definition: ייטב בעיניב : approved
definition: תזריע : conceive
definition: יָלְרָה : give birth
definition: יִמול בשׂר ערלתו : The flesh of his foreskin share be circumcised
Laws of human contamination
We have proceeded from the laws of contamination טומאה of dead animals, to the laws of contamination טומאה from human beings, starting with the birth of the child, where it all begins. (Ibn Ezra to v. 2) NOTE: be-in(g) - be-(g)-in
Childbirth and purification
The creation of life is the most sublime phenomenon in the universe. However, the mere fact of life is not enough. It must be a tool for the service of G-d; otherwise it is nothing. The mere absence of contamination is not yet the fulfilment of man’s goal. Human aspiration must rise higher than the elimination of the negative; it must strive for positive achievement.
One is not completely cleansed until one has come to the resting place of God’s Presence with an offering that represents atonement for the past, and dedication to the future. Note: Where the future is the process, constrained by your past, occurring in the present, by which your future will be shaped.
n12:2-5]
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Male : 41 days
- 7d - טָֽמְאָה → same as נִדָה, impurity; דוֹתה, infirmity => מי נדת דוֹתה תִטמא
- 8d - ברית מילה → יִמּ֖וֹל בְּשַׂ֥ר עׇרְלָתֽוֹ
- 33d - בדמי טהרה - blood of purity => blood purification
- not to touch anything sacred;
- not to enter the temple מקדשׁ
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Female: 80 days
- 14d - טָֽמְאָה
- 66d - בדמי טהרה
n12:6 Two offerings, a sin offering (חטאה) – a lamb – and an elevation offering (לעולה) – a pigeon or a turtledove (וּבֶן־יוֹנָ֥ה אוֹ־תֹ֖ר) .
These offerings and rituals symbolise that birth inaugurates the beginnings of… the child’s life. There are offerings for the child, for what the child may become. We have the two paths stretching before us till the end of our lives. The path of sin and the path of elevation.
The hope is that he will dedicate himself to a life of holiness and not to have to punish him for having chosen the path of sin. In the hope of cleansing him of any sins that he might have brought with him into this world, we offer the sin offering. For the privilege of raising the child to a life of dedication and holiness, the elevation offering is offered.
Chapter 13
Tzara’ath
[!note] The unknown affliction.
What if it was a bacteria that has since disappeared? The only contradiction would be when someone turned completely white, they would be looked at as pure, and could only be contaminated if healthy skin appeared.
That would still leave us with the conclusion that today it would still be interpreted as a spiritual blemish. Perhaps if we acknowledge the connection between the physical and the mental/spiritual, there would be less debate in this area. If one accepted that bacteria exist, and only become bothersome when the conditions for the sprouting arise. In that case, one could make a good argument for it being a behaviour that is causing this problem to manifest. For instance, speaking evil of others.
The rabbi’s say: The pattern that emerges is that it is a Divine retribution for the offender’s failure to feel the needs and share the hurt of others. G-d rebukes this anti-social behaviour by isolating him from society, so that he can experience the pain he has imposed on others—and heal himself though repentance.
[!note] Meat-skin
The mark was to appear on his skin, or literally on the skin of his meat שׁעור־בשׂרו. Adam had a “skin” of light אור. Now we, his descendants from his fall, have skins עור, covering our nakedness. The above could also be translated as his “meat-skin”
ָAnd here is the list of unknown diseases referred to in the text: שְׁאת, סַבפַּחַת, בַחֶרֶת, מִסְפַּחַת, נֶתֶק, בוהק
End
67 verses => mnemonic בַנֵיה : בן from בונה - build: children are the builders of the future