Family Planning
The periods of life in which we feel uncertainty and lack of clarity are the lulls that allow us to introspect and gather energy for the next direction in life. METZORA METZORA
The Miracle of Birth, But…
Childbirth — the opening subject of this week’s parsha — is universally acclaimed as one of the most — if not the most — glorious event in nature. The miracle of life is arguably greater than any other miracle When the birth of a child occurs, the Torah tells us that the mother goes through a period of tumah. This Hebrew word is truly untranslatable. The standard translations such as “unclean,” “impure,” defiled” etc. are far from accurate representations of this term. Why would a woman going through the most spiritually uplifting period of her life, by bringing a Divine soul into the world, be regarded as unclean? We can attempt to clarify the term in the context of Torah concepts.
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Clarity
Perhaps the key to gaining some glimpse into this period that follows birth, we should refer to the flip side of the term tumah which is taharah. Tahara is etymologically related to the concept of clarity, where matters are clear and defined. (We can now see why the term is also used for purity or cleanliness, because they are related to clarity.)
The word, tumah, conversely, connotes a state of existence where there is a lack of clarity necessitating a period of withdrawal and reflection, to bring clarity into the situation.
When a woman carries a child in her womb, there is a sense of clarity as to what her role is. She is the carrier of a human being, who will bring a new light into the world. Her whole life revolves around her unborn child.
Once the child is born, there is a period where a woman naturally feels a sense of loss, even as she rejoices over her newly born child. It is a period when her recuperation from the travail of childbirth does not allow her to fully “enjoy” the fruit of her labor.
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Similarly, her relationship with her husband will be somewhat altered, because of her physical condition and her new status as a mother.
This lack of clarity and direction parallels a spiritual lull. As long as she was carrying the child she was accessing twice as much spiritual energy than she would normally. From conception to childbirth, the woman is engaged in the most spiritually sublime activity.
The Lull
No sooner that the birth process is over and the mother reaches the climax of spiritual experience, she “loses” that extra measure of spirituality needed for the development and birth of the child. Now she must draw back into her own reserves, so to speak, and find the energy, stamina (both physical and spiritual) to raise the child and resume family life.
This period, thus, represents a lull in between two different stages of a woman’s development. Ironically, during pregnancy, METZORA she received outside assistance for her internal role. After birth, she needs to find internal inspiration to deal with that which is now external to her.
The physical period of healing, with its lack of clarity, coupled with the loss of intense spiritual energy that accompanied her pregnancy and birth, compels here to become introspective and somewhat detached from her husband and the outside world.
This is the state of tumah. It is not a negative period, any more than sleep is negative. On the contrary, sleep is when the body and soul are rejuvenated. The soul ascends to higher spiritual dimensions and absorbs new reservoirs of G-dly energy to allow for a heightened sensitivity the next morning.
Yet, sleep in its own way produces an effect for which our sages also employed the term “tumah.” It is a time of transition from one day to the next, from one spiritual challenge to the next. By definition, transition, although positive and necessary, is a time of uncertainty and lack of clarity. Indeed, the transitional period is designed to help the METZORA person gain this clarity. But, without sleep and other forms of “lulls” in one’s life, there can be no ensuing state of tahara, clarity and focus.
Giving Birth Every Day!
In the Messianic Age, however, our sages tell us that a woman will give birth every day!
One interpretation of this is that there will no longer be a need for the lull in order to grow to the next level. Each level of holiness, in and of itself, will be a stepping stone to reach the next level without the need to experience periods of withdrawal.
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From the book Light from the Future: Parshas Tazria-Metzora by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.
