In R. Jonathan Sacks’ 2019 essay for Parashat Tazria “The Sacrifices of Childbirth” (Covenant & Conversation | Tazria | The Sacrifices of Childbirth | Rabbi Sacks) he presents an original interpretation of why the mother of a new-born must first present two sacrifices, a Whole burnt offering and a Sin offering, in order to reenter the Tabernacle/Temple. After reviewing a number of classical interpretations, R. Sacks states that rather than (“in addition to” ?) categorizing the mother as having sinned in some fashion (R. Sacks insists that a Korban Ola is “normally brought for a serious offense” and obviously the Korban Chatat can be associated with some sort of transgression, even if inadvertent, in keeping with the views of the five classical commentators that he cites) a different understanding of the ritual categories of “purity” and “impurity” will allow us to comprehend the Tora’s requirements for the woman who has just given birth. Continue reading →
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