[Avodah] Metzorah

[Cantor Wolberg]

The second verse of this portion (14:2) states: "This shall be the law of
the metzora on the day of his purification..." Since the Torah mentions
that his purification takes place during the day, the Sages expound that
the Kohen's declaration, which alone permits the metzora to begin his
purification ritual, may be made only during the day (Rashi; Sifra).

The observance of Taharat Hamishpacha has been a central feature of
Jewish life for millennia. One finds Mikvehs in medieval Spain, in ancient
Italy and in the famed desert outpost of Masada. This is consonant with
Halacha which mandates that even before the town synagogue is built,
a Mikveh must first be established.

The source of the laws of Mikveh and family purity is found in this week's
Torah portion. The Torah commands that when a woman has a menstrual flow,
she and her husband must stay apart from one another. During this period
she is "tameh," a Hebrew term that has been incorrectly translated as
"unclean." In point of fact, the word tameh has nothing to do with
uncleanness. When one is tameh it means that a person has had some
contact with death. In the instance of a menstruating woman, it is the
death of the ovum. Similarly, when a man has had physical relations
(which inevitably involve the death of millions of sperm), he too is
tameh. Implicit in this Biblical tradition is a great sensitivity and
awareness of the natural life cycle.

After a week has passed since the cessation of the woman's menstrual flow,
the woman goes to the Mikveh where she undergoes a "spiritual rebirth."
Various aspects of the Mikveh experience reinforce this notion of
rebirth. The Mikveh itself must have 40 seah of water, the number 40
alluding to the 40th day after conception when the soul of a child
enters the embryo. The woman must have no ornaments or barriers between
herself and the water, for her emerging from the Mikveh is like that of
the newborn leaving the waters of the womb with no ornaments or barriers.

A child is the mirror of the family, he reflects the moral purity of
his parents.
Anonymous