Voices of WRJ: Parashat Tazria

by Sandy Adland Impurity, isolation, inequality, oh my! This week’s Torah portion, Tazria, addresses two areas: ritual impurity associated with the blood of childbirth, and the diagnosis of certain skin ailments and eruptions that would render a person to be ritually impure. In regard to these situations, the women in Tazria are portrayed in a negative light but WRJ must continue to affirm how important, beautiful, loved and appreciated our daughters and sisters in the Reform Jewish world are. In the case of the former part of Tazria, the blood of childbirth, according to the Torah, women who give birth to a girl must remain in a state of impurity for twice as long than if they give birth to a boy. Further, once she has met the appropriate time constraints, she is required to offer sacrifices before she is considered to be in a state of purity once again. It seems unfair to me that after all the work of pregnancy, labor and delivery, it is her burden to offer up two sacrifices before becoming ritually pure once again. Strength and fortitude come to my mind when faced with this situation. Regarding the second part of Tazria, the diagnosis and containment of skin ailments, the Torah offers specific and lengthy instructions for identifying and classifying skin afflictions that render a person impure, and the qualifications for purification. I have always felt sorry for the Bar/Bat Mitzvah student who had to wrestle with this particular Torah portion. What 13-year-old wants to talk about embarrassing subjects like menstrual blood and acne to a public gathering of family and friends during a time of their lives that these unwelcome signs of puberty often appear and complicate their lives? Maybe there are other ways for us to approach these biblical chapters. Perhaps we can be grateful that in today’s Reform Judaism there are no such rules for how long one must wait after childbirth to be considered ritually pure and to enter the sanctuary. Additionally, with an emphasis in our Reform movement toward inclusivity for all people, there is no place for the segregation of those with skin afflictions. We need to turn this portion and stand it on its head. Instead of the negative images portrayed of women in Tazria concerning sex and sexuality, we need to honor women in the Reform Jewish world. Childbirth should not be atoned for, but rather, celebrated. Further, we should never segregate people because of their physical attributes or challenges. Today, I believe, our children are being raised in a world that is more accepting and inclusive of differences. Tazria presented us with two negative images: women bringing atonement offerings after childbirth and the segregation of people from one another because of perceived inequality from contracting skin ailments. Women of Reform Judaism has worked to dispel these two images. We have played an important role in supporting issues concerning equality for women around the world and through our advocacy efforts, including the establishment and adoption of numerous resolutions, we have fought to defeat the scourge of the worldwide tragedy of HIV/AIDS. May we as members of WRJ proudly continue the work of those who came before us, striving toward equality and inclusion for all, ever-mindful that our holiness and connection to God are determined not by proscribed restrictions, but by what is in our hearts. Sandy Adland is the WRJ Central District First Vice President, a WRJ Board member, and a Past Sisterhood President of Temple Adath Israel Sisterhood in Lexington, KY. She currently serves as Board Member-at-Large for Temple Beth Shalom Sisterhood in Hudson, OH.