When Heaven Kisses Earth: The Pain and Miracle of Child Birth - Parsha Tazria - By Rabbi YY Jacobson

Good evening. Where heaven kisses earth. The pain and the miracle of childbirth. Tonight, I must say I'm going to talk about something I am absolutely clueless about. You know they tell the anecdote about this woman who was in the midst of giving birth. It was a complicated and difficult labor. And her husband is pacing in the hallway of the hospital back and forth breathing heavily, stressed out. And the nurse comes out of the room and turns to him and says, "Sir, congratulations. Your wife just gave birth to a beautiful baby girl." And the man says, "Ah, thank God. She will never have to go through what I just went through." Yes, in this area many of us men are absolutely clueless. And I do in advance of the class have to ask forgiveness from the distinguished women who are watching and listening to this class for discussing this topic and yet I think that the sources that we will be exploring this evening give us tremendous insight and inspiration into this theme of the pain and the miracle of childbirth. One of the most adventurous and fascinating things I find in the study of Torah and the teaching of Torah is how often what seem like inconsequential small details upon deeper reflection give us tremendous profound insight. This too was included in the request of David King David in the book of Tehillim. Gal Einai Va'abita Neifla'osaicha. Expose my eyes and let me gaze at the wonders of your Torah. And tonight we want to explore one of these wonders. The opening of the portion of Tazria discusses childbirth. A woman the Torah says Isha Ki Tazria V'Yalda Zachar A woman gives birth to a child. If she gives birth to a son she experiences tumah impurity for 7 days and we will discuss soon what this means impurity. Why she impure for 7 days? If she gives birth to a girl she experiences this form of tumah impurity for 14 days. Following this state of impurity, she counts another 33 days in the case of a son or another 66 days in the case of a daughter. These days are known as Yemei Tahara, Yemei Torah, days of purity. Although there's still a flow of blood, this blood is considered pure. Following which on the 30 on the 33 days with a son together with seven first seven days is 40, 66 days after the birth of a girl together with the first 14 days it's 80. Following which on the 41st day after the birth of a son or on the 81st day following the birth of a girl, a daughter. In the times of the temple, the woman would bring an offering, a sacrifice. Please bring up source number one. Right below the video, you have a PDF document, a curriculum. And let us look at source number one. Uveim mal'ah yemei taharah leven o levas, when the days of purity are filled for the son or the daughter, tavi keves ben shnaso le'olah uven yonah o tor lechatas. The woman has to bring not one offering, but two offerings. A lamb one year old as an olah, as an elevation offering, which is completely consumed on the flames of the altar. And uven yonah a young dove or a turtledove, a tor, as a sin offering, which we will also explain soon. Al pesach el adonai el hakohain, to the door of the sanctuary, to the priest who sacrifices these two offerings, the lamb as the elevation offering and the young dove or the turtle dove as a sin offering. Ve'im lo They say the Torah continues. What happens if the woman does not have the means to purchase a sheep, a lamb? Then she should purchase two turtle doves or two young doves. Instead of a lamb and a young dove or turtle dove, let her bring two birds. One as an elevation offering, an oil offering, one as a sin offering. And the cohen will sacrifice these offerings and atone for her and she becomes completely pure. Now, before we study and explore the big topics here. What are these sacrifices for? Why is she impure? What is going on here? Let's go into one detail. There's an interesting rashi here. Source number two. Rashi Rabbeinu Yitzchaki, the great biblical commentator, writes, and I quote, bring up source number two in your curriculum. The woman has to bring two sacrifices, one is a oila and one is a chatas. These were two different forms of sacrifices in the temple. As I said, the oila was burnt completely on the altar, the chatas not. So, she brings either a lamb for an oila and a young dove or turtle dove for a chatas, or if she doesn't have the financial means, she brings two birds for both of these offerings. The Torah prefaces the oila offering only as far as reading. But the actual sacrifice, the chatas precedes the oila. This we have learned in Gamorah and tractate the 10th chapter page 98 that with the Gamorah proves that in all instances of sacrifices of a person brought two offerings, one was a sin offering and one was an elevation offering, the coin always offered first the and then the island. I hear in the offerings brought by a mother who gave birth, the Torah says first island then so Rashi says the Gamorah says that's only crawl. It's only the way it's read. The Torah tells us first we learn first about the island, but in practicality what was actually sacrificed first not the island. We learn first about the island. We read first about it, but in actuality the was sacrificed first. Now let's understand this. Why? What's the logic here? If the Jewish law wants us to sacrifice the before the island, the dove comes before the lamb or the dove of the comes before the dove of the island, so why does the Torah say island first? Now there is an opinion in and the opinion of who explains what does mean? To be marked to consecrate it. An animal wasn't just offered in the temple first. The person bringing it had to designate it as sacred. So coin says that the reason the Torah says island before is cuz the woman had to consecrate the island before the she designated first the island offering and then the offering. And then when she brought it to the temple the was actually sacrificed first. New then we can understand, but this is not Rashi's opinion. Rashi's opinion is that it's only read this way. And Tosafos himself itself asks questions to refute Chaim Kanievsky. If so, why does the ola say before the chatas? And even according to Chaim Kanievsky, what is the logic that you have to consecrate and designate the ola before the chatas if you're going to sacrifice the chatas first? Another question. According to Rashi's opinion that we only read the ola first, why is this the only place it happens? In all of the locations in the Torah where there's a discussion of the chatas offering and the ola offering, it always says you bring the chatas and then you bring the ola. Why? Because that was the system in all sacrifices. Whenever these two were brought, the chatas preceded the ola. Here, too, the chatas preceded the ola. So, why in this location from all places does the Torah decide that here we're going to learn about the ola before the chatas? What's the message here? What's the logic here? Why try to um make we we Why create a situation where you can easily misunderstand the reality and just get stuck in the process? You want the chatas to come before the ola, so say it. Why this change right here in the offering brought by a yayledet by a mother who gave birth? In order to understand this, we first have to understand why is she bringing a sin offering. A carbon chatas literally means a offering for a transgression, for a sin, for a violation. When a person sins, transgresses, the Torah discusses in the portion of Vayikra they bring a chatas offering. What type of transgressions? Usually very serious violations, very serious sins. What type of sin has the woman committed? I could understand why she brings an elevation offering, an oil the safer writes it was an expression of gratitude. Childbirth is not easy. Even today, certainly in ancient times, we know how difficult it was and how many children didn't survive. And how many mothers didn't survive. This woman survived, she gave birth to a baby. It's now 40 days later, it's more than a month later or it's it's 80 days later. She's bringing an offering an oil to acknowledge, to express gratitude, to say thank you. That's what the safer says. The Bible also says this. I can understand that. But why the sin offering? On the contrary, this woman just fulfilled the first mitzvah, the first commandment in the whole Torah, prove or vu to bring a new generation of children into the world, to create a tomorrow. If this is a sin, having a baby, then tell me my friends, what is a mitzvah? It reminds me of the story. It was once the holy master of the gents went for Tashlich. He went to the water as the Jewish custom is to throw the sins into the water. As he went down near the water and he did the prayers and they threw the sins into the water and they threw the bread into the water. So as the rebbe started to leave, a chassid went jumping into the water. So the holy rebbe of Dzients says, "What are you doing?" He says, "I went to gather the rebbe's sins, to take some of the rebbe's sins home with me. I don't mind having some of these sins. If this is a sin, having a baby, so then these are sins you want to embrace. What type of offering for a sin is this? What type of carbon? This is a good question. The Gamara asked the question. The Talmud asked this question. Bring The students asked their great teacher Rabbi Shimon the son of Yochai. Why does the Torah demand a woman who gave birth to bring an offering? A mile ahead he responded to them. When the woman kneels to give birth, she jumps up and takes an oath. She swears that she will never have relations again with her husband. The pain is so excruciating. She swears never again. The camera title to have a carbon. So the Torah says let her bring an offering. So to speak to atone for this oath that she's going that she took. That she swore that she's never going to do it again. She'll never want to be in a relationship if this is what it can lead to the pain of of childbirth. Now, this answer which I'm sure when you call you gives is very difficult to understand. Does it make sense to make a blanket statement about every woman who gives birth that she makes this oath and therefore obligate every woman to bring a sin offering? Some women make the oath. Some think it. Some don't. I mean it depends on the person. It depends on the circumstances. It depends on the labor. It depends on the character of the woman. It It depends on so many different characteristics and details. How can believe that the Torah just makes a statement every single woman, no exception, who gives birth a son or a daughter, at the end has to bring a sin offering. Besides the fact, what type of oath does this woman make when she's in the middle of labor pains? What is it? An official oath with God's name? Perhaps a thought comes into her mind, perhaps an emotion overwhelms her, perhaps she screams, she says something. Is this really called an official oath that requires a sin offering? And besides, the Gemara, the Talmud itself asks a few questions on Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai's explanation. And interestingly, the Talmud doesn't respond to the questions. Talmud doesn't say it's a good question, it's a bad question. The Talmud doesn't answer the questions. The Talmud brings Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai's statement in Niddah Daf Mem Aleph, asks questions, and that's it. Comes the Ramban, Rabbeinu Moshe ben Nachman, 13th-century great Spanish sage, a physician, commentator, and writes, bring up source number four. It's a form of kofer nefesh, the Ramban says. How do I translate it? Some type of paying the money for her soul, which she's which she's wants to get back. Asking God that he should purify her and heal her and cleanse her from all the blood and the experiences after birth. So, almost in return for the soul that she that she got back with birth. Again, he's alluding to perhaps also all the dangers involved in childbirth, especially in these in these times, biblical times and Talmudic times, and the Middle Ages. So, she's paying for the soul, so to speak. It's a It's a tribute, it's a contribution. She's giving a sacrifice in return, in lieu, in exchange for her nefesh, for her soul. I guess this is how the Ramban explains the words of a kipper Allah coin, the coin will atone for kipper from the word kaifer. But this still leaves us with a question. Why is it a sin offering? Why is it called a carbon chatus? What's the sin? If anything, it's a toda offering. There was an offering called toda, which is a offering of gratitude. When a person recovered from a great illness, a threatening illness, or other life-threatening situations that a person emerged from, there was an obligation during Temple times to bring a toda offering, a gratitude offering. Why a sin offering? Source number five, the Sforno, Rabbeinu Ovadia of Sforno, this is the 15th century great biblical commentator and philosopher from Italy. And he has another perspective. Ki chol yemei, source number five, ki chol yemei zoif tum'aasa, d'eyna kol machshavasa ponya al iskei ha'zeroa u'lason. During all the days of the blood flow, from birth until this point, all of her thoughts are directed towards her her her procreative organs, her reproductive organs and their activities. V'lo yit'iyeru l'Mikdash v'Kadoshav, and she's not worthy to come into the Beis Hamikdash or to eat sacrifices, the holy meat. Ad she'tavi kapparasa v'tifneh l'Kodesh, until she brings her atonement and directs her mind, her soul, towards sacredness. The great Rabbi of Frankfurt, the German Rabbi, Rabbi Shimshon Raphael Hirsch, in his commentary on Chumash, also elaborates at length in his own style, on this idea of Rabbeinu Ovadiah Sforno. So, what is the Sforno saying? The Sforno is saying is that by nature the woman after birth, it's a very, very intense physical and biological experience. This is her focus, this is her concern, and now she could finally shift it a little bit to spirituality, to transcendence, towards offerings, towards the Holy Temple. And this is what she needs a a a an atonement for. But here again, this is the nature of things. This is a sin. Who created the woman this way? She chose for birth to be so complicated that it consumes her imagination, it consumes her thought process. This is how God created a woman. And this is why we have civilization. I think you will, with all due respect to the men, I think it's not an exaggeration to say that if God would have entrusted the role of childbirth to men, we would have been extinct a very, very long time ago. You see, when men get sick a little bit, they have a flu and a virus, and the way they deal with it, or at least many of them, you would think the world is coming to an end. Never mind imagine if men would have to would have to experience labor pains and give birth. I'm not sure after Adam or his children, there would have been a next generation. So, what what what what do you want from the woman? She sacrifices herself, she brings a child, and then you say, "Okay, now you have to atone for it." There's another explanation given in Don Isaac Abravanel, Don Yitzhak Abravanel, the 15th century finance minister of Spain, of King Ferdinand and Isabella, who was expelled from Spain in 1492, or chose to leave with his brethren, and then went to Portugal, and then to Italy. Don Yitzchak Abarbanel in his commentary on Chumash bring up source number six. He says something else. There is no agony or distress a person experiences in this world if there was no sin. This mother suffered pain and danger as she was giving birth, and therefore she brings a sin offering. So, the Abarbanel believes that any pain in the world is coming because there is some defect, there is some moral defect in the person's behavior. This is what the Abarbanel says. The woman's pain as well, that's why she's bringing a sin offering. It's not that this is a sin, it's that there are other sins that are playing themselves out in the pain. But, this is a very difficult thing to understand. If that's the case, according to the Abarbanel, any person who experiences any misery and pain and agony in their life, they should be obligated to bring a sacrifice because there was some sin which caused this pain? The Torah never obligates us. Why suddenly a woman who sacrifices herself to do this mitzvah and bring a child, ah, she's a sinner. In fact, it's exactly the other way around. A person who was saved from danger, the Torah obligates him to bring an offering of gratitude, as I said earlier, a carbon toda, not a sin offering. LET HER ALSO BRING A a a sacrifice of gratitude. Besides the fact, the pain of birth has nothing to do with the sin of the an individual woman. This is the cosmic destiny of every single woman, beginning already with the first woman Chava, and the Torah just says that it was a it was one of the cursed consequences of eating of the tree of knowledge. Which brings us to another explanation. Bring up source number seven. This is the explanation of Rabbeinu Behaye. The great 14th century commentator, mystic, and sage, Rabbeinu Behaye. And it's also discussed in the Recanati, Rabbeinu Menachem of Recanati. See what the Behaye says in seven. Rabbeinu Behaye says it's not a sin offering for her own sin. It's because of her mother's sin. Which mother? Her first mother, Eve, Hava. This is a sacrifice to atone for the primordial, for the first sin. When Eve ate from the tree, the forbidden fruit, and she gave it to her husband as well. And as a result of that, take a look source number eight. Bring up source number eight. What does God tell her? Your depression will be increased in your pregnancy. With pain and melancholy will you give birth to children. Comes Rabbeinu Behaye and says every woman brings a sin offering during the times of the temple because of the original sin which caused the pain of the birth. But here too, we are still baffled by the explanation of Rabbeinu Behaye. Why is the woman responsible to atone for the forbidden fruit? There were other curses that happened as a result of the eating of the forbidden fruit. For example, God told Adam, Adam, "Take a loaf of lechem." You'll eat bread with the through the sweat of your brow. The thorns and weeds will grow. In other words, the process of producing vegetation and produce and fruits will not eat not be easy. Farming is a difficult process. Does the Torah say that a farmer when he harvests his grain or his trees, he's obligated to bring a sin offering? Why? Cuz after he plowed and he sowed and he nurtured and he harvested and he reaped, now you should atone for the sin of the tree of knowledge which caused you to go through this work. There's no such an obligation anywhere. On the contrary, the Torah says that the farmer brings become takes a basket of fruits, ripe fruits, brings it to the temple from after Shavuot. When the new fruits are ready, the season brings it to Jerusalem, gives it to the coin as a gift and expresses his profound gratitude and appreciation for the blessings. The truth is that this is one of those themes, one of those topics. I think we yearn for the insight, for the depth, and for the perspective that was presented in the teachings and the writings of Hasidus, of Hasidism. Which illuminated the depth, the soul, the quintessence of Torah and of mitzvahs. And like every idea in Hasidus, it has clear expression in Halacha, in Jewish law, in Talmud, in Midrash, and here too. And I'm going to ask you to take a look at source number nine. A Sifra. Sifra is the basic halachic midrash on the book of Leviticus, the book of Vayikra. It's also called Torat Kohanim. The sifra says in portion of Tazria, and it's quoted in Zevachim that Sota 19a, albeit albeit with different words, the same Gemara that Rashi quoted earlier in the class. The Rashi that we quoted earlier in the class. Zot the sifra. Kol makom sheba al chet hikdim chatat l'olah. Kan she'ein ba'al chet hikdim olah l'chatat. Whenever the person brings a sin offering because of a sin that he or she committed, then the Torah places the chatat before the olah. But in this case, where the woman is not bringing an offering because of a sin, here the Torah says the olah before the chatat. Although you had to sacrifice the chatat before the olah in practicality, but nonetheless, because in this case the chatat is not being brought for a sin, it's said after the olah. That's how the Torah writes it, first olah and then the chatat. Which only exacerbates the question. If it's not coming because of a sin, so why is she bringing a korban chatat, which means a sin offering, for heaven's sake? And why, when it's not coming for a sin, does it go after the olah? What's the logic behind that? So let's now discover the chassidic explanation to all of this. We have to first understand why does a woman become impure after childbirth? For a son, she gives birth to a male, 7 days. To a female, 14 days. And why the difference between a boy and a girl? The Ramban already struggles with this. Why the difference between giving birth to a boy or a girl? Why 7 days or 14 days? And why is she impure? Again, she fulfilled now the first mitzvah. God gave the first human beings to give birth, pru urvu. From doing this, you become impure, tarnished, spiritually unclean. KLAP LAYE, what is the why? Gevald, why should the person become unclean from this? And specially when you recognize the depth of sacrifice and agony the mother endured to bring these beautiful children to the world. Is this the reward, impurity? This requires explanation, and this is what I want to explore now during the next few moments. It's discussed in various Hasidic works. And there's a long explanation about this in Shem Mishmuel, Parshas Tazria, where the great master Hasidic master Rabbi Shmuel of Sochaczew, who quotes the great master of Kotsk, the Kotsker Rebbe, who lived in the late 1700s, early 1800s, mid-1800s. Rabbi Menachem Mendel Morgenstern was his name, Morgenstern. And the Shem Mishmuel quotes the Kotsker, and let me explain, let me present what they say, but it needs a little introduction. We have to first explain what is tumah? What does it mean to be impure? What does it mean to be pure? What is taharah versus tumah? Many people misunderstand it. They think when the Torah says that somebody or something is impure, it means it's dirty. It smells. You can't touch it because uh it's contagious. Which is not true. It's It's completely not connected to uncleanliness. For example, let's take something that is very misunderstood today. The Torah says that every month during the cycle, the menstrual cycle of a woman, when there is a flow of blood, she assumes the status of what the Torah calls a nidah. And she has the status of tumah, impurity. What does this mean? Why is she impure? It's a long discussion, but let me at least discuss a few details, a few components. True life, to truly be alive, it means that you're connected with the source of life, with the essence of life, with the organic core of life, with the cosmic life force. It means that your individual life is a continuum of the essence of life. When there is a disconnect, when there is a dissonance, when there is a separation between a person and the source of life, the source of vitality and energy, the cosmic life force, this is what we call tumah. A state of tumah, of spiritual impurity. Doesn't mean impure in the sense that the person is dirty. It means impure that there is a diminishment in the connection, in the synchronization, in the alignment between the human being and his or her inner vitality and the essence of all life, the core of life at the core of the universe, at the core of reality. But, here is the catch. Only if there was a strong sense of life and vitality, if there was previously a powerful alignment and connection between this person or this object and the cosmic life force, then when this connection fades away, when this powerful life force departs, a void is created, an emptiness is created. A fool is created and negative energies can feed off this tremendous void. And let me quote the beautiful metaphor and explanation of the Era Chai and bring up source number 10. Rabbeinu Bachya ben Asher, the 18th century great Sephardic sage, passed away in Jerusalem, his commentary on Parshas Chukas. Bring up source number 10. Let's read his words. A master had two vessels, one was filled with honey, one was filled with junk, and he took put them out of the room, out of the house. Which vessel will attract all of the bugs and flies and insects? He says, "Yes, the garbage will attract them." But totally not as much as the honey. They will all run to the honey to feed off it. When a Jew dies, since he was filled since he's filled with sweet and delicious holiness, You scaps are clip as lame Kate coaches at tomato even Thomas lead to the show honest mayor if When the soul leaves this Jew and it's emptied from the body, now all of the negative forces will gather around this body because they're always craving to enjoy the deliciousness of holiness. And that is why in the laws of purity and impurity, the greater the life force, the greater the holiness, the greater the depth of life, the depth of godliness, the greater the connection with the cosmic life force, with the core of reality, when that power departs, the greater the impurity. Because if there's no very powerful connection, so then there will not be a lot of negativity when that connection is gone. But as the Arich Anpin says, when it's a vessel filled with honey, and then it's thrown out, then all of the insects come flying. They want to feed off it. And And why, for example, you can't compare the laws of impurity with dead body of a person to the dead body of an animal corpse. It's a different level. Because when they're alive, they're totally on a different level. The life of a human being, the life of an animal. And therefore, the impurity also is completely on a different level. The more life, the more holiness, the more impurity is attracted to it after that intense holiness leaves. So, in summation, what is purity? Purity is when your life, when your identity is aligned, it's intoned with the source of all life, with the essence of life, with the rhythm at the core of existence, with the divine life force at the essence of reality. Tumah is a disconnect. That disconnect creates a great void if previously there was a deep connection. Now, the greatest revelation of godliness happens during birth. Take a look in the words of the Talmud. Talmud says, bring up source number 11. Gimmel maftehos b'yado shel Hakadosh Baruch Hu she'einam sh'luchin b'yad shaliach. Gemara in Taanis daf beis amud aleph. There are three keys in the hands of God which He does not give to any messenger. Mafteach shel geshamim, mafteach shel chaim, mafteach shel techiyas hameisim. The key of rain, the key of childbirth, and the key of the resurrection of the dead. No messenger gets this key. This key always remains in the hands of God. So, when a child is giving birth, God is right there. He doesn't give over this key to anybody. The word in Hebrew for birth is leidah. Leidah is a combination of two words, liad hay, liad Hashem. She's right there with God. What is birth? The whole process of birth beginning with conception, impregnation, development, and then birth is the only reality in the world when human beings actually create a new life. Everything else we do in this world is we take one existence and we develop it. You take $1 and you turn it into $10. You take a piece of wood and you develop it into a table, a piece of silver you develop it into a goblet or or a candelabra. We develop things, what's called yesh me yesh. One something is developed into a more elaborate and sophisticated something. The closest experience we have in which we become divine-like is birth. Here, from a seed, from an egg, child is created. We create life. At the moment of childbirth, the woman ceases to be a limited human being as she assumes divine qualities. She creates like God creates. SHE GIVES LIFE LIKE GOD GIVES LIFE. And she creates something for eternity because God willing this child will have more children and more children and more children forever, for eternity. All other things we do in this world are finite, they're mortal, they're human, they're fragile. Where is the experience in which we transcend our humanness and we become divine? It's in the experience around birth, which is by by the way how Hasidus explains the secret of intimacy, why the pleasure of intimacy transcends every other pleasure in the world and can therefore also be subjected to the very profound corruption and moral destruction. The reason for that is because that's the moment in which we are empowered to begin the process of creating a life which ultimately ends up in birth when the child assumes its independent identity emerging from the womb of the mother. And that's therefore the moment when the man and the woman actually are not human, they're divine. And that's the greatest pleasure in the world. It's the depth of spirituality of intimacy that gives it its profound and extraordinary pleasure which baffles scientists and psychologists. What is the reason for this tremendous pleasure? And they have all their explanations, but the core of it is this point. At that moment, the woman is ain soif. She assumes the power of the infinite, of the divine. Which is parenthetically, if you see the image that we chose for this week's the Yeshiva.net class, it was somebody who took a picture of the heavens and the clouds in the heavens, which somehow, if you take a look from the right angle, you'll see looks like the child freshly emerging from its mother's womb. It wasn't just uh it's not just a great piece of art, an interesting piece of art, but it captures the truth. Birth is the moment when heaven kisses earth in the most profound and extraordinary way. So, the holiness, the divinity, God is the source of life. Godliness is a source of life. And that's the moment that the woman assumes that quality. Heaven kisses Earth. So, it's the greatest moment of holiness. It's the greatest moment of tower of purity, of a connection with the source of all life, with the source of all energy, and therefore she herself can become a source of life, like God. She becomes the complete conduit for God. He gives it over the key to nobody. God is right there. Lay the liad Hashem. And this includes another point. Before birth, there's a tremendous life force in the woman. There's not one life, there are two lives, there are two people. She has her life, and she's carrying a whole other life in her. So, the power of life is accelerated and increased dramatically in the life of a pregnant woman and a woman as she's giving birth. Physically and biologically, too. Her entire body is transformed from the moment of conception to the moment of birth in a way that we men will never understand. As I said, we're clueless. But, the whole functional component of the body is metamorphosed dramatically. The miracle of conceiving and then developing a fetus and then giving birth to it requires the body to totally reorient itself, to totally readjust, and make itself conducive for this magical moment of birth. Now, she gave birth. She ejects this life force. She created a life, which now becomes somewhat independent. Not completely independent for a good few years. You have to wait till the kid becomes a teenager, which today is approximately at the age of four or five. But somewhat independent. It's out of you. And you look at the baby, the mother looks at the baby and says, "Wow, this was in me. And now it's out of me. And it's an unbelievable experience. It's an unbelievable sight." But now the baby is out. That intense experience, that intense holiness is not here anymore. And that's what creates the tumah. That's what creates the impurity. In the place, in the body, where there was an extraordinary explosion and revelation of godliness, of the cosmic life force, of the essence of all energy. And now there's a void. Now there's an emptiness. That is what creates the tumah. It's the tension. It's the gap. It's the gulf between the highest of experiences and then back to the regular human life. This is expressed intriguingly, interestingly in another phenomenon as well. There's a debate in the scientific and medical community. What is the cause for postpartum depression? Why is it that a significant percentage of women and a smaller percentage of some men get into a depression after the birth of a child? Is it purely hormonal? Does it have to do with her hormones? Is it psychological? Is it spiritual? Is it simply sleep deprivation? Is it the pain of labor, the stress of birth, the stress of nursing? Or is it a combination of all of the above? And there's no clear uh explanation that's accepted by everybody. It's still debatable. It's still arguable. In Jewish mysticism, there's a fascinating insight on the subject. During birth, the body of mother is working in an extraordinary way. It stretches itself almost to the point of the impossible to perform the miracle of delivering a new life into the world. From amidst much pain, agony, sweat, blood, and courage, a soul emerges. The adrenaline of the body during those hours or days reaches a peak. The entire biological system is radically transformed to perform the most revolutionary and magical human act, creating a child. Now, when the process is over, as the body and the psyche go back to normal, a vacuum is created. The transition from such high tension to relative relaxation is often too dramatic for some women to assimilate easily into their system. After birth, the dust settles. The woman becomes human again, and this transition can create a major void. When you're touching heaven, when you're kissing heaven, when you're embracing the divine, anything afterwards which is less than that seems shallow. It seems empty. When you experience such critical levels of energy, the gulf between the great high and the routine schedule of life is too intense to be digested without difficulty, and the result in some cases can, God forbid, be depression. We see this in so many people's lives. And those of you who relate to it will understand exactly what I'm saying. People who experience great moments of exaltation, very intense emotions, the hardest thing for them is going back to the routine schedule without that flow of adrenaline. Just being normal creates a tremendous downer after an upper. If you don't have something that can simulate that upper, you can fall into a melancholy because you simply cannot deal with that downfall. Some of the greatest artists who have touched very deep places in themselves and have shared that experience with their fans and groupies and disciples and so on and so forth. And then when they have to go back to their own life and look in the mirror and just see an ordinary human being, it's too hard for them to bear, which is why many of them always needed to simulate and mimic the experience, which is why they had to take drugs and LSD and other substances because it was too difficult for them to deal with with day-to-day living. The pain was just too profound to bear. It happened to the Jewish people. What did they do right after Sinai? God came down, he gave them the Torah, and 40 days later they're dancing around a golden calf with ecstasy. What was that all about? The sin of the golden calf wasn't a contradiction to the giving of the Torah, it was a reaction. It was a continuation. It was their way of dealing with the tremendous void that happened after the departure from God from so from the mountain and Moses goes up to heaven. So, back to our discussion. The impurity of birth is not created because birth is impure, unclean. On the contrary, because it creates that tremendous void, the gulf between such high levels of tension and much lower levels of tension. And that's why with a daughter, when she gives birth to a girl, the impurity continues not for a week, but for 2 weeks. Because when she has a girl in her, the power of life is quadrupled even more. When a mother when a woman is carrying a boy in her, a male in her, so there's her life and his life. When she's carrying a girl in her, there's her life and there's her daughter's life, and there is the power of the daughter who will one day become a mother and give life to children. So, the power of life that's in her is dramatically increased. And therefore, when that leaves her, when the daughter is separated from when the daughter is born, it creates a far greater diminishment in the life force of the mother, and therefore, the impurity is also greater. And this is true about every single month. Every month, the body of the woman prepares for the potential of developing a fetus and creating a child, and then when the uterus dissolves, when that promise, when that potential is not realized for whatever reason, there's a tremendous flow of blood. That creates impurity. What is the impurity? The impurity is that the body prepared for a great level of life and vitality and holiness of creating a new life, and when it's not realized biologically, the uterus dissolves, and that's what creates the flow of blood spiritually. It's this void known as tuma. Now, we'll understand somewhat of what the Torah is telling us why the woman brings a carbon chatas, a sin offering. The word chet in Tanakh doesn't only mean sin. It really means a void. You want a proof? Bring up source number 12. The opening chapter of Kings, Melachim Aleph. Batsheva comes to her husband King David, and what does she say? "For I shall die and my son Solomon will be left without anything." As the king will die, me and my son Solomon will be left without anything. What does it mean? Not sinners. She's talking about the monarchy being snatched away from Solomon. We will be left without anything. We will be left without anything. That's the offering here. That's the offering. It's not a sin. The woman didn't sin. A mother who gave birth didn't sin. We owe her our greatest appreciation, and no words can ever express appreciation for what the woman goes through with childbirth. And every man has to know that. If he doesn't know it already. This is a different type of offering, and this is the meaning of the offering that I quoted earlier in source number nine, that whenever there's no sin, the offering comes after the offering. And let's understand the depth of what our sages are saying. They're saying something very profound. An offering is an offering which represents complete intimacy with God. And that's why the entire offering is burnt on the altar. Other offerings are eaten by the priests. They're eaten by the person who brought it. The offering is eaten completely by God. Complete intimacy. Complete surrender. Your entire I, so to speak, is given over to God. Comes the Torah and says, in this case, the sin offering comes after the offering, which means it's not a sin offering because of a sin, which represents separation from God. On the contrary, this is a sin offering which comes after an offering, because the woman was completely one with God. Because the woman was an offering. She sacrificed her whole identity to God to create a life. She had the deepest Vegas, the deepest connection, the key of childbirth which God doesn't give to anybody else. So, God was there directly. Afterwards, there's a hate, there's a hot as there's a void, there's an emptiness that's created from that tension because of the great intimacy and oneness, because of the great purity, because of the great life. There is now a void. And that's what the sacrifice is for, to remove some of this void. This is the meaning. The deeper meaning. What the Abishin and by Yichai says. That she brings an offering because she swears that she's not going to have children again. She's not going to go back to her husband, it's too painful. He doesn't mean that every woman makes this oath. It means something deeper. This represents the tragedy of human existence. The clash between worlds. This clash between worlds. That as she is creating the greatest miracle, she's experiencing so much pain. This is the source of tumor impurity and this requires a hot as. What is the meaning of this? Why? What is the cause of this clash? Of this lack of symmetry of synchronization. Here is what the Rabenu Bachya says, it's because of the sin of the tree of knowledge. What happened when Adam and Eve ate from the tree of knowledge? They didn't just eat a fruit. As explained in many places, what happened then was a dissonance was created between the inner side of life and the outer side of life. Or to put it differently, tumah was introduced into the world. The ability to be disconnected from your own inner essence, from your own organic connection to the source of life, to the source of existence, to the source of humanity. A separation between the outer and the inner, between the body and the soul. That's what happened when they ate from the tree of knowledge. And that's why it introduced death. When a person is one with the source of life, there's no death. God doesn't die, a human being doesn't die. But the moment the new ego is born, which is detached from the source of life, and doesn't have real existence, ultimately that component dies. And that is why, as the Talmud says, the concept of the blood, of the nidah, of the menstrual cycle was created as a result of the tree of knowledge, because that is a form of death. Potential child is developed every month when the uterus builds itself up in the womb of the mother, in the womb of the woman. And when that in the womb of the womb of the woman, and when that dissolves, it's a form of death, which is a result of the tree of knowledge, of the dissonance between the source of life and human life, between the soul and the body. And that's expressed also by etzav teldi banim in birth, that birth is so difficult. Imagine, the greatest revelation of godliness, and the body is screaming, "Never again." Or thinking, "Never again." How does that happen? How is it that such a miracle is happening, and yet on a physical level, it's so disturbing, it's so difficult, it's so painful? This is the dissonance between the world of the divine and the outer shell of the physical world. And the woman is the one who bears and experiences this dissonance very vividly and very intimately and very powerfully. And that's the tumah. And that's what I'm sure Yochai Hirsch It's not the actual oath she gives. Some do, some don't. It's the fact that you can even have that thought because there's a dissonance between the inner world of holiness and the outer world of physicality. That's expressed after birth. It's expressed even in the pain of birth. And it comes from the tree of knowledge. That's where the dissonance That's where the disconnect began. And that's where there's room for this type of disconnect, for this type of purity. And therefore, what's the primary method of purity? Mikvah. What is mikvah? You go into the water. Before they ate from the tree of knowledge, it says there was a river that went out of Eden to irrigate the garden, and that garden had the tree of knowledge. The mikvah is natural water cuz we go back into those waters in which Adam and Eve were present before they ate from the tree of knowledge. The word of tevilah, tevilah, which means immersion, is the same words like kabital, which means self-nullification. It's going back into your own cosmic life force and source. And that's how a child is in the womb of its mother. It's in a mikvah, in the amniotic sac, submerged in water. Before the tumah, before the impurity. So, mikvah is going back to that pre- dissonant state when there is complete symmetry and unification. And this is the experience of a woman because as the Kabbalah explains, the body of a woman has a holiness in it that transcends the holiness in the in the male body. We discussed this a few weeks ago with the kiyor, the washing basin in the in the in the sanctuary that came from the mirrors. And therefore, the woman's body is very sensitive to the dissonance of existence. A man's body could be completely apathetic to everything that's going on. A woman's body every month pays testimony to the fact that there is a dysfunction at the core of reality because of a lack of unification between the inner and the outer. This is the second offering she brings. And what does she bring? What does she bring for this offering? She brings a dove. A young dove, a turtle dove. Two turtle doves, two young doves, but she brings a dove to fill this void. Why a dove? The Meshech Chochmah of the same era of Meir Simcha Kahan of Dvinsk says something beautiful. It's great chabura, I love it. He says this week, Parshas Tazria, he says, "Why a dove?" He says, "Why is the sin offering a dove? For the olah she brings a lamb if she has money. Why the sin offering a dove?" So he explains that the Medrash says, take a look at source number 13. The Medrash says in Shir HaShirim, "Einayich yonim." In the Song of Songs, the groom always turns to the bride and says, "You look like a dove. Your eyes are like the eyes of a dove. Come, stand up, my beautiful dove." "Pischili achosi raya'si yonosi." The bride is always called a dove in the Song of Songs. Why the dove? "Mayim rabim lo yuchlu l'chabos es ha'ahavah, v'naharos lo yishtfuha. Im yiten ish es kol hon beiso ba'ahavah, boz yivuzu lo." "Kach Yisrael mishushim k'ilu Hakadosh Baruch Hu lo he'eminu ba'achas." Most animals are not monogamous, which means they mate more than one partner even the same season. They can mate many, many partners during the same season. There are a few animals, however, that are monogamous. They stick to one partner. One of them are certain species of the dove family, which will often remain loyal to their partner, to their mate. Not only one season, but sometimes for many years. And there are even those who will remain loyal for years and years. So, the measure says, just like the dove when she recognizes her mate, she will not exchange him for anybody else, the Jewish people, the moment they recognized God, they never exchanged him for anybody else despite the temptation. Comes the Meshech Chochmah says, Reb Shimon bar Yochai says, why does she bring a sin offering? Cuz she took an oath that she's never going to have a relationship with her husband again. She's going to abandon him. So, she brings a dove because a dove remains loyal intimately. But, let I want to explain it on a more on a deeper level, from the Chassidic perspective, on a spiritual level. We explained, what is the sin offering? It's the void that comes from the emptiness, from the downfall, from the lack of connection, from the separation. So, we bring the dove, which represents that you're never completely separated. There's always a connection. The Jew, once he recognized God, once they recognized God, they never exchanged him for anybody else. Even when you're disconnected, there's no real complete disconnection. Sometimes the connection is very close, and sometimes the connection is revealed through separation. The yotzei and the vohei sei are the same thing. When you're away and when you're close, there's still an organic connection, an organic relationship. And that helps the woman overcome the void as it helps us overcome our voids. To realize that there is a depth in the routine day-to-day schedule. There is an organic connection between the spiritual and the physical. The power of the Jews to reveal oneness in the earth. You know the dove is often called the morning dove because of the sounds of mourning and yearning. Yeshayahu Navi discusses this. How the dove longs for its mate, longs for the relationship. And that's the yonah, the woman has the yonah, the yearning for that type of intense relationship, for that type of connection that she experienced. But the fact that there is a yearning means that there is an organic connection, there is a relationship. Yonati bechagve hasela beseter madregah, the Song of Songs says, "My love, my dove is in the clefts of the rock." Let me see your face, let me hear your voice. Your face is beautiful. And your voice is is delicious. Your voice is beautiful and your face is comely. Let me conclude with a gevaldik idea of the Baal HaTurim. Rabbeinu Yaakov Ashkenazi, the Baal HaTurim, one of the great commentators on the Chumash, wrote the Baal HaTurim. He was born in the in the 13th century in Germany. He passed away in the 14th century, in the 1300s, in Toledo, in Spain. He moved from Germany to Spain. The Baal HaTurim presents a very powerful and interesting insight. And with this we will conclude. He says, he asks a question. Everywhere in the Torah when there is a discussion about the offerings of doves, the Torah always says you could bring shnei torim or shnei bene yonah. Two turtle mature doves or two young doves, baby doves. Always. Even in Tazria, says if the woman is poor so instead of bringing a lamb and a dove, she can bring two turtle doves or two young doves. There's one exception. And that is in Tazria, when the Torah discusses the offering a woman brings after childbirth, it says bring a lamb for an oiler offering and bring a young dove or a turtle dove for a hotas offering. This is the only place where the young dove comes before the turtle dove. By the way, the English word turtle dove comes from the Hebrew tor. Tor, turtle dove, by the way. The only exception in all the whole Torah, always the turtle dove comes before the young dove. First tor, then bene yonah. Including in Tazria itself, one exception. When we discuss the woman bringing two offerings after childbirth, a lamb and a dove. Here it says first the young dove and then the turtle dove. Why, says the Bala Turim? And this is what he says. Rabeinu Yaakov Ashkenazi writes, he says this. He says some doves get so close with each other. They're so loyal to each other. They're so connected to each other that if one of them dies, they will mourn their death. And some of them will not even mate with anybody else or at least it'll be very hard for them to go mate somebody else. So the Bala Turim says, everywhere else, when the Torah discusses offerings of doves, it's in pairs. You bring two. So it's possible or you could or it's likely that you're going to bring a couple. The husband and the wife, the male and the female, the father and the mother. So, the Torah says, bring two turtledoves or two young doves. The only place where you bring one is in Tazria, because she brings a lamb for the oil offering, and she brings only one dove for the hattas offering, if she has the means. She doesn't have means, she brings both doves. She brings two doves for both offerings, but if she has the means, she brings a lamb for the oil, and she brings a dove for the hattas, so it's only one. If it's only one, so the Torah is first says, ben yonah, first bring a young dove. Preference should be to a young dove which never mated yet. And since it never mated, it never has doesn't have loyalty to a partner. Since it doesn't have loyalty to a partner, it won't mourn the departure, the death of its partner, even though it was sacrificed to God. If you can't find a young dove, then bring a turtledove. But, the preference should be a ben yonah, a young dove which never experienced mating, and therefore, it will not have the pain of the fact that its partner is not here, even though we know that its partner was sacrificed as an offering to God. If this is the type of sensitivity the Torah wants us to cultivate towards birds, how much more so towards human beings, and towards our own partners in life. Have a wonderful night. Tiririra O irao Tiririrara Tiririra Tiririrara Tiririra Tiririrara Tiririra O Tiririrara Tiririra Tiririrara Tiririra Tiririrara Tiririra O Tiririrara Tiririra