Both the Sidrot of Tazria and Mezora are devoted to the laws of purity and defilement in the Jewish Religion. The name Tazria comes from the Hebrew root ZRA, which means ‘seed’. Therefore, the name refers either to a woman who has conceived a child or has given birth. Metzora refers to a person has been stricken with the disease of Tzara’at. This disease was a very severe skin complaint which was widespread in the East. The Hebrew meaning of the word is not known. Some linguists say that it comes from the Arabic verb, which means falling down to the ground. If this is right the name of the disease refers to a person whom the Almighty has struck down.
The two Sidrot are read together in all ordinary years i.e. years which are not leap years. They open with the laws relating to a woman who becomes defiled after delivering a baby and proceed to deal with defilements which are caused by various skin ailments. They also mention the diseases of Tzara’at which affects houses and clothes. When this happens, the clothes have to be burnt and the houses have to be demolished. Many attempts have been made to identify the diseases which are mentioned in these two Sidrot, but nobody has been able to come definite conclusions. It has been particularly difficult to understand the nature of the diseases which affected clothes and houses and it is surprising to discover that we don’t find any other reference to them in the Bible.
Most of the laws regarding purity and defilement are no longer observed in practice. The only exceptions are the laws which relate to marital life and to the restrictions which are imposed on the KOHANIM. The KOHANIM are not permitted to care for the dead, enter any room or building which contains a dead person or visit a cemetery. This is the reason that, at a funeral, KOHANIM stand in an adjacent room and have to listen to the eulogies through a tiny window. Rabbis, who are KOHANIM, conduct a funeral, whilst standing outside the hall where the coffin is placed.
The former president of Israel, ZALMAN SHAZAR, reports, in one of his books, that there is a small Jewish community in northern Persia which still observes many of the purity laws of the Torah. Rabbi YISSACHAR JACOBSON is of the opinion that in this respect, this is an absolutely unique community.
The first sentence in the Sidra of Tazria, ISHA KI TAZRIA VEYALDA ZACHAR, which means: ‘when a woman conceives and gives birth to a male child’, is unnecessarily long-winded. It could have been sufficient to say: ‘when a woman gives birth’. Therefore, it is interpreted to be a hint to the miraculous nature of conception, which leads to birth. In one D’rasha, exposition, one of our ancient rabbis of the Midrash stated as follows: “Normally, a person is very grateful when he deposits a purse containing silver coins with his friend, in private, but his friend returns to him a large piece of gold in public, so we should be grateful when we deposit a tiny drop of liquid secretly, but their holy one blessed be gives us back beautiful and perfect babies.” Our rabbis were as fascinated with the creation of human beings, as we are today. It is always a great wonder and a source of enormous comfort and joy when a new baby arrives.
The KOHANIM had a special role in dealing with these diseases. Their function was not medical. They would examine suspected patients and make a diagnosis, not for the purpose of treatment, but to distinguish between Tzara’at which defiles, and other skin ailments which do not. Sometimes, the Cohen decided that the person affected was impure with immediate effect and on other occasions he ordered a person to remain indoors for seven days and only afterwards he determined, in accordance with the development of the swelling, whether the patient was pure or not.
In chapter 12 verse 6 we learn that a woman had to bring a sin offering, on the day when her period of defilement came to an end. In verse eight the Torah states that by means of this sacrifice the priest obtained the atonement for her. The difficulty is to determine the sin. The answer is that sometimes there is a direct link between physical defilement and sinfulness. Our rabbis say that the disease of Tzara’at is a punishment for the sin of the evil tongue. Therefore, the patient has to suffer isolation and the process of purification, which includes a sin offering, constituting his repentance. In other instances, such as in the case of a mother of a newly born baby, her defilement is not directly linked to anything that she has done wrong, but it is linked to the sin of Adam and Eve. Eve’s punishment was that women would have to suffer great pain at childbirth. Moreover, in this connection our commentators note that the second verse in the Sidra of Tazria, which reiterates the mitzvah of circumcision on the eighth day, seems to be out of place. Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch explains that the mitzvah of circumcision is also a great sacrifice on the part of the mother and its purpose, too, is to atone for the sin in the Garden of Eden.
Rabbi Moses Ben Maimon, otherwise known as the Rambam, writes, in his book on the 613 Commandments, called Sefer Ha-mitzvot, that the mitzvah of circumcision had to be repeated although it had already been given to Abraham, our father. The reason is that we are obligated to carry out circumcision only because it was given to Moses and it is mentioned here. We do not keep it because it was given to Abram. Abraham was the father of our people, but he never assumed the role of the lawgiver. This function is exclusively reserved to Moses, who was the only human being who was granted the power and vision to communicate with God face-to-face.