave birth to a girl, and therefore the mother requires a greater cleansing on account of the abundance of cold fluids and fetid blood. It is known that it takes a longer time to become cleansed from cold illnesses than from warm ones.
12:7 He shall offer it before Hashem and atone for her and she becomes purified from the source of her blood.
After she has waited the requisite days for cleansing or the number of days of the formation of an embryo for a male or female she brings a ransom for her soul so that her womb (fount) should cease and she become purified, for God heals all flesh and acts wondrously.
Our Sages said when a woman crouches over to give birth she bursts out and swears "I will never have relations with my husband again!" which is why she brings a sin offering. The intention is that since she takes this oath under duress of intense pain and the oath is not capable of being upheld on account of her being under obligation to her husband the Torah wished to atone for her. And the thoughts of God are deep and his mercy is great, for he wishes to make his creatures righteous. In fact no atonement is necessary for violation of a non-binding oath, but in this case God made an exception for He wished to restore the woman to full righteousness.
13:1 Hashem spoke to Moses and to Aaron
In regard to tzaraas, since 'according to the word of the Kohen shall be every grievance and every plague' (Deuteronomy 21:5) the speech of God here was also directed to Aaron. It does not say here to 'Speak to Bnei Israel' because when the Kohanim see those individuals who are contaminated, they will adjure them to enter quarantine for purification.
In regard to the metzora, which is an illness visibly apparent, there is no need to caution Israel nor the Kohen concerning purification to bring the purification offerings or perform all other purification procedures as they would gladly do so of their own accord. But in regard to a person with a discharge {zav}, since such a discharge is by its nature a hidden matter and no one else is aware of it, the Torah adjures the Israelites that everyone should inform the Kohen of his illness.
13:3 And the affliction's appearance is deeper than the skin of the flesh… the Kohen shall... declare him contaminated.
There is a type of white that gives off a brightness and shine into the eyes like the appearance of the sun, and the eye does not fully receive that whiteness and therefore will appear to him as deep relative to the surrounding area like the appearance of sunlight which is deeper than neighbouring shade. It is because the darkness can be seen by the eye whilst the white disrupts the ability to see and seems further removed from it, appearing deep.
So for the white of a baheret, which is bright and strong likes snow, the sight is weakened from it just as it is weakened in a place where there is sunshine. But if there is a dark hair then the faculty of sight will register the darkness and from the dark hair it will spread out throughout the entire area of the affliction.
A s'eis is also white but the whiteness does not shine brightly and it does not weaken the sight, so it can be seen as a person comes close to it and it appears as if it is close to him and elevated similar to the view of the stars which appear raised from the dark sky.
In regard to a burn the Torah teaches that both depth and lowness are signs of contamination for tzaraas of a burn, and cannot be declared pure except when they have no lowness at all and the tzaraas is dim.
Now the Torah desires the purity of Israel in the hygiene of their bodies so it kept this disease at a distance from the outset. For the appearances are not yet full tzaraas, but they lead to it. As doctors say in their books 'for light coloured spots we should be concerned about leprosy because of them'. And therefore the Torah says concerning these spots a tzaraas 'affliction', are not tzaraas itself. But when the signs of contamination are complete after the quarantine "it is tzaraas". The intent is to say that he should declare it contaminated from now because it is an affliction that will definitely lead to tzaraas, and it is therefore appropriate for the afflicted person to be segregated from the people.
An affliction in which the hair does not change to white is merely an unsightly blemish on the skin but not a sore containing fluid that can cause sickness at all.
13:5 And behold the affliction remained in his eyes...
The Torah alludes that the Kohen should judge the spread of the affliction according to what is apparent to his eyes, meaning he does not need to objectively measure the affliction, but is simply based on his perception.
13:6 And behold if the affliction has dimmed and the affliction has not spread on the skin, then the Kohen shall declare him pure…
The meaning of dimmed in the verse is that the affliction has dimmed into one of the other affliction colours, for example from the white of snow to the white of the membrane of an egg, which is still the colour of inflection. But if it has dimmed into a white less than the colour of the afflictions then the tzaraas has already been healed, so there is no affliction and even a spread such as this would not contaminate him at all.
13:10-11 And behold there is a white se'is on the skin and it has changed hair to white and there is healthy, live flesh within the se'is... The Kohen shall declare him contaminated.
Our verse mentions white hair in order to set a minimum size for the healthy flesh, that it must be large enough to contain two white hairs.
13:12-13 If the tzaraas will erupt on the skin, and the tzaraas will cover the entire skin of the affliction from his head to his feet... then he shall declare the affliction to be pure.
It is saying that the original area of the affliction has turned all white and also the entire rest of the body, implying if the entire body has turned white but the original occurrence of the affliction has transformed into a bohak or it healed entirely, the metzora is considered contaminated. It will only be pure if it also continues to cover the area where it first appeared.
13:29-30 A man or a woman in whom there will be an affliction, on the scalp or in the beard... Its appearance is deeper than the skin, and within it is weak, golden hair; the Kohen shall declare him contaminated; it is a nesek.
The scalp or the beard, as long as there is hair within them, do not cause contamination through any of the appearances of afflictions at all. But when a region on the scalp becomes bear and the hair within it falls out from its roots to the point that the region becomes smooth and clear of any hair, and in that region of hair loss grows new hair that is golden and thin, that is a nesek contaminated affliction.
It is called a nesek because the hair has become detached {nitak} from there. It is not just a name but rather what the name implies, that it entails the loss of hair in an area at least the size of a bean. And after the loss of the original natural hair from that region, if this weak, damaged, golden hair grows there it is a sign of contamination, but not when the golden hair developed before the hair loss.
Nesek would be the malady sa'afa in Arabic, also known as "fox disease" (alopecia) and "the snake path" which have remedies. 'Baring' of the scalp is permanent balding and it has no remedy or cure at all.
13:47 If there shall be a tzaraas affliction in a garment, etc
Tzaraas is not found in nature at all, nor does it generally occur in the world. And the same is true for tzaraas afflictions of houses. But when Israel is completely faithful to God, God's spirit will rest upon them constantly and maintain their bodies and their garments and their houses with a good appearance. When an incident of sin or iniquity occurs with one of them, there will appear a discoloration on his flesh or his garment or his home, indicating that the spirit of God has departed from him. This is a strike by God against that house, a supernatural act.
Tzaraas of houses is applicable only in the land of Israel, the 'heritage of God' (Samuel I 26:19). It is not a land related obligation but rather it can only occur in the Chosen Land, in whose midst dwells the Glorious Name (God). A house becomes subject to contamination only after the conquest of the land and it's apportionment among the tribes and when each and every individual knows his portion and his possession. It is only at that point that the Israelites have peace of mind to truly serve and know God and only then his Divine Presence would reside among them. So too concerning the afflictions of garments.
Furthermore, tzaraas afflictions are applicable only to white garments and not coloured garments, as perhaps a defect in the dye brought about the discoloration in a natural manner which is not the finger of God.
13:51 The affliction is a malevolent {mam'eret} tzaraas
Mameret is related to the word m'eyra (curse). Meaning that it is a "curse of God" (Deuteronomy 21:23) in the garment or in the house. Benefit from the garment afflicted is forbidden which is derived from the extraneous language in the verse.
Afflicted stones that were pulverized and made into plaster teach that they have departed from their state of contamination but it is also taught that they have not. The ones who teach the contamination has departed says that they are now permitted for use. But the ones who say they have not departed, they are still forbidden to use as it has a curse on it and you cannot derive any benefit from it. Rabbi Yochanan says anything forbidden for benefit that is required to be burnt, it's ashes are permitted, except for the ashes of idols. Rabbi Chiya objected saying the ashes of the afflicted house did not come about through idolatry and yet the ashes are forbidden? Rabbi Yochanan states that this case is different as here the word "demolition" is also written concerning it (14:45).
