Parashat Tazria: Conception, Childbirth and Ritual Purity

(1) (2) אשה כי תזריע IF A WOMAN HAVE CONCEIVED SEED — R. Simlai said: Even as the formation of man took place after that of every cattle, beast and fowl when the world was created, so, too, the law regarding him is set forth after the law regarding cattle, beast and fowl (contained in the previous chapter) (Leviticus Rabbah 14:1).,כי תזריע — These words are superfluous, כי ילדה would suffice — they mean literally, ”if she brings forth seed” and are employed to include the case that if she gave birth to him (the male child) as a pulpy mass which had dissolved, having become liquified like seed, even then its mother becomes unclean as though it were a normal birth (Niddah 27b).

(1) When a woman conceives After completing the laws of ritually pure and ritually impure food, Scripture now discusses ritual impurity among people, beginning with the law of the new mother, because birth is a beginning. Many people claim that when a woman releases her egg before the man releases his sperm, she will give birth to a boy; and they cite this verse, pointing out “When a woman conceives…and gives birth to a boy”. The sages of Greece are of this opinion — that the woman contains the seed, while the man’s sperm is a congealing agent, and that children are congealed from the blood of the woman.

(2) conceives literally, “yields seed” because in her reproductive function she resembles the Earth [Genesis 1:11]. The vav of she will become impure is like the f of Arabic [comment on 11:45]. The reason for her seven days of ritual impurity is that we wait for her to enter the next lunar quarter (we also find, in the course of an illness, that changes are seen after every seven days).

Regarding the plain meaning of "tazria", the [Sages] said 'when a woman produces seed and gives birth to a male,' means that if the woman emits seed first, she gives birth to a male (Niddah 31a). Their intent was not to say that an embryo grows from the seed of the woman. Although a woman has testes like the testes of a man, either seed is not produced in them at all or the seed does not contribute to the embryo. Rather, when the Sages said "the woman produces seed" they were speaking of the blood of the uterus that collects at the completion of sexual intercourse and attaches itself to the seed of the male for, in the opinion [of the Sages] the embryo is formed from the [red] blood of the female and the white [semen] of the man and the two of them they called "seed". So, also, did they say that there are three partners in the making of a person, the father contributes the white substance from which comes sinews, bones and the whites of the eyes, the mother contributes the red substance from which the skin, flesh, hair and the black of the eyes come (Niddah 31a). This is also the opinion of doctors regarding conception. In the opinion of the Greek philosophers, however, the entirety of the form of the embryo comes from the blood of the woman. [In their view], nothing comes from the man except the force, known in their language as "hule," that gives matter form.

(1) בדמי טהרה, blood which is not the result of menstruation. There are two separate origins within a woman’s body from which blood emerges at different times. The blood which emerges during the thirty three days mentioned does not confer impurity. In fact it is part of the healing process.

(1) אשה כי תזריע וילדה זכר, the sages in Niddah 31 explain the term תזריע in our verse as “when a woman experiences her orgasm before her male partner the child born from such a union will be a male. The perception underlying this is that the woman’s “seed” is the moisture which she excretes from time to time at the time she engages in physical union with her partner does not enter into the formation of a male embryo. Her “semen” is active in suppressing the effect of the man’s semen. But her blood enters the semen of the male it moistens and provides addition impetus to the man’s semen,

(3) כימי נדת דותה תטמא AS IN THE DAYS OF THE SEPARATION FOR HER IMPURITY SHALL SHE BECOME RITUALLY IMPURE — With regard to the regulation of every ritual impurity which is mentioned in the case of a נדה does she become ritually impure with respect to the impurity resulting from child-birth — even though the womb opened without any issue of blood (cf. Niddah 21a).

(1) תשב — The word תשב signifies here “remaining”, just as in (Deuteronomy 1:46) “And ye stayed (ותשבו) at Kadesh”, and (Genesis 13:18) “and he stayed (‎‎‎וישב) in the Plain of Mamre”

(2) בדמי טהרה IN THE BLOOD OF PURIFICATION — Even though she see an issue of blood, she is nevertheless ritually pure.

(1) Although the heh of her ritual purity should be pronounced as a sign of the third person feminine singular, it is silent and imperceptible, like the heh in “he called her Novaḥ” [Numbers 32:42]. the blood of her ritual purity It is blood of ritual purity (in contrast to blood of separation) and it does not render ritually impure. For a male child, God decreed the number of days required to complete his form in the womb. It has been clearly proven that a female child takes twice this amount of time.

Rashi says that the word תשב in verse 4 is only an expression of "remaining" as is found at Deuteronomy 1:46 and Genesis 13:18. If so, Scripture provides that the birth mother must wait further for 33 days, not touching anything sacred or entering the Mishkan even though these days are "days of purity" with regard to her husband. This is the meaning of "in the blood of purity". Scripture uses this expression of "remaining" to inform that even if she does not see blood during these 33 days, she still remains ritually impure with regard to the sacred and the Mishkan. We could also maintain that the expression "תשב" is here like its use in Hosea 3:3 (וָאֹמַ֣ר אֵלֶ֗יהָ יָמִ֤ים רַבִּים֙ תֵּ֣שְׁבִי לִ֔'׃ (Hos. 3:3 WTT)("and I stipulated with her, "In return, you are to go a long time ...."(Hos. 3:3 TNK). For a woman who lies with her husband is referred to as "living with him." Since Scripture states that, regarding the first seven days "she shall be ritually impure seven days; she shall be impure as at the time of her menstrual infirmity," this means that she is ritually impure during the entirety of this seven day time period with regard to her husband and sacred things. After those seven days, however, she "lives" with her husband for 33 days in "blood of purity" even though she still may not touch the sacred nor enter the Mishkan even if she does not see blood. Furthermore, she may "live" with her husband even if she does see blood....God decreed that, for the birth of a male, the days of ritual impurity will be determined by the number of days it takes for the completion of the male form in the womb, which is doubled for the female. This matter is well known and proven....The reason for the doubling for the birth of a girl, according to Rabbi Ibn Ezra, follows the opinion of Rabbi Yishmael, who said that the male embryo is completed in 41 days after conception while the female embryo is completed 81 days after conception (Niddah 30a). According to the opinion of the Sages, however, both the male and the female embryo are completed after 41 days. The reason for the difference is because the nature of the female is cold and moist, and the fluid in the womb of the mother is abundant and cold, as a result, she gave birth to a girl, therefore she needs needs a major cleansing because of the abundance of fluid and the foul blood and on account of their coldness. It is known that one needs a longer time to become cleansed from illnesses of cold than from illnesses of warmth.

The students of Rabbi Shimon ben Yohi asked: Why does the Torah say a new mother should bring sacrifice? He answered: When she is giving birth—lit. in the hour when she is kneeling in childbirth—she swears not to have intercourse with her husband Therefore, the Torah prescribes she bring a sacrifice. Rabbi Yosef objected to this. The woman intentionally violates her oath and the matter of atonement depends on regret for taking the oath. Furthermore, she should bring the sacrifice for a violating an oath, [not a bird]. Why did the Torah ordain that in the case of giving birth to a male a woman may have sex with her husband after seven days but, in the case of the birth a female, a woman may have sex after 14 days? Because, with the birth of a male, all rejoice, and she regrets her oath after 7 days but, on the birth of a girl, about which all are distressed, she regrets her oath after 14 days. Why does the Torah ordain circumcision on the eighth day? So that all do not rejoice when his father and mother are distressed.

According to Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai, a woman who gives birth is a sinner (for vowing an oath she will not keep). How can we respond? When a woman who gives birth brings a sacrifice, she does it to become permitted to eat of the sacred offerings. She does not bring it to atone for sin. Rabbi Ashi said that we have also learned this from the Mishnah: A woman who is obligated to bring a bird sacrifice of doubt, and she observes Yom Kippur is still obligated to bring the sacrifice after Yom Kippur for it makes it fitting for her to eat of the sacrificial offerings (i.e., the sacrifice is not about atonement for sin).

(2) Another possibility for "when a woman gives seed...."....Rabbi Levi said three noteworthy things. It is the way of the world that if a person secretly entrusts a friend with a purse of silver and he publicly returns to him a pound of gold, does he not offer gratitude? So it is with the Holy One of Blessing; living creatures privately give God a drop of moisture and the Holy One of Blessing publicly returns to them completed and praise-worthy souls. Is this not praiseworthy? This is the meaning of "I will make my opinions widely known; to my Maker I will ascribe righteousness (Job 36:3)." Rabbi Levi also added another saying: It is the way of the world that if a person is confined to a prison without anyone to look after them, and someone comes and lights a lamp for them in that place, he will offer gratitude. So it is with the Holy One of Blessing. When the embryo lives within its mother, God provides a light for it in that place, as Job said: "O that I were as in months gone by, in the days when God watched over me, when God's lamp shone over my head, when I walked in the dark by its light (Job 29:2-3." Is this not praiseworthy? This is what it means to say "to my Maker I will ascribe righteousness. Reish Lakish (?) would add, is it not the way of the world that, when a person in confined to prison and there is not one to look after them, that when someone comes along to prepare them and take them out from that place, do they not offer gratitude? So it is with the embryo living within its mother, the Holy One of Blessing comes and prepares them and takes them from there.

(1) Were it not for the tradition, who would explain to us whether a yearling meant exactly one year old, or less than one year old, or greater than one year old [cf. comment on 23:12]? Some people have suggested the reason for the burnt-offering of a lamb: perhaps, in her great distress, an evil thought entered her mind during childbirth. As for the sin-offering, perhaps she uttered it out loud.