Parshas Tazria-Metzora - The End is Near: “Game Over” or “Level Cleared?”

Parshas Tazria-Metzora

The End is Near:

“Game Over” or “Level Cleared”?

By: Daniel Listhaus

וַיְדַבֵּר ה' אֶל משֶׁה לֵּאמֹר: דַּבֵּר אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לֵאמֹר אִשָּׁה כִּי תַזְרִיעַ וְיָלְדָה זָכָר וְטָמְאָה שִׁבְעַת יָמִים כִּימֵי נִדַּת דְּו‍ֹתָהּ תִּטְמָא

“Hashem spoke to Moshe saying, 'Speak to the Children of Israel, saying: When a woman conceives and gives birth to a male, she shall be impure for a seven-day period, as during the days of her menstruant infirmity shall she be impure.'”

-Tazria 12:1-2

Rashi¹ points out that only now after having discussed many of the details regarding bringing animals as karbanos (offerings) does the Torah teach about the very first halachos (laws) that apply at the beginning of every childbirth. Rashi brings from a medrash² that the reason for this order is because it is structured after the sequence of Beraishis (Creation). Just as the creation of man came after all the cattle, beasts, and fowl, so too the halachos pertinent to man are taught after those of animals.

The question that this leads to, however, as the Sifsei Chachomim³ asks, is why exactly is it that man was created after animals? The Sifsei Chochomim answers based on a gemara. The gemara⁴ itself poses the question as to why man was created last, just hours before Shabbos. The gemara offers four answers. The first answer is in order to remove the possibility of people believing that man helped Hashem create the world. After all, if man was clearly not created until Friday after everything else, then it is impossible that man had anything to do with the creation of the world. The second answer suggested is that man was created last as a constant reminder, especially during times when we may feel haughty, that even the gnat was created before us. The third answer given is that man was created right before Shabbos in order that he be able to involve himself in a mitzva right away. The fourth answer the gemara offers is that man was created last because really the whole world was created for man and this way all of nature would be prepared for us.

Having answered his side question, the Sifsei Chochomim asks on the medrash brought by Rashi that if indeed the Torah was structuring the many halachos of Sefer Vayikra based on the order of Beraishis, then why is it that Parshas Tazria comes before Parshas Metzora? After all, the halachos in Tazria deal with women whereas Metzora deals with laws subject to men. Adom was created before Chava and therefore Parshas Metzora should come before Parshas Tazria in the same way that the Parshiyos dealing with laws of animals come before the halachos dealing with people?

The Sifsei Chochomim offers three answers, however we will focus on the first. The Sifsei Chochomim writes that the reason why the laws of Tazria are in the Torah before those of the Metzora is because it is much more common for a woman to give birth (tazria) than for a man to become a metzora (someone with tzara'as). This answer is simple enough. It is actually fairly common for the Torah to give preference in order to something that is more common. This concept is known as tadir v'she'aino tadir, tadir kodem – for example if one has before him two mitzvos, one of which is objectively done more often than the other, one should do the more regular one first and only afterward do the second. However, the words of the Sifsei Chochomim themselves are worth repeating that the answer as to why Parshas Metzora does not come before Parshas Tazria is because it is more common for a woman to give birth than for a man to become a metzora.

Now-a-days we live in a world where exactly the opposite is true. Rarely does a day go by in the news without a mention of pushing the rights of women to be able to not have children; and when was the last day there was no story in the news of someone killing many people? Stabbings and shootings all over the country (let alone the world) of innocent people are things which we have become accustomed to and no longer even seem to faze young children. I do not intend to take any political sides or try to promote an opinion regarding either side to these topics. Both sides to these areas are certainly debatable in American law, and I have no idea what the subject matter or current debates in halacha are involved. I am sure that by both Torah and secular law, although coming from very different sources, reasons, and viewpoints, there is a lot of gray area as to what degree these things could be taken to from a practical position, a constitutional stand point, and an ethical perspective. However leaving all of that aside, the only thing that I would like to point out is the fact that unarguably these discussions and events do fill the daily news and occupy the minds of many. Regardless of how far one is willing to extend it, there is no question that the universal goals of man – to provide a next generation and ensure peace keeping peace by staying away from lashon harah – are things which the world in general is now willing to play around with more than in the past. Could we really be so sure that indeed now-a-days it is not the case that man becomes a metzora⁵ much more often than a woman gives birth? The metzora side is heavy - people degrade and belittle each other all the time in more and worse ways now than ever before. Simultaneously, the tazria side is light – it is no secret that America's birth rate is speedily decreasing to the point that it is now even an economic concern that a child born in 2015 will possibly be expected to carry twice the economic burden than one born in 1985.

The world has become completely upside-down. The species of mankind has so deeply deteriorated that those still represent what an “adom” is are extremely far and extremely few between. Those who are immersed in Torah study and work on their middos and connection to Hashem represent the last remnant of Adom.

Last weekend, William Kieren, a 79 year old man, was tragically killed in car accident on the highway. This accident was one like no other – Kieren was killed but his car did not have even the slightest scratch in it. As a matter of fact, his car was not even hit. No one was drunk, no one was on the phone while driving, and the car that killed him was completely in control. How did he die? William was driving along the dark Wyoming highway and noticed an injured rabbit in the middle of the road. So, he left his car on the side and walked to the center lane where the rabbit was and started to pick it up to save it from its imminent danger. Ironically, while doing so, he himself was hit by a car, whose driver could not make Kieren out in the dark. Kieren was sadly killed and although it was not mentioned, it could be assumed that the unlucky rabbit was as well.

This story is a sad one indeed and for many it is still fresh in their minds. When reading this article, though, it is hard not to wonder what in the world he was thinking for getting out of his car in the middle of a highway to save the rabbit? Maybe he thought he would see any oncoming cars and be able to move out of the way in time, or perhaps there was some other rationale. There is no argument, however, that it was at best a case of safeik sakanas nefashos (a situation of a possible loss of human life). As a Torah Jew, there is very little demanded from one in a circumstance of possible loss of human life, and saving an injured animal is certainly not on that privileged list. Again, there is no humor in a nice 79 year old man dying no matter how it happened, but the fact that someone with so much life experience could make such a miscalculation is scary. Surely this comes from the double edged sword of two forces pulling at modern society. One is the force of the importance of animal rights and the other is the devaluation of human life. These perspectives are so predominant in our times that it has become seemingly normal.

On September 24, 2011 a 21 year old man by the name of C.J. Wickersham was a victim of a bull-shark attack. The good news is that he lived to tell the tale, something many with a shared experience do not. The bad news is that he lost a couple of body parts and is obviously not the same person physically or mentally that he was before. However, despite this man's traumatizing encounter, PETA thought it to be the opportune time to remind everyone to have the proper view of life. As Ashley Byrne, a PETA director, said, “We are glad that Mr. Wickersham is going to be okay, but we do hope that this painful and frightening experience makes him think about the pain and fear that he is causing to fish – and other fishermen are causing to fish.”

The atmosphere modern society advocates of the devaluation of human life, is expressing itself in the types of debates that are being argued, the daily violence, and depression at early ages. Man was created last because the world was created for him. Granted there is a commandment not to destroy the world Hashem created for us⁶ and that we are warned against tza'ar ba'alei chaim (paining creatures)⁷, but equally is the charge for us to remain an Adom and utilize the world and its resources productively – for the use of man – even if there be a cost to the animals involved.⁸ Yes, fish do need to be taken out of their habitat and killed for people to eat, but that is their purpose. The 'ethical perspectives' of our times are completely contrary to what was established as the baseline expectations of all mankind from the time of Beraishis.⁹

May Hashem help us and the world at large realize how we are failing greatly in our role as adom. The world is completely upside-down and there is no doubt that the end is near. However let us make an effort to at least think about this and help change so that we do not have to end the world with a “game over” as reshaim who are not even holding on the level of basic Adom, but rather with a “level completed” as tzaddikim who recognize what it means to be an Adom and are therefore able to do teshuva.

1Vayikra 12:1

2Vayikra Rabbah 14:1

3Vayikra 12:1

4Sanhedrin 38a

5Obviously there are no metzoras now because we no longer have tzara'as and there is no Beis Hamikdash with a Kohen to declare it to be tamei or tahor. However, conceptually, the idea that people are constantly doing things that would be the cause of tzara'as and becoming a metzora is a very real one.

6Devarim 20:19

7See Gemara Bava Metzia 32a-33a which discusses whether this is a law from the Torah itself or a Rabbinic decree. Additionally see Gemara Berachos 40a which states that it is forbidden for a person to feed himself before his animals

8Beraishis 1:26-30; See also Gemara Shabbos 129

9See Beraishis 9:1-7
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