Lev. 12:1-15:33
Tazria begins with laws concerning the need for ritual purification of women following the birth of children and the laws of what is usually referred to as “leprosy” of the skin and on garments (although this translation is most certainly erroneous; it appears to refer to an affliction which renders the person, garment, or home ritually impure).
Metzorah discusses laws for the purification of “lepers” with sacrifice and water. It also discusses growths on walls of a house which cause ritual impurity. The parasha concludes with a discussion of bodily secretions which are another source of ritual impurity
Lev. 12:1-5 “The Lord spoke to Moses, saying ‘Speak to the Israelites… When a woman at childbirth bears a male she shall remain unclean seven days…she will remain in a state of blood purification for thirty-three days…If she bears a female, she shall be unclean two weeks… and shall remain in a state of blood purification for sixty-six days.’”
This is a very uncomfortable set of rules related to childbirth, at least to modern readers. The preliminary question is why childbirth leads to impurity. The traditional explanation informs us that neither procreation nor childbirth are sinful. The “defilement” of childbirth is a natural event. Just as women become ritually impure in connection with monthly periods (and men impure with nocturnal emissions), blood associated with childbirth leads to impurity. This is at least logically connectable.
But the next question is perhaps more difficult: why is the time doubled when the child is female? As noted in The Jewish Study Bible (p.222), “The ancients may have believed that there was a difference.” In short, we really don’t know. There is some Talmudic discussion of the issue, but I could find no clear answer. One suggestion is that the shorter time frame for a male is due to the fact that male children are circumcised on the 8th day and immediately become part of the Jewish People. Another discussion suggests that since Eve was taken from Adam’s side, a female is somehow “less” than a male. I am not persuaded by either point of view.
There is yet another suggestion which I find persuasive and perhaps meaningful. When a female child is born, the mother undergoes purification not only for herself but also for her daughter, who in time will herself be a source of life. This interpretation suggests that the female child is associated with a greater degree of life for which added purification is required. This in turn re- enforces the Jewish emphasis on the importance and value of every life.
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