Parshas Tazria & Parashas HaChodesh
God spoke to Moshe, saying: “Speak to the Children of Israel, saying:
‘If a woman gives birth to man-child, then she shall be unclean
Parshas Tazria & Parashas HaChodesh
God spoke to Moshe, saying: “Speak to the Children of Israel, saying:
‘If a woman gives birth to man-child, then she shall be unclean seven days;
as in the days of the impurity of her sickness shall she be unclean. On the
eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.” (Vayikra
There are different ways to look at the process of redemption. Most of us
imagine some kind of uprising of the oppressed that actually works, like
what happened in Tunisia and Egypt recently. Sometimes sheer numbers might
be enough to change the political situation, sometimes it might take a call
to arms. But, rarely does it just happen by remaining still physically,
while moving spiritually.
Or so we may think. Redemption from Egypt had been very passive. We didn’t
amass against the Egyptian people, nor did we attack them militarily, both
options having been impossible at the time. Rather, for the first months, we
continued to go to work as before, and then eventually, we no longer had to
report for duty and stayed home while awaiting the fateful day that the
Egyptian people would not only throw their doors open to their Jewish
slaves, but actually command them to get out!
“Well, that is only because Moshe Rabbeinu was fighting their battle for
them!” one may argue. “They may have done nothing,” a person might say, “but
Moshe Rabbeinu performed great miracles, plague-after-plague, decimating
Egypt and breaking the will of its stubborn leader. Had he not done that,
then they would have remained embittered slaves as before!”
Well, yes and no. There is no question that the plagues led to the
possibility of the redemption of the Jewish people from Egyptian slavery.
But, as the Midrash explains, that was not enough, for had that been the
entire basis of the Jewish redemption from Egypt then 12,000,000 Jews would
not have died in the Plague of Darkness and lost the chance to go out.
A simple gematria makes the point that geulah—redemption—is a state of
being. Hence, the gematria of adam—man—and geulah are the same: 45. This is
not mere numerical coincidence. This is a simple and yet elegant expression
of how one achieves true freedom in life, be it from external enemies or an
internal one. Apparently, the 12,000,000 Jews who died in the ninth plague
just couldn’t make the numbers add up.
This is because there are two levels of being an adam: what we are born and
what we are meant to become. The first is a matter of fact; the second is a
matter of development and commitment, and it is summed up by a verse that
appears right in the midst of the redemption from Egypt itself, and which is
the basis of this fourth and final special Maftir at this time of year:
God spoke to Moshe and Aharon in the land of Egypt, saying, “This month
shall be to you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the
year to you.” (Shemos 12:1-2)
This is the mitzvah to sanctify the new moon being entrusted to the Jewish
people after being solely in God’s possession for 2,448 years. And, it is
mentioned here, as part of the redemption process because it holds the key
to being an adam, and therefore, achieving geulah as a result. Thus, even
though the mitzvah could not yet be physically performed until the Jewish
people conquered and settled the land of Canaan, it could be spiritually
performed by making a conscious effort to live up to its all-important
message of hischadshus—renewal.
Renewal is something that is easy to do when the old, according to everyone,
is clearly outdated. When everyone agrees that the status quo of something
is no longer good enough, then people become energized to resuscitate it.
The problem comes when there are people who are happy with the situation as
it presently stands, and resist change.
That happens to be most people when it comes to spiritual growth. Whatever
spiritual level people are on, they usually like to settle down. Unlike with
respect to materialism, which people love to increase and constantly renew,
when it comes to spiritual growth, which provides little physical comfort in
this world, if any at all, people stay where they are. You have to either be
a good soldier, or really believe in the World-to-Come to be committed to
The process of transformation, represented by the mitzvah of Bris Milah in
this week’s parshah, and by Kiddush HaChodesh—the sanctification of the new
moon in this week’s Maftir—is like a child growing up.
Children like to have fun and be cozy. At a certain age they are introduced
to mitzvos, and in the beginning, they take to the ones 