Thanks to modern science, we now have a much fuller understanding of how a baby is made, and how disease affects the fetus.  Our “Tree of Life” - the Torah - teaches us about this in this week’s combined parashot.  We begin with parashah Tazria and a woman’s “purity” just afterwards, and end Metzora with laws about sexual relations concerning a woman’s time of the month, and in between we have information on infectious diseases.

        Long, long ago, men were amazed and a little intimidated by the fact that women bleed - and bleed a lot - every month and yet, they don’t die.  While they most probably understood making a baby came from sex, they may not have linked baby-making with a woman’s menstruation.  In teaching us the connection, the Torah takes the opportunity to teach us sexual relationships are for marriage, and are holy if we co-mingle for pro-creational purposes.

        Tazria begins with teaching us respect for the need for a woman to recover after having given birth, and this includes no intercourse.  Yes, we are taught about this in terms of purity, and impurity, and what better way to impart two very important concepts?  These are the need for recovery after childbirth, and the holiness of baby-making - and therefore the holiness of sexual relations towards this purpose.

        While it might seem strange to interpose the laws of dealing with disease here, it actually connects the importance of restraint of the libido while sick.  We know now any illness the mother has during pregnancy, and some illnesses the parents each might have prior to pregnancy, can and usually do infect, thereby affecting the health of the fetus.  In fact, in our parashot this week, we have information specifically regarding illnesses which affect all of the bodily systems, resulting in elimination, or lack of the ability to eliminate.  We are also informed the spread of disease, if contagious, can result from merely touching the infected person, touching bodily discharges including saliva, or the items the infected person comes into contact with, including the possibility of catching diseases from items such as linen, wool, and leather, and also from stone and mortar with which homes and buildings are erected.

        We are also taught about the important roles washing and cleanliness play in the spreading of disease.  Plainly stated, the act of washing both oneself and everything a person utilizes helps keep one free of disease.  The language we are taught with seems to focus on the importance of keeping the community, and nation of Israel, pure and protected from contagious diseases, and this, of course, is a part of the message.  Historically, by the way, the Jewish people have been blamed for causing “plagues” such as the “Black Death.....” or we have been accused of being magically different in our physicality, and therefore the subject of much fear and its resultant behavior.  The truth, as those of us who are educated know, is cleanliness wasn’t thought of as important and necessary for health in those times, and wasn’t practiced “religiously” (pun not completely intentional, but I like it nonetheless!).  Our parashot this week even teach us some diseased items must be completely destroyed by fire, or taken somewhere humans don’t live around in order to prevent new occurrences. 

        While the Torah doesn’t explicitly tell us these diseases can affect the health (or lack thereof) of fetuses, we may reasonably infer this from the placement between the passages regarding birth, and sexual relations period.  Also, we are taught by this placement we could transmit some diseases sexually.

        On a spiritual level, we are informed about the holiness of relationships: marital, our individual and group relationship(s) with Adonai, and our relationships with our community.  This includes our responsibility to protect each other from our own illnesses if the illness is contagious.  By the introduction of information dealing with the ability for some diseases to disseminate through the medium of material objects we come into contact with, including how our own homes sometimes make us sick, we are taught Adonai regards all of our material possessions as ephemeral, and greatly less important than our relationships.

        I find it interesting to note the length of time most diseases are contagious is one week.  Some more, some less, but most for one week - seven days - which is the time it took for Adonai to create everything.  Science also teaches us to quarantine ourselves, when ill with most contagious diseases, for one week.  Science also tells us disease spreads through the sharing or even touching of items a sick person has utilized - including what the Torah states - our toilets!

        Male and female diseases which show themselves through bodily discharges are discussed, including diseased seminal discharges, and ones which back up our physical “plumbing”.  In all the writing about the purity laws, I believe we tend to overlook the fact that in most circumstances sexual relations while the woman is menstruating isn’t holy - as baby-making generally can’t take place - but it isn’t so horrible one should be considered an outcast for participating in it either.  A man who has relations during this time does have to purify himself, as the women must every month, emphasizing for us the holiness of procreation.  Note we are not told to abstain from relations while pregnant, but through the laws given to us about consecrating our babies once born to Adonai, we are being introduced to the importance of children and family, how we should place the importance of this upon ourselves with spirituality, care, and responsibility, and which Adonai places on us humans and our relationships.

        Also, because of the wording of impurity when it comes to women separating themselves sexually from their husbands after childbirth, and during menstruation, we are implicitly being taught to respect the practical level of the fact we women tend to need our “space” during these times.  As always, I hope I have imparted some new perspectives to my readers which will lead to thought and discussion!  I just realized I didn’t explicitly state this, so I am now:  human life should be valued above all else here on earth, and in respecting human life, we are effectively respecting and honoring our maker - Adonai.

        Shabbat Shalom, and I’d love to know what you think!  While this happens to be the secular “April Fool’s Day”, this commentary was not a joke, but in fact very serious. . . with a little humor thrown in!

Procreation