Tazria

Being Sorry About Having Kids

G-d's Love for Israel: Conditional?

Othello, Wikileaks, and Mildewed Walls

TAZRIA

Brit Milah: It's OK for Gentiles Not to Understand

...The Jew has always been something of a mystery to the non-Jews; they have never really understood us or what majkes us tick. This is especially true regarding the mitzvah of circumcision (brit milah) - and this does not bother us. The non-Jew is not bound by this mitzvah, and he has no need, or ability, to comprehend it...

The Plague of Evil Speech

Mila and Tumat Leida

From Siach Shaul pp. 328-330

From Siach Shaul pp. 328-330

The Special Power of Women

This week's Torah portion of Tazria tells us that when a boy is born, the schedule is as follows: The mother is in a state of Niddah – ritual impurity – for seven days; on the eighth day, the baby is circumcised, and the mother begins a period of 33 days in which she is pure despite any discharge (although she may not touch something holy or enter the sanctuary). If a girl is born, the mother is impure for 14 days and pure for 66. The question begs itself: Why is everything doubled when a girl is born?