Portions Library

A collection of essays on the weekly Torah Portions, from Genesis to Deuteronomy, adapted from Torah Club.

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Tazria

PORTIONS LIBRARY

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The Miracle of Life

There are few things more sober and heartrending than a pregnancy that ends prematurely. We can’t explain why things like that happen, but it is possible that some souls are so pure and burn so hot that they quickly return to the flame that first gave them life.

Topics:

child, childbirth, life, pregnancy, purification

The Sin of Childbirth

After giving birth to a child, a woman was required to bring a burnt offering and a sin offering to the LORD. Did the woman sin by having a baby? On the contrary, she was fulfilling the commandment to be fruitful and multiply. Why did she need to bring a sin offering?

Topics:

clean and unclean, Levitical worship, presence of God, purity laws, sin offerings, Tazria

Leprosy in the Gospels

God’s Sanctuary represents immortality and incorruptibility. In His presence, there is no death, no decay, and no decomposition. Therefore, He bans from His Sanctuary the disease that represents a living decomposition. Leprosy involves an ongoing, visible progression toward physical corruption. It is the antithesis of the immortal and incorruptible world represented in God’s Sanctuary.

Topics:

corruption, decay, flesh, immortality, incorruptibility, leper, leprosy, Levitical worship, purity laws, sickness, Tazria, Temple

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For a chronological list of all the Torah Portions in each of the five books of Torah, click here.