Transcript
Okay, boker tov בוקר טוב boker tov, hope everyone is having a meaningful Yom HaZikaron יום הזיכרון Yom HaZikaron and look forward to anticipating a fantastic celebration of Yom HaAtzmaut יום העצמאות Yom HaAtzmaut.Okay, this week we have the privilege of reading Parshios Tazria פרשיות תזריע Parshios Tazria and Metzora מצורע Metzora. If you like one parsha פרשה parsha, you'll love two. Although maybe not these two, they're a little bit difficult. We'll do our normal practice, which is to review the parsha פרשה parsha broadly and then to get into analyzing and dissecting specific verses. Tazria תזריע Tazria begins, and this is what we're going to continue to analyze this morning, the laws of human contamination, tumah v'taharah טומאה וטהרה tumah v'taharah, what happens with childbirth. When a woman gives birth, her status changes. There are obligation to bring certain sacrifices, why she does so. So that is how the parsha פרשה parsha begins. It then continues, of course, with what is the bulk of Tazria תזריע Tazria and Metzora מצורע Metzora, namely the laws of tzaraas צרעת tzaraas. Tzaraas צרעת Tzaraas are inaccurately often translated as leprosy, but the truth is it's not a dermatological disease, it's not a skin disorder. Tzaraas צרעת Tzaraas is more of a spiritual disorder, which is reflected in the skin. Exactly how to understand what it was, what is comparable to today. You know, some suggest I once read an article, psoriasis, which is a skin disorder, psoriasis sounds like tzaraas צרעת tzaraas, that maybe there's a connection between psoriasis and tzaraas צרעת tzaraas, but the truth is it's unlikely because tzaraas צרעת tzaraas really wasn't something that we would relate to as a dermatological disorder. So in any case, the Torah delineates the laws of tzaraas צרעת tzaraas in great detail, beheres, s'apachas בהרת, ספחת beheres, s'apachas, inflammations, burns, how they appear, what they look like, pimple-like, and it has to be taken to the kohen כהן kohen, and the kohen כהן kohen investigates and determines whether the individual indeed has tzaraas צרעת tzaraas. Only the kohen כהן kohen can make that determination, not anybody else. And if it is determined indeed that the person has tzaraas צרעת tzaraas, then the metzora מצורע metzora is isolated, mi'chutz la'machaneh מחוץ למחנה mi'chutz la'machaneh. They're sent to what's called outside the camp. I'm sorry, I'm sorry for the change of location for those who didn't know where we are. No, no, it's no problem. We're just giving our brief overview of the parsha פרשה parsha. So, those who have tzaraas צרעת tzaraas are considered to are sent into isolation, chutz la'machaneh חוץ למחנה chutz la'machaneh. Indeed, they are listed, the Gemara גמרא Gemara says that there are four people who are considered to be alive even when they are dead, and one of them is the metzora מצורע metzora. It's very interesting, Reb Chaim Shmuelevitz רב חיים שמואלביץ Reb Chaim Shmuelevitz, the former former mashgiach משגיח mashgiach of the Mir Yeshiva ישיבת מיר Mir Yeshiva in Yerushalayim ירושלים Yerushalayim, Reb Chaim Shmuelevitz רב חיים שמואלביץ Reb Chaim Shmuelevitz suggests in a sichos mussar שיחות מוסר sichos mussar that the reason the metzora מצורע metzora is sent mi'chutz la'machaneh מחוץ למחנה mi'chutz la'machaneh, the reason the metzora's מצורע metzora's punishment, the consequence, that he's sent outside the camp and he has to live that way, b'dad yeshev בדד ישב b'dad yeshev, in isolation and alone he lives until he's ready or she're ready to re-enter, is because why does one get tzaraas צרעת tzaraas? What is it the result of? Lashon hara לשון הרע Lashon hara. So lashon hara לשון הרע lashon hara is the most popular reason, the truth is Chazal חז\"ל Chazal gave a number of reasons, but lashon hara לשון הרע lashon hara, speaking ill, gossiping. So what happens, says Reb Chaim Shmuelevitz רב חיים שמואלביץ Reb Chaim Shmuelevitz? When one person gossips about another, you make them feel alone and isolated. They feel totally abandoned, alone in this world. It's lonely. So since a person who gossips essentially leaves others feeling alone, the only rehabilitation for them is to understand what it feels like to feel alone. So they have this visible element, they're sent outside the camp, they live alone until they are healed and can return, says Reb Chaim Shmuelevitz רב חיים שמואלביץ Reb Chaim Shmuelevitz, middah k'neged middah מידה כנגד מידה middah k'neged middah, this is measure for measure, having spoken ill about someone else, having caused someone else to feel alone, they experience loneliness. It's the great middah k'neged middah מידה כנגד מידה middah k'neged middah, it's a great rehabilitation for them to be able to re-enter and use their speech now properly. So that's the remainder of Parshas Tazria פרשת תזריע Parshas Tazria goes through these laws. Tzaraas צרעת Tzaraas of the head and of the face, the garments, we know not only can the skin display this disorder, but so can b'gadim בגדים b'gadim, so can clothing. Not only clothing, but the following parsha פרשה parsha, Metzora מצורע Metzora, then continues that even the house, even the home. In Metzora מצורע Metzora we have the laws of the purification. How does the metzora מצורע metzora rehabilitate and re-enter? And the Torah there delineates, having to shave the head, all the hair, and having to purify, having to bring certain sacrifices, and so on. Then the Torah goes through the laws of tzaraas צרעת tzaraas of the house. What happens if one's house indeed shows this disorder, and the purification, how the house becomes purified. And then at the very end of Metzora מצורע Metzora, we have after we go through all the laws of tzaraas צרעת tzaraas, the impurity caused by this skin disorder, which is the result of speaking lashon hara לשון הרע lashon hara or of arrogance or of jealousy, a number of reasons were given. Then we have other forms of impurity that human beings, other contamination that we experience. The Torah tells us a concept called a zav זב zav and a zava זבה zava and a ba'al keri בעל קרי ba'al keri. A zav זב zav is a discharge. Men have a discharge, it's called a zav זב zav. A woman has a discharge that leaves her with the status of being a zava זבה zava. For men, maybe it's the modern day gonorrhea. For women, it's very hard to distinguish between getting their menstrual flow and being a zava זבה zava. We're not sure exactly the difference, so therefore we treat every woman biblically speaking, actually, the Torah delineates that a woman who's menstruating does not need to keep seven clean days. She needs to count seven days and then she can go to the mikvah מקוה mikvah. Strictly speaking, from the onset of her flow, she counts seven days, and at the end of seven days she's able to go to the mikvah מקוה mikvah, return to be with her husband. Why we've introduced having five days of bleeding and then needing seven days, the seven clean days are actually the laws of being a zava זבה zava. A zava זבה zava, which is a woman who saw a flow for three days or more, needs to have seven clean days, seven days where she confirms that she's no longer has any discharge. So why do we assume that it's a zava זבה zava? So the Gemara גמרא Gemara records in Niddah נידה Niddah, bnos Yisrael hechmiru al atzman בנות ישראל החמירו על עצמן bnos Yisrael hechmiru al atzman that the righteous Jewish women took upon themselves, afilu ro'os tipas dam k'chardal אפילו רואות טיפת דם כחרדל afilu ro'os tipas dam k'chardal, even if they see a drop of blood the size of a mustard seed. In other words, not even a full-fledged flow, but even if a woman were to see just that, that they accepted upon themselves to treat it not as the lenient niddah נידה niddah who needs to go seven days and then the mikvah מקוה mikvah, but as the stringent zava זבה zava who needs seven clean days and then goes to the mikvah מקוה mikvah. So essentially our rules of family purity today are really a great stringency which presume that every woman is not just a niddah נידה niddah, but we're really treating her as a zava זבה zava. Now, lest you think that this was the rabbis who imposed this stringency. First of all, it was unlikely the rabbis would impose that because it's probably more difficult for men having to observe the laws of family purity in most cases than it is women. So those rabbis would be looking for new jobs. But the Gemara גמרא Gemara testifies that it wasn't the rabbis and it wasn't the men. Bnos Yisrael hechmiru al atzman בנות ישראל החמירו על עצמן Bnos Yisrael hechmiru al atzman. It was righteous women who wanted to achieve the highest state of purity and therefore adopted that stringency. So it's at the end of the parshios פרשיות parshios of Tazria תזריע Tazria and Metzora מצורע Metzora, at the end of Metzora מצורע Metzora we're introduced to the laws of a zava זבה zava. You have what's called a zav זב zav, I'm sorry. You have what's called a minor zav זב zav and a major zav זב zav. If a zav זב zav sees one days, then he has to observe the laws of impurity for one day. Two days, two days. Three days, then he becomes a full-fledged zav זב zav. A ba'al keri בעל קרי ba'al keri as well. If a man experiences normal discharge, seminal discharge, then he has the status of being a ba'al keri בעל קרי ba'al keri, which from the Torah also would result in certain rules that a ba'al keri בעל קרי ba'al keri has to go through a purification before he can enter the mikdash מקדש mikdash and have contact with sacred items and so on. Obviously today we don't have a temple and we don't observe the laws of purity and impurity and that's why although there are some righteous men who after being with their wives, experiencing a seminal discharge, will go to the mikvah מקוה mikvah to try to achieve a level of loftiness and purity. So that's how the parsha פרשה parsha ends.The first question that I want to ask before we even get into our topic is why do, why does Tazria תזריע Tazria begin with the laws of childbirth, the woman who has a child? Given the sequence I just described, Tazria תזריע Tazria and Metzora מצורע Metzora overwhelmingly are all about tzaraas צרעת tzaraas, the contamination, the impurity of this skin disorder, a reflection of a spiritual disorder from gossip, from lashon hara לשון הרע lashon hara. It's only at the end of Metzora מצורע Metzora that we have a zav זב zav and a ba'al keri בעל קרי ba'al keri, we have these other forms of impurity. Where would you have expected to find the laws of a yoledet יולדת yoledet, of a woman who gives birth who becomes impure? At the end of Metzora מצורע Metzora. Let Tazria תזריע Tazria and Metzora מצורע Metzora be about tzaraas צרעת tzaraas. At the end of Metzora מצורע Metzora we have then the other forms, namely zav זב zav, zava זבה zava, yoledet יולדת yoledet, ba'al keri בעל קרי ba'al keri, and so on. And yet we find it at the beginning. Parshas Tazria פרשת תזריע Parshas Tazria is introduced with the laws of yoledet יולדת yoledet, the was laws of a woman giving birth. I think in order to understand, to answer that question, we have to understand what is this notion of impurity all about? This is a deviation for a moment, our our class, we go through the text and the meforshim מפרשים meforshim, the commentaries on it, but I just want to give this background because I think it's something which is broadly misunderstood and the misunderstanding has led to a lot of people's cynicism and dismissal of not only this particular area of Torah תורה Torah, but the challenge of embracing all of Torah תורה Torah because of things like this. The notion of impurity, of tumah and taharah טומאה וטהרה tumah and taharah, particularly resulting from these discharges or a woman who's a niddah נידה niddah. Many people mistakenly think it has to do with being dirty. They think it has to do with being soiled. It's not at all. And so they think it's archaic and arcane and old, and what kind of people today in 2012, what kind of modern people just because of basic human function and and bodily fluids think that there's purity, impurity, contamination, that's old and outdated, that's to think of the people as being dirty, a woman who's menstruating is dirty, has to be isolated or has to be distanced. Many people struggle with that and therefore not only reject those laws but reject even broader the Torah תורה Torah because they think it's so outdated. It's not at all what tumah and taharah טומאה וטהרה tumah and taharah are about. Tumah and taharah טומאה וטהרה Tumah and taharah, kedusha קדושה kedusha and tumah טומאה tumah, purity and impurity, sanctity and impurity, are the direct result, this is explained by Reb Hirsch רב הירש Reb Hirsch, it's explained by the Netziv נצי\"ב Netziv by many. Are the are the direct result of the concept of potential. When there's tremendous potential, you have kedusha קדושה kedusha, you have purity. The concept of holiness is the ability to emulate God, to create, the ability to contribute positively to the world, to build, to elevate oneself. The potential to grow, is there a greater sanctity than that? To create, to flourish, to build, to influence, to impact, to grow, to elevate, that's holiness. When the potential becomes unrealized, when the potential is lost, that's impurity. Impurity essentially is almost a minor micro form of mourning for the loss of potential that wasn't realized and now can't be realized. So when a person dies, their body causes tumah טומאה tumah. Contact with a corpse creates impurity because death is the ultimate cessation of or loss of potential. Potential comes to a standstill with death. And when there's discharge of that which had the potential to create, when a man becomes a ba'al keri בעל קרי ba'al keri, when a man has a seminal emission, that is the loss of the potential to create, leaving a state of impurity. And when a woman, what after all is a menstrual flow? The basic biology is, it's not it is the extension of the death of an egg, the bleeding is actually the shedding of the endometrial lining, which becomes thickened with the expectation that a fertilized egg will implant itself. It's actually an incredible mussar מוסר mussar. The the female body is designed, we believe by God, I don't know an atheist would have to believe this was a freak of nature or this is a random and chance. But a the female form is designed with the expectation she will create. That means to say that it's not if the egg is fertilized, then the body takes the further steps to be able to prepare for gestation. The body presumes gestation every month, and then it's unless it's not realized. So when a woman ovulates and an egg is released from an ovary, the expectation is it will be fertilized, she will create, she will bring a new human being, a new soul into the world. And the uterus prepares itself. The lining of the uterus, the endometrial lining, there's tremendous blood flow, it thickens, preparing itself for that fertilized egg to implant itself. And when the egg does not implant itself, the lining sheds and that's the resulting menstruation. The egg is indiscernible, it's microscopic. That doesn't create anything that can be seen. It's the shedding of the lining which does. So every month the expectation is that woman has the ability, obviously with the partnership of her husband, to bring a new human being into the world, a new soul, to have the greatest form of imitatio dei, to imitate and emulate God in the highest level, which is conception. We imitate God in many ways. When we do good, when we visit the sick, when we comfort the mourner, when we clothe the naked, when we give charity, we emulate God all the time we have opportunities. But the greatest and highest way we can emulate God, the closest we can come is to ourselves be part of the process of creation. Now, it's the closest we can come because God did something much greater than we can ever do. God created with no raw materials. Ex nihilo, something from nothing. Anything we create from building a home, you got to go to Home Depot or Lowe's, to creating or bringing a human being into the world, he gave us the ingredients. Not only did he give us the ingredients, he is of course the most important variable. We can mix the ingredients, but whether the mixed ingredients result in a good product, it's up to God whether it's going to work or not. So of course God is a partner, but the closest we can come to imitating God, to emulating God, is to be part of that process of creation. When that is passed up on, which there are many legitimate reasons for it to be passed up on. Judaism accepts birth control when appropriate. Or it's passed up without our own, people trying to have children who it's unsuccessful fertilization, but there is the lack of realization of potential, that's tumah טומאה tumah. That's tumah טומאה tumah. So perhaps in understanding that, we can understand that that's what introduces the parsha פרשה parsha. The concept of the the woman who's a yoledet יולדת yoledet who gives birth, which also results in tumah טומאה tumah, we'll talk about in a moment why, introduces the two parshios פרשיות parshios to tell us that the beginning of every human life is the ultimate potential. When she gives birth to that baby, that baby is an expression of raw potential. That baby is a blank screen. Right? The, what do you call, tabula rasa. I'm trying to use as many fancy words as I know today. I'm throwing them all in. All of my Latin is is is thrown in today. So that that's the ultimate potential, and that's what introduces a parsha פרשה parsha that deals with potential. And by the way, that's what takes us right into tzaraas צרעת tzaraas, because what is tzaraas צרעת tzaraas? It's the result of the human being violating their potential. The greatest gift the human being has is the power of speech. What differentiates us from an animal is our high-level communication. An animal barks or meows, an animal grunts, an animal can understand or somehow communicate. Ask any dog owner, they'll tell you their animal, they know exactly, but the reality is that only human beings have meaningful communication, have articulated communication, have high level, advanced, sophisticated communication. That is why the human being was created. In the beginning of the Torah תורה Torah, when it describes, it says, hakadosh baruch hu הקדוש ברוך הוא hakadosh baruch hu vayipach b'apav nishmas chayim ויפח באפיו נשמת חיים vayipach b'apav nishmas chayim, God breathed into our nostrils the breath of life. Says Unkelos אונקלוס Unkelos, ruach memalela רוח ממללא ruach memalela. He filled us with the ability to speak. The ability to speak. Unkelos אונקלוס Unkelos translates as the breath of life, what differentiates the human being, what makes us categorically different than the animal is our ability to communicate. Is a magnificent insight by the way, what is the basic purpose of our ability to speak? When Adam אדם Adam is created, who is he supposed to speak to? No one's around. Ah, they are around. Who is he supposed to speak to? Hashem השם Hashem. So you see that the core purpose for our power of speech is to speak to Hashem השם Hashem. Ah, I can also use it to speak to my wife and my parents and my kids and you. That's great. But basic purpose of the power of speech is tefillah תפילה tefillah, is to speak to Hashem השם Hashem. So the basic definition of a human being, what differentiates us, what makes us category different, is our ability to speak. That's our potential to create the world. God created a world through speech. Baruch she'amar v'haya ha'olam ברוך שאמר והיה העולם Baruch she'amar v'haya ha'olam. We have the ability to create worlds, to build people, to advance life through speech. When a person uses that power of speech for lashon hara לשון הרע lashon hara, for gossip, and it results in tzaraas צרעת tzaraas, they have violated their very definition of being a human being. We have violated our very potential of what we can do for the world, and therefore, that's tumah טומאה tumah. You become tamei טמא tamei. The loss of potential. What I could have done with that speech, what I could have done with those words becomes tamei טמא tamei. So maybe the yoledet יולדת yoledet introduces the entire parsha פרשה parsha of tumah טומאה tumah because it is the concept of when we bring a new child into the world, that child is the embodiment of potential, and that's what tumah and taharah טומאה וטהרה tumah and taharah are all about. That's what the rest of these parshios פרשיות parshios are about.So, with that, let's look at the psukim פסוקים psukim themselves. According to my copious records, namely a sticky note in my Chumash חומש Chumash, I believe last year we we started and we got up to Pasuk Dalet פסוק ד Pasuk Dalet. So we're up to Pasuk Dalet פסוק ד Pasuk Dalet. The Torah until now describes if a woman, when a woman conceives and gives birth to a boy, she's temeah טמאה temeah, she's impure seven days, like a niddah נידה niddah. On the eighth day is the bris ברית bris. Then brings us up to Pasuk Dalet פסוק ד Pasuk Dalet. U'shloshim yom u'shloshes yamim teshev b'dmei taharah ושלשים יום ושלשת ימים תשב בדמי טהרה U'shloshim yom u'shloshes yamim teshev b'dmei taharah, b'chol kodesh lo siga בכל קודש לא תגע b'chol kodesh lo siga v'el ha'mikdash lo savo ואל המקדש לא תבוא v'el ha'mikdash lo savo ad melos yemei taharah עד מלאת ימי טהרה ad melos yemei taharah. The halacha הלכה halacha is that for 33 days she has the status of being pure. Now, that's amazing because she's bleeding. A woman does not stop bleeding, the afterbirth and the bleeding that continue after childbirth don't stop after seven days. For many, they continue four, five, six weeks and beyond. But she, this is unusual bleeding. Despite her bleeding, says the Torah, seven days, right? The Torah describes, v'tamah shivas yamim kimei nidas d'vosa titma וטמאה שבעת ימים כימי נדת דותה תטמא v'tamah shivas yamim kimei nidas d'vosa titma. She is contaminated for seven days like a normal state of being a niddah נידה niddah. On the eighth day, her son has his bris ברית bris, and the next 33 days, despite the bleeding, she's pure. Now, she's in a very in-between kind of limbo stage. She can't have contact with kodshim קדשים kodshim, with consecrated foods. She can't enter the Beis HaMikdash בית המקדש Beis HaMikdash because while on the one hand, she's not impure, she's yemei taharah ימי טהרה yemei taharah, she's in her days of purity. On the other hand, she hasn't achieved the kaparah כפרה kaparah, she hasn't achieved the full status that would allow her to have contact with kodshim קדשים kodshim and enter the Beis HaMikdash בית המקדש Beis HaMikdash. So when you give birth to a boy, you have 33 days of of taharah טהרה taharah, yemei taharah ימי טהרה yemei taharah, of being tohor טהור tohor even despite seeing blood. V'im nekeva seiled ואם נקבה תלד V'im nekeva seiled continues the Chumash חומש Chumash. And if she gives birth to a daughter, v'tamah shvuayim k'niddasa וטמאה שבעים כנדתה v'tamah shvuayim k'niddasa. So now she's not impure for seven days, if she gives birth to a daughter, she's impure for two weeks, 14 days. V'shishim yom v'sheshes yamim te'shev al d'mei taharah וששים יום וששת ימים תשב על דמי טהרה V'shishim yom v'sheshes yamim te'shev al d'mei taharah. And how long is she pure even if she bleeds? 66 days, basically double for a girl than for a boy. And then at the conclusion of 33 days for a boy or 66 days for a girl, then what happens? Uv'mlos yemei taharah l'ven o l'vas ובמלאת ימי טהרה לבן או לבת Uv'mlos yemei taharah l'ven o l'vas, at the end of her days of purity for a daughter or a son, tavi keves ben shnato l'olah u'ven yonah o sor l'chatas תביא כבש בן שנתו לעולה ובן יונה או תר לחטאת tavi keves ben shnato l'olah u'ven yonah o sor l'chatas. She brings a sheep within its first year of life as a korban olah קרבן עולה korban olah. And she brings a young dove or a turtle dove, a pigeon as a chatas חטאת chatas, as a sin offering, el pesach ohel moed אל פתח אהל מועד el pesach ohel moed, to the entrance of the ohel moed אהל מועד ohel moed. Ve'hikrivo lifnei Hashem והקריבו לפני השם Ve'hikrivo lifnei Hashem, it's offered before God, v'chiper aleha וכיפר עליה v'chiper aleha, it's an atonement for her, v'taharah mimkor dameha וטהרה ממקור דמיה v'taharah mimkor dameha. She becomes purified from all this bleeding. Zos toras hayoledes l'zachar o l'nekeva זאת תורת היולדת לזכר או לנקבה Zos toras hayoledes l'zachar o l'nekeva. These are the laws of a woman who gave birth to a boy or to a girl. V'im lo simtza yadah dei seh, v'lakcha shnei torim o shnei bnei yonah ואם לא תמצא ידה די שה ולקחה שני תורים או שני בני יונה V'im lo simtza yadah dei seh, v'lakcha shnei torim o shnei bnei yonah. If she doesn't have access to a sheep, she could bring two doves or pigeons. Echad l'olah v'echad l'chatas אחד לעולה ואחד לחטאת Echad l'olah v'echad l'chatas. One is the elevation offering, one is a sin offering. V'chiper aleha hakohen v'taharah וכיפר עליה הכהן וטהרה V'chiper aleha hakohen v'taharah. Provides atonement, and she becomes forgiven, pure.Now, we've got to go through. What's the symbolism of these animals? Why the double length for having birthed a girl instead of a boy? What chatas חטאת chatas? What do you mean v'chiper וכיפר v'chiper, atonement? What did she do wrong? She did something very right. Continuity, she brings a new child into the world. It's unbelievable what she's done. The pain that she's suffered, the anguish she experienced, the patience she's displayed to her husband, what's unbelievable. She should be given a medal of honor. She has to bring a korban chatas קרבן חטאת korban chatas. These are the questions that we have to examine together. So, first of all, why the double, why the double amount of time? Because the girl has the potential to create. Oh, exactly. So given our explanation of the notion of tumah and taharah טומאה וטהרה tumah and taharah, potential and cessation or lack of potential, when a woman carries a boy, when she's giving birth to a son, so she's it's one potential represented. But her daughter also has a womb. And when she carries a daughter, the daughter herself has the potential. So therefore, if she, once she gives birth to the daughter, there's a dual cessation of potential. Her own, she's no longer imitating God and creating because she's now given birth, she's completed the process, and her daughter who herself was the had potential because this baby girl also has a womb and the potential for potential. So, it's a loss not not of potential in the sense like a niddah נידה niddah that there's an egg which is unfertilized. It's I shouldn't say the loss of potential, it's the end of imitating God. It's a separation. For nine months, it's the experience of imitating God. Nine months a woman walks around and she says, 'Look at me, I am the greatest imitation of God that exists in our world. I am creating.' In my womb is the birth of a new world, the world incomplete. Right? Every child that's born is an entire world. Every person that dies or is to save a life is to save a world. So for nine months this woman walks around and she says, 'Look at me, I am the greatest imitation of God available.' She doesn't likely say look at me or want anyone to look at her, and hopes that no one will look at her. And it doesn't go for nine months, it goes for four and five months as little as possible as long as she can delay. But she is the greatest symbol of potential, of imitation of God. Once she's given birth, she just goes back to being a woman. She goes back to being like any human being, like anybody who, it's noble, but she's imitating God in another way. If she's breastfeeding, now she's nourishing that child, just like God feeds us, just like God nourishes us, she's nourishing. It's amazing. I was having a great conversation with my daughter, I was driving last week, and on the radio it was after these controversial remarks were made in which a certain political spokesperson dismissed Ann Romney as, 'She's never worked a day in her life.' And the whole controversy over whether if you're a stay-at-home mom, you've ever worked. So, it was, you know, I used it as an opportunity to have a conversation with my oldest daughter, and we were talking about, is it work to stay at home, not work to stay at home? And she said, you know, well, just to show my daughter has been born into a world of modernity, 'How did it she said, how did it ever become the standard or the default or the assumption that the husband is the breadwinner and the mother stays at home raising kids? Why can't the father stay at home raising the kids and the mom be out be the breadwinner?' And then, of course, we had the conversation that said in some scenarios they do, and there's nothing wrong if that's the decision between the two. And financially, in many cases, both the husband and wife do need to work, and it's all, there's nothing that that prescribes specifically what needs to be done, but I explained that the Torah תורה Torah and a very traditional view is that women have, doesn't mean there aren't exceptions to every rule, just like you could say on the whole men are taller than women. Does that mean you won't find a very tall woman who's taller than most men? You do, but the rule still is true. So so too, women on the whole are much more nurturing and nourishing than men. And that's not only true psychologically or emotionally, it's true biologically, as I said to her. I always told her, I said, 'I've always been jealous of your mother with each of these children. She gets to carry out the experience of you kicking and turning inside, knows what it's like to to to carry from a millimeter fertilized egg to the birth of a fully developed, incredible human being. And then spends afterwards time directly using her body to nourish and nurture and feed you, to sustain and give you life itself to keep you going. That's unbelievable. Men don't have that capacity.' So just like biologically the female form was designed to nourish and nurture, more than the male form, and that's undeniable, nobody could debate that, so so too, psychologically that's that's many people assume true as well. It doesn't mean that you can't have exceptions to the rule. Anyway, we got to have this this fascinating conversation. So, the in a certain way, it's actually the praise. The fact that there's a double length of purity and then of, I'm sorry, double length of first impurity then purity for the for a girl than for a boy is a admiration for the fact that when the woman carries the daughter, there's not only her potential, her imitate having imitated God, but her daughter's potential to imitate God. And the fact that both of those have now come to a completion, to an end of their term, literally the end of her term, she's given birth, and her daughter's potential is no longer carried within her, the dual potential, the potential now for her grandchildren. So that is why she has the the double length. Interestingly, the, if you look at the Ramban רמב\"ן Ramban. The Ramban רמב\"ן Ramban quotes another reason. If you look, the Ramban רמב\"ן Ramban has a lengthy comment here on Pasuk Dalet פסוק ד Pasuk Dalet, on the word teshev תשב teshev. What does it mean teshev b'dmei taharah תשב בדמי טהרה teshev b'dmei taharah? She sits the days of her taharah טהרה taharah. That's not normally sitting. We describe niddah נידה niddah as being sitting because you're kind of passive during that period, you're not as active, so you're sitting. So teshev תשב teshev is a language for being a niddah נידה niddah, and here we've just described something which is being tohor טהור tohor, you're pure. The Ramban רמב\"ן Ramban, Rashi רש\"י Rashi struggles with it, the Ramban רמב\"ן Ramban is struggling with it. And they answer essentially that teshev תשב teshev reflects that even during her time of taharah טהרה taharah that she's pure, she's in this limbo in between stage. On the one hand, she's pure. On the other hand, she can't eat kodshim קדשים kodshim or go into the Beis HaMikdash בית המקדש Beis HaMikdash because she's not has achieved her full level of kaparah כפרה kaparah. But at the end of this comment, if you look at the last paragraph of this comment of the Ramban רמב\"ן Ramban, the Ramban רמב\"ן Ramban says, v'taama keifel b'nekeva וטעמא כפל בנקבה v'taama keifel b'nekeva. Why is it a double length for a girl? O k'divrei Rabbi Avraham al daas Rabbi Yishmael כדברי רבי אברהם על דעת רבי ישמעאל O k'divrei Rabbi Avraham al daas Rabbi Yishmael, he quotes the Ibn Ezra אבן עזרא Ibn Ezra who quotes Rabbi Yishmael רבי ישמעאל Rabbi Yishmael from the Gemara גמרא Gemara, shama sheha'zachar nigmar l'arba'im yom v'echad yom, v'hanekeva l'shmonim v'echad שמה שהזכר נגמר לארבעים יום ואחד והנקבה לשמונים ואחד shama sheha'zachar nigmar l'arba'im yom v'echad yom, v'hanekeva l'shmonim v'echad. Interesting. He says, when is the completion of the male form in gestation? When a woman becomes pregnant, when is it, ha'zachar nigmar הזכר נגמר ha'zachar nigmar, the man is complete at 40 days, the 41st day, and the girl the 81st day. Aval al daas Chachamim she'amru, echad zachar v'echad nekeva l'arba'im v'echad אבל על דעת חכמים שאמרו, אחד זכר ואחד נקבה לארבעים ואחד Aval al daas Chachamim she'amru, echad zachar v'echad nekeva l'arba'im v'echad. That was the opinion of Rabbi Yishmael רבי ישמעאל Rabbi Yishmael. Rabbi Yishmael רבי ישמעאל Rabbi Yishmael was the the opinion, and it probably reflected his contemporary understanding, that the male form became complete 41 days after gestation after conception, and the female form 81 days. In fact, and the Chachamim חכמים Chachamim disagree, the Ramban רמב\"ן Ramban continues, aval al daas Chachamim she'amru echad zachar v'echad nekeva l'arba'im yom אבל על דעת חכמים שאמרו אחד זכר ואחד נקבה לארבעים יום aval al daas Chachamim she'amru echad zachar v'echad nekeva l'arba'im yom. Men and women are both the 41st day. Men and women are both the 41st. That 40th day, therefore, takes on great significance in הלכה Halacha. It means to say that it becomes a human being distinguished as a boy or a girl on day 41. Day 40. Therefore the גמרא Gemara concludes, the גמרא Gemara in יבמות Yevamos, it says, עד ארבעין מאי בעלמא היא ad arba'in maya b'alma hi. We, and this has a lot of consequences, it's not our topic for today, abortion, stem cell research and other, until 40 days after conception, for the first 40 days of conception, it's simply embryonic fluid.Does that mean it's not a life? Can a woman have an abortion before day 40? Is the the morning after pill therefore permissible in Jewish law because it's only מיא בעלמא maya b'alma, it's only gestational fluid, it's not yet life? It's a complicated topic for another time. Because even though we only view it as מיא בעלמא maya b'alma, gestational fluid, we view it also as potential life. And הלכה Halacha says, not only are we not allowed to destroy life, we're not allowed to destroy potential life. So a fertilized egg, even though for the first 40 days, does not yet have the status of life, it has the status of potential life, which we are also forbidden from ending, though our rules will be much more lenient. If the so there are many more היתירם heterim in the first 40 days than there would be at later stages of pregnancy. In fact, this is consistent by the way with medicine. Do you know that one-third of pregnancies end in miscarriage? Many people don't realize how high that number is. One-third of all pregnancies end in miscarriage. That means to say that there are many women who've had miscarriages who didn't even know they were pregnant. Because they thought they had a heavy flow. They thought it was just a heavy menstrual period. They didn't even realize that they were pregnant. One-third of pregnancies end in in miscarriage. Because it's מיא בעלמא maya b'alma. Those first 40 days, it's embryonic fluid. It doesn't yet have life. So the משנה Mishna, the גמרא Gemara, the משנה Mishna and גמרא Gemara in נידה Niddah, elaborate on this and say that has a lot of consequences in הלכה Halacha. For example, the משנה Mishna says, המפלת ליום ארבעים אינה חוששת לולד Hamapeles l'yom arba'im, eina chosheshes l'vlad. If a woman has a miscarriage before 40 days, do these laws apply to her? Purity and impurity, seven days, 14 days, 33 days, 66 days? No, because it wasn't a child. No. It doesn't apply because the first 40 days it wasn't yet a life. It wasn't a child.Only from the 41st day and on, does she have to sit. By the way, today, if a woman has a miscarriage, we tell her she can't go to the מקווה mikvah if it's early enough on that you don't know if it was a boy or a girl, before day 14. Now, it's unlikely she'd be able to go anyway because she's going to bleed more days than that. But even if somehow she had a D&C that removed most of the blood that she didn't bleed, she wouldn't be able because we'd have to say since we don't know if it's a boy or a girl, you have to be strict that maybe it was a girl and you can't go before day 14. So that part of the הלכה Halacha remains relevant even until today. There's many other consequences to this 40-day barrier. For example, if a woman had a miscarriage before day 40, and then she was pregnant and had a healthy son, would that child be the בכור bechor? So if it's before day 40 she had the miscarriage, then absolutely, she was never pregnant. If it was after day 40, then she was pregnant, and that child is not the בכור bechor, even though he doesn't have an older sibling, his mother had been pregnant. And you know, would there be a פדיון הבן pidyon haben for him? and so on. It depends, was it before day 40, or was it after day 40? I'll tell you another interesting thing. The גמרא בברכות Gemara in Brachos says, the גמרא בברכות Gemara in Brachos says, you have until 40 days after conception to דאווען daven for it to be a boy or a girl. 40 days and on, it's determined, the גמרא Gemara says it'd be a תפילת שווא tefilas shav. It is a wasted prayer, because you're דאווענען davening for a miracle. At day 40, it's already been determined if it's a boy or a girl, and therefore you're דאווענען davening for a miracle. We don't דאווען daven for miracles. By the way, that's the בבלי Bavli. I dug up a ירושלמי Yerushalmi, it's not popularly known, who says you can דאווען daven throughout the pregnancy because since it's not known to us, now this was before the time obviously of ultrasound, so therefore it's not a revealed miracle you're דאווענען davening for. And just like the famous story of רחל and לאה Rachel and Leah, where רחל Rachel דאווענ'ט davened and therefore was reversed, and I'm sorry, לאה Leah דאווענ'ט davened. רחל Rachel didn't have a son, so it was reversed and so on. The in utero, this transfer that took place miraculously. The ירושלמי Yerushalmi says you can continue to דאווען daven. But that's another consequence of this 40-day mark. That at 40 days it's determined and therefore you cannot continue to דאווען daven. By the way, science today says that's not true, 40 days. Because whether it's a boy or a girl is determined at the moment of conception. The chromosomes, the integration of the sperm and the egg at the moment of conception, will determine by chromosome whether it will be. But I read in a science textbook a few years ago, that might be true in terms of the chromosomal determination, but the actual genitalia only are formed, interestingly, science says when? The 40th day. So, not a coincidence, I'm sure. So maybe that also means to say that for those 40 days it wouldn't be a miracle to change, even if the chromosomes were determined at the moment of conception. There isn't the the genitalia aren't determined, the external genitalia aren't determined at that point, and therefore there would still be the possibility to change. Just hold your questions one more point. So the משנה Mishna in Niddah continues and says, רבי ישמעאל אומר Rebbe Yishmael omer, this is what the רמב\"ן Ramban was referencing. יום ארבעים ואחד תשב לזכר ולנקבה Yom arba'im v'echad teshev l'zachar v'linkeivah. If she miscarried on the 41st day following conception, she observes the laws of a male. יום שמונים ואחד Yom shmonim v'echad, if she miscarried on the 81st day, she sits לזכר ולנקבה ולנדה l'zachar v'linkeivah u'l'niddah, observes the laws of a male, a female, and a נידה niddah. Why? שהזכר נגמר לארבעים ואחד והנקבה לשמונים ואחד Shehazachar nigmar l'arba'im v'echad v'hanekeivah l'shmonim echad. The basic form of a male is completed on the 41st day, and the basic form of a female on the 81st day. That was the opinion of רבי ישמעאל Rebbe Yishmael. חכמים אומרים אחד בריאת הזכר ואחד בריאת הנקבה זה וזה ארבעים ואחד Chachamim omrim, echad bri'as hazachar v'echad bri'as hanekeivah, zeh v'zeh arba'im v'echad. Which again, is our assumption. Now I'll tell you something fascinating. Aristotle in his De Historia Animalium, I totally butchered that as well. Aristotle in one of his works declares the male fetus is endowed with a rational soul on the 40th day, and the female on the 80th day of distinction. Isn't that interesting? That Aristotle writes that? This distinction corresponds to the respective periods of impurity that we have in our פרשה parsha, but also follows רבי ישמעאל Rebbe Yishmael. Aristotle פסק'ן pasken like רבי ישמעאל Rebbe Yishmael, not like the חכמים chachamim. We assume, of course, the חכמים chachamim to be more correct. Aristotle's representation of animation as occurring on the 40th or 80th day, depending on the sex of the fetus, was later incorporated into both canon and Justinian law. Interesting. 40th and 80th day. So you see Aristotle, it's consistent with what רבי ישמעאל Rebbe Yishmael thought in the in the משנה Mishna and it later made its way into these different, into these different law systems. Could have gotten it from us. Yeah. Sure. There's no question about it. No question about it. Okay, so that's in terms of the lengths of time. It's in terms of the the double for the law for the birth of a daughter more than for a son, and it is this concept of this concept of טומאה וטהרה tumah v'taharah.Okay, continuing. Continuing. The בעל הטורים Ba'al HaTurim makes a comment on פסוק ו' pasuk vav, verse 6. It says ובמלאות ימי טהרה uvimlos yemei taharah, and when she completes it, now we have the process of her purifying herself. So תביא כבש בן שנתו tavi keves ben shnaso, she brings this sheep and she brings dove and pigeons. Now interestingly, the פסוק pasuk says ובן יונה או תור לחטאת u'ven yonah o tor l'chatas, verse 6, right? She brings a, a dove or a turtle dove as her חטאת chatas, as her sin offering. So the בעל הטורים Ba'al HaTurim notes, בכל מקום מקדים תור לבן יונה חוץ מכאן b'chol makom makdim tor l'ven yonah chutz mikan. Everywhere else in the Torah where the individual brings turtle doves and doves, it always says turtle doves first. It always says תור tor before יונה yonah. Yet in our פסוק pasuk it says she brings a יונה yonah or a תור tor. Why? So answers the בעל הטורים Ba'al HaTurim an incredible message. לפי שאינה מביאה אלא אחד lefishe'eina mevia ela echad. Because everywhere else in the Torah you bring two, but here you're only bringing one. ואם ימצא יונה לא יקח תור לפי שבן זוגו מתאבל עליו ואינו מזדווג לאחר V'im yimtza yonah, lo yikach tor, lefi she'ben zugo mis'abel alav, v'eino mizdaveg l'acher. There's an amazing characteristic about a תור tor, about a turtle dove, that doesn't exist with other species of animals, and that is an incredible loyalty between the male and female turtle dove, male and female תור tor. Therefore, says the בעל הטורים Ba'al HaTurim, the Torah is trying to teach us in the singular, if you find a יונה yonah, if you find a dove, bring the dove. It's not either a יונה yonah or a תור tor whichever you find first. Look for a יונה yonah, try to avoid having to bring a תור tor. Why? Because if you bring that תור tor, you're separating it from its spouse. And that will cause an incredible pain for the spouse, who will be מתאבל עליו mis'abel alav, she will mourn for him, ואינו מזדווג לאחר v'eino mizdaveg l'acher and she'll never remarry. That's the level of loyalty between those birds. So the בעל הטורים Ba'al HaTurim says this law is cultivating and refining within us a sensitivity and an admiration to those who practice the character trait of loyalty. It's an amazing statement of the בעל הטורים Ba'al HaTurim. It's an incredible בעל הטורים Ba'al HaTurim. רב שמחה זיסל ברוידא Rav Simcha Zissel Broide, the אלטער Alter of קלם Kelm, the my friend points out, says two insights from this בעל הטורים Ba'al HaTurim. First, we see how sensitive the Torah is to the feelings of the pigeons and doves. So we can imagine how sensitive we have to be to the feelings of human beings. If this is the Torah's level of sensitivity that it mandates to these birds, then all the more so the sensitivity we have to show to others. And secondly, that the Torah appreciates loyalty. Loyalty is a Jewish value, being loyal. So the loyalty of the תור tor, of the pigeon, is rewarded by our trying to avoid separating the male and female pigeon from one another. Loyalty is something that we we value, it's something that we emulate. And my friend goes on to point out that the רמב\"ן Ramban elsewhere also has this, has this concept. Very interesting comment of the בעל הטורים Ba'al HaTurim. Okay, continuing. Now, why does this woman need כפרה kaparah? What did she do wrong that she needs to have כפרה kaparah?So, the רמב\"ן Ramban has a famous comment here on פסוק ז' pasuk zayin. Right? Verse 7 said she brings these animals before God. One of them is a קרבן חטאת korban chatas, a sin offering, one is a קרבן עולה korban olah. וכפר עליה v'chiper aleha, I forgot to mention one other thing. The רב דוד צבי הופמן Rav Dovid Tzvi Hoffman says that really the man really when she's pregnant with either a boy or a girl, it should be the same length. Namely, 14 days of impurity and 66 days then of purity. Why is it adjusted for the man? Because of the ברית bris. So that she could be pure at her son's ברית bris, we we lessen the length for the boy that if she gave birth to a boy, we say only seven days, which means by definition she'll be pure at her son's ברית bris. There's a sensitivity. Maybe R' Dovid Tzvi Hoffman got that the ראשונים Rishonim already explain why is the ברית bris on the eighth day? To give the woman the opportunity to recover, you want her to be fully present and participating in the ברית bris. Because, ah, let her be in the hospital. Ah, let her be at home. We'll go have a party without her. The Torah has a sensitivity. No, of course, she put in all the work. She should be at her son's ברית bris. There was an interesting study made, this is years ago, about the, the level of vitamin K which is coagulating factor was the highest on the on the eighth day also. Yeah. Yeah, very interesting. Okay, so the רמב\"ן Ramban in a famous commentary on פסוק ז' pasuk zayin says, יום שתקריב כפר נפשה לפני השם שתצילנה ממקור דמיה כי אשה בלידתה תהיה לה עולם מים יורפס ומקור משחת. ויהי אחר עמדה בימי ניקיון או בימי יצירת הולד זכר ונקבה. תביא כפר נפשה שיעמוד מקורה ותטהר Yom shetakriv kofair nafsheha lifnei Hashem, shetatzileha mimkor dameha, ki isha b'leidatah tihiyeh lah olam, mayim yirpas u'makor mushchas. Vayehi achar amda b'yemei nikayon, o b'yemei yetziras havlad zachar u'nekeivah, tavi kofair nafsheha she'ya'amod mekora v'tithare. כי השם יתברך הוא רופא כל בשר ומפליא לעשות Ki Hashem yisbarach hu rofeh kol basar u'mafli la'asos. First thing he says why she's bringing this קרבן korban of כפרה kaparah is, she experienced a miracle. Her womb was ultimately abused and destroyed during this birthing process. Right? The the female body during birth is, it's it's literally life-threatening. A woman benches גומל gomel after giving birth. She has experienced a life-threatening experience. All the rules of someone whose life is threatened, violating שבת Shabbos, suspending the laws of שבת Shabbos, and so on. And and physically, in modern medicine as well, we treat a woman in childbirth. She's in a moment of trauma, essentially. It's a moment of trauma. And her body afterwards looks like it's just been through trauma. Her her uterus takes a while to restore itself, her body to go back to normal, to heal itself. So when it does, at the end of 33 or 66 days, says the רמב\"ן Ramban, she brings this קרבן korban, כי השם יתברך הוא רופא כל בשר ומפליא לעשות Ki Hashem yisbarach hu rofeh kol basar u'mafli la'asos, to acknowledge and to thank God who is the great healer, who has allowed her to reheal. Right after giving birth, she thinks, oh my god, this my body, I'll never be the same again. The fact that she can go back to being the same, please God, is an amazing miracle. She acknowledges and thanks God for that miracle. That's why she brings, benches גומל gomel. In fact, we have today, it's brought down in the משנה ברורה Mishnah Berurah and the באר הלכה Be'er Halacha and others, that the first time she's able to go back to שול shul following having given birth, her husband is entitled to an עליה aliyah. It's one of the קדימות k'dimos, it's one of in the hierarchy of who gets an עליה aliyah, even above a יארצייט yahrzeit, is a man whose wife is first time back in shul after having given birth. It's the modern equivalent of this קרבן korban, of this benching גומל gomel. She benches גומל gomel also as when she comes back because that's the miracle. She's been in a life-threatening situation, she has she has survived trauma, crisis, and she therefore thanks השם Hashem. Also has another interesting... Is a woman allowed to electively schedule her birth? In הלכה Halacha, are you allowed to? If it's if it's medically mandated, indicated, then of course, 100%. If the doctor feels the fluid is low, the time is come, absolutely, there's not a hesitation. But let's say she says, my second daughter was born on January 2nd of the year 2000. She missed being a millennial baby by two hours. It was Saturday night, all Shabbos I think she was in labor, Saturday night at like 2 in the morning she gave birth, otherwise she would have been a millennial baby. So you know that on any of these dates that people get excited about, there's a mad rush. They want their baby to have a certain birthday. They want their baby, they want their scheduling it around someone's vacation. Are you allowed to electively induce to be able to get a certain birthday or to be born in a certain month? It's the end of December, you want the tax deduction, so you want to induce to get that baby in before the new year. Is it permissible? So the הלכה Halacha says no. Why? Many do it. Again, if the doctor indicates it, then of course it's allowed. But for these elective reasons, it's not, it's not appropriate. Why? So one interesting reason, the שו\"ת באר משה Shu\"t Be'er Moshe, Rav Moshe Stern, the Debrecener Rav, he says, you ready for this? ביטול תורה bittel Torah. ביטול תורה Bittel Torah. What's the ביטול תורה bittel Torah? The husband's not going to be in the בית מדרש beis medrash, he's got to take his wife to give birth? No. What's the baby doing in the womb? Learning with the מלאך malach. So let it let the learning continue until God says it's time for the חברותא chavrusa to end. You're going to electively induce, it's ביטול תורה bittel Torah he writes. The the other reason brought down, more mainstream reason in שו\"ת shu\"t is that when a woman is in labor, it's in a life-threatening situation. It's פיקוח נפש pikuach nefesh. You can't choose to go into a פיקוח נפש pikuach nefesh situation. So to choose when to be induced is to try to play God and put her into a life-threatening situation with the assumption that God's going to save her life. When God puts her into the life-threatening situation called childbirth, that's appropriate. Nothing we do about, that's that's the way it's supposed to happen. But to and and if the doctor says we need to put her into the life-threatening situation because it's appropriate medically, that's that's appropriate. But to electively do it to get a certain birthday or the tax deduction, we're not allowed to put into a life-threatening situation. So the רמב\"ן Ramban continues. So that was number one. The reason you're bringing one קרבן korban is you're thanking God, having survived this life-threatening situation. Second reason of the רמב\"ן Ramban, this is one of the great comments that people love to quote. רבינו אומר בשעת שחורשת לילד קופצת ונשבעת שלא אזדקק עוד לבעלי Rabbeinu omer b'shaas shechoreshes leileid, kofetzes v'nishbas shelo ezdakek od l'ba'ali. At the moment she's having contractions, you know what she's screaming? She's screaming bloody murder at her husband. You low-life jerk, ממזר mamzer, no good אויסוואָרף oisvorf, I can't believe you did this to me. You put this me in this situation, you're putting me through this pain. And she swears, she takes an oath, I will never be with you again. We're done. I'm never sleeping with you again because I'm not going through this pain again. Literally, that's what the רמב\"ן Ramban writes, literally. והעיקר הכוונה בזה כי בעבור שנשבעת מתוך הצער V'ha'ikar hakavanah b'zeh, ki ba'avur she'nishba'as mitoch hatza'ar, since she's swearing, taking an oath as a result of the pain, שאינה שבועה ראויה להתקיים היותה מיושבת בדעתה לבעלה she'eina shvuah re'uyah l'hiskayem, heyosah meyusheves b'da'atah l'ba'alah, this is not a realistic oath. She's not divorcing her husband. רצתה התורה לכפר לה מעלות רוחה Ratzsa haTorah l'chaper lah ma'alos rucha. So the Torah is giving her the out, saying, don't worry, this is standard, we know the pain you were going through, you didn't mean it, we're giving you the out. ומחשבת השם יתברך עמוקות ורחמיו מרובים שרוצה להצדיק בריותיו U'machsheves Hashem yisbarach amukos v'rachamav merubim, she'rotzeh l'hatzdik b'riyosav. God is very deep, all-knowing, compassionate. So God kind of gives this universal קרבן korban so that they don't have to go into marriage counseling after the childbirth. השם Hashem says every woman who's given birth offers a sacrifice because every woman who's given birth is cursing out her husband and swearing she'll never be with him again. So God builds into the system the out as a result. And that's why she has to bring a קרבן חטאת korban chatas, a sin offering, for the sin of having cursed out her husband, denigrated him, dismissed him, condemned him, criticized him, and absolutely beaten the gejeebies out of him in the labor room. That is the opinion of the רמב\"ן Ramban. The כלי יקר Kli Yakar of Luntshitz and in פסוק ח' pasuk ches also comments on this. Writes the כלי יקר Kli Yakar, כפרה זוהי עון הקדום של חוה שגרם לצער הלידה ומתוך צערה אולי תטיח דברים כלפי מעלה לאמר אם כן למה זה אנוכי הרי עמל ויסורים Kaparah zu hi avon hakadum shel Chava, she'garam l'tza'ar ha'leida, u'mitoch tza'arah ulai tatich devarim klapei ma'alah leimor, im kein lamah zeh anochi, harei amal v'yisurin. So he says you know what the כפרה kaparah is for? חוה Chava. Why is she in in pain to begin with? Because חטא עץ הדעת chet eitz hada'as. When חוה Chava encouraged, persuaded אדם Adam to eat from the עץ הדעת eitz hada'as, it was all her fault. It was her fault. Of course, it all just traced back to a woman. It's all her fault. So since she persuaded her husband to eat, so he had his punishment, we have our punishment, we work. The woman's punishment was the pain of childbirth. Some actually believe that that's why women should give birth naturally, because since God gave that as the כפרה kaparah for women as a result of חוה Chava's action, it would be wrong to use drugs. You know I once heard, you know what the בוקא boka, the version, the בוקא boka definition of natural childbirth is? Giving birth without your makeup on. That's natural, the בוקא boka natural childbirth. So the woman gives birth, my wife asks for an epidural the second she sees the second line on the pregnancy test, she's ready to go for the epidural. But when she gave birth in Israel to my first daughter, she was born in Shaare Zedek hospital, and there was a labor coach, a very frum woman, a very righteous woman, she tried to persuade my wife that it should be natural, and it's a כפרה kaparah for women and for your family, and it'll be beautiful for her. And uh she tried to get worked deep into the labor trying to get past the point of no return where you can't get the, but the חבר'ה chevreh would not have any of it. So, so the כלי יקר Kli Yakar says, you know what the וכפר עליה v'chiper aleha, the כפרה kaparah is? Because the כפרה kaparah for all women for the חטא chet of חוה Chava. And that while she was in childbirth, she too was swearing כלפי מעלה klapei ma'alah at השם Hashem. Why me? What did I go through this for? What was the point of this? והראיה ממה שנאמר וטהרה ממקור דמיה וממקור פתוח לחטאת ולנדה כי הוא גרם לכל זה והיינו עון חוה כאמור V'hare'ayah mima shene'emar v'taharah mimkor dameha, u'mikor pasuach l'chatas u'l'niddah, ki hu garam l'chol zeh, v'haynu avon Chava ka'amur. And the evidence is, the כלי יקר Kli Yakar is that the verse attributes her need for atonement to ממקור דמיה mimkor dameha. ממקור דמיה Mimkor dameha means from her very feminine core, namely that which she had in common with חוה Chava. And then the כלי יקר Kli Yakar continues by giving the same explanation of the רמב\"ן Ramban and goes on. I want to give a third possibility. There's an amazing מדרש midrash in the מדרש רבה Midrash Rabbah. The מדרש רבה Midrash Rabbah in ויקרא Vayikra writes the following. אשה כי תזריע Isha ki sazria, when a woman gives birth. And the מדרש midrash says this is a reference to the פסוק pasuk הן בעוון חוללתי hein b'avon cholalti, in my iniquity, רבי אחא אמר Rebbe Acha amar, so רבי אחא Rebbe Acha teaches the following. Listen to this. אפילו אם הוא חסיד שבחסידים אי אפשר שלא יהא לו צד אחד מעון Afilu im hu chassid she'b'chassidim, i efshar shelo yeheh lo tzad echad mei'avon. Even if you're the most righteous person in the world, it's not possible to have some taste of iniquity. אמר דוד לפני הקדוש ברוך הוא Amar David lifnei Hakadosh Baruch Hu, דוד המלך David Hamelech said before God, ריבונו של עולם Ribono shel Olam, master of the universe. כלום נתכוון אבא ישי להעמידני ולא נתכוון אלא להנאתו Klum niskaven Abba Yishai l'ha'amideni v'lo niskaven ela l'hana'aso. He says, my father, at the moment he was with my mother when he was conceiving me, was he thinking I want to have an incredible son who will write the book of תהילים Tehillim, a great תלמיד חכם talmid chacham, a warrior of the Jewish people? He was thinking להנאתו l'hana'aso. He was thinking this feels good. I I have a libido. I'm interested in this. It's an unbelievable מדרש midrash. תדע שהוא כן שמהאחר שעשו צרכיהן זה הופך פניו לכאן וזה הופך פניו לכאן Teida shehu kein, sheme'achar she'asu tzorcheihen, zeh hofech panav l'chan v'zeh hofech panav l'chan. After they finished, my mother and father, they each turn their faces in opposite directions. ואתה מכנס כל טיפה וטיפה שיש בו V'atah mechnes kol tipah v'tipah she'yesh bo. You God were the one who formed me. My parents had a fun night. My parents had a little לחיים l'chaim, had a nice drink, dimmed the lights and had a fun time, and were concerned with having a beautiful evening of pleasure. You God were the one who brought me into existence. Unbelievable the מדרש midrash. והוא שדוד אמר v'hu she'David amar, and that's what David meant when he said, כי אבי ואמי עזבוני והשם יאספני ki avi v'imi azavuni v'Hashem ya'asfeini. What we say for the whole month of אלול Elul. My father and mother have forsaken me, you God gather me in. That my father and mother they weren't trying to bring me, I'm just the result of their party. You God were the one who brought me in. אמר רבי ברכיה ברבי אבא אין האשה כורתת אלא אחר נידתה ובסמוך לוסתה שנאמר וטהרה ממקור דמיה Amar Rabbi Berachya b'rabbi Abba, ein ha'isha koretes ela achar niddasah, u'v'samuch l'vistah, shene'emar v'taharah mimkor dameha, אשה כי תזריע וילדה זכר isha ki sazria v'yaldah zachar. So maybe the כפרה kaparah is after the birth of the child, it's thanking God for the fact that the child's birth is the result of our pleasure, of our having felt good, but it's God who is the one who actually makes it happen. רבי יעקב עמדין Rabbi Yaakov Emden, the great רבי יעקב עמדין Rabbi Yaakov Emden writes in his, in one of his ספרים sfarim, I think مور וקציעה Mor u'Ketziah, that this is the reason why there's no ברכה bracha recited before intimacy. If the principle of the גמרא Gemara is that you have to make a ברכה bracha before you have pleasure, that every time you have what the Torah calls הנאה hana'ah, or what the גמרא Gemara calls הנאה hana'ah, you have to thank השם Hashem. If you don't if you get הנאה hana'ah. So when you make a, when you eat a pleasurable food, you make a ברכה bracha before and say thank you. When you smell a pleasant fragrance, you make a ברכה bracha and you say thank you. So why before intimacy don't you make a ברכה bracha? Aside from the fact that the whole modesty issue. So, the רבי יעקב עמדין Rabbi Yaakov Emden writes this מדרש midrash because since we're the reason we're experiencing the intimacy is our own הנאה hana'ah. Every human being can't help but at least feel some הנאה hana'ah, drive for הנאה hana'ah, in engaging in that act. And therefore, since it's not entirely pure and noble, that's why no ברכה bracha is recited beforehand. Anyway, other reasons could be given also, that you can't make a ברכה bracha, it might be a ברכה לבטלה bracha l'vatala. What if it can't be completed, not consummated? Maybe with the invention of modern medicine, little blue pills, maybe today the ברכה bracha should be in... but in any case that's why there's no ברכה bracha. ברכה אחרונה Bracha Acharona. Some maybe want to bench גומל gomel. You know, different, whatever the case may be. I can't believe I'm gonna put this on the internet. I'm in big trouble. People are still listening at the end of this class. In any case, have a fantastic שבת Shabbos, a meaningful יום הזכרון Yom HaZikaron and a wonderful יום העצמאות Yom Ha'atzmaut.
