Expiation and Envisioning
Adapted by Channie Koplowitz Stein
After a woman gives birth and the appropriate period of purification concludes, the woman is commanded to bring two offerings to Hashem. She is commanded to first bring an olah/burnt offering and a chatas/atonement offering. It seems counter intuitive that a woman who has just fulfilled the mitzvah of peru urvu/be fruitful and multiply (actually, an obligation on the man rather than on the woman) should now be obligated to bring a sin offering. How, if at all, has she sinned? To further complicate the matter, when these two sacrifices are brought together, the sin/atonement offering is usually brought first with the olah/fully burnt offering, completely to God, is brought thereafter. Why is the order in the Chumash reversed here? Is the Olah part of the purification process or the expression of the desire to come closer to God, asks Rabbi Nevenzahl.
Rabbenu Bachye presents us with an historical perspective for these sacrifices. Hashem’s original plan was for childbirth to be completely natural and painless. It was only after Chava’s sin that women were punished with painful childbirth and child rearing. Since Chava was the prototype and contained within her all future women, (Consider that her DNA exists in each of us. CKS) when she sinned, each woman inherited part of that sin and is responsible for atoning for that sin. As the Kli Yakar notes, the Torah states, “She will be purified from the source of her impurity,” that source being Chava’s original sin. Yet Chava’s sin began with thought and sense rather than with the action of eating the fruit. Therefore, the sacrifices that is mentioned in the Chumash, begins with the olah, that sacrifice representing intellect and heart, and continues with the chatas, the sacrifice representing the actual action.
It is possible, however, that the woman did sin during childbirth. Perhaps in the throes of her pain, she swore never to have any more children, or never again to have relations with her husband. Certainly, the woman needs to atone for these misspoken oaths.
Oznaim Latorah makes an interesting observation. The woman’s offering consists of only one turtledove, not a pair. Tradition tells us that the turtledove is faithful to its mate all its life, never mating with another if its mate dies. By bringing only one turtle dove, the woman is reminded of the love and loyalty she too should feel for her spouse.
Why does she also bring a korban olah? Rabbi Nevenzahl cites the Abarbanel in suggesting that this offering is a variation of the korban todah/gratitude offering. The new mother feels a tremendous sense of gratitude in her miraculous survival of the birthing process and for the special gift of a child. But the korban todah should be brought immediately after the event that engendered the feeling, before the gratitude begins to dissipate. Yet the woman may not bring a sacrifice until she has concluded her period of impurity, one or two months after the birth. The woman therefore has an opportunity to draw close to Hashem with this olah offering instead.
In the current era, without a Beit Hamikdosh, the custom is for the woman to recite Birkat Hagomel with a minyan in lieu of these offerings. And the woman may recite this blessing as soon as she is able to have a minyan, even without a Sefer Torah, for she need not wait to be purified as when she went to the Beit Hamikdosh.
Further, a korban Todah must be eaten within one day. Therefore, since an entire animal is being sacrificed and “shared” between Hashem and the person bringing the offering, it is necessary to invite others to join in the feast. (Think Thanksgiving dinner with a 24 pound turkey… and this is even larger. CKS) It is likely that the woman, out of a sense of modesty, would be uncomfortable in such a crowd, especially so soon after giving birth. After all, we are told that Hashem formed Chava from Adam’s unseen rib specifically so she would retain a sense of modesty.
When Chava sinned, she caused great damage to Adam and the world. She “spilled” Adam’s blood and brought death to the world, the crop producing bread and food became cursed, and she extinguished the purity of the light in the soul. To compensate for these, there are three mitzvoth exclusively observed by Jewish women. Jewish women observe laws of family purity, they sanctify the piece of challah dough produced from the wheat of the earth, and they light Shabbat candles to bring back the aura of the primal light. Further, Jewish women traditionally give tzedakah, a donation to the charity box, before lighting the Shabbat candles, for the Prophet Isaiah tells us, “Zion will be redeemed through justice and those who return through tzedakah/righteousness.” It is also customary to pray for the rebuilding of the Temple after doing these three specific mitzvoth as well.
Surviving the throes of labor, the woman may also have taken upon herself some resolutions to maintain an elevated state of sanctity. Perhaps, as time passed, she failed to live up to that sanctity. Perhaps, like a nazir who may inadvertently defile himself, or when his period of naziruth is completed and he rejoins the standard food, drink, and social activities of life and death, the birthing woman brings an olah as a symbol of her desire to still maintain an elevated level of sanctity and state of mind as she (and the nazir) had been on. After the birth, the woman had indeed been in an impure state, so by bringing these sacrifices the woman expresses her desire to regain the closeness with Hakodosh Boruch Hu, writes Rabbi Mintzberg in Ben Melech.
How does one go about achieving this goal? Rabbi Chizkiyahu Eliezer Kahn of Gateshead suggests that one must first clarify the goal, here, to achieve closeness to Hakodosh Boruch Hu. Then one takes the steps to achieve that goal. The olah sacrifice is therefore is mentioned first, for it represents the goal, and is followed by the chatos, the method of achieving that closeness. While in practical terms, the work must begin with knowing where we’ve erred and taking steps to correct our actions, teaches us Rabbi Dessler, one must first have a vision of what that better state is. Before you begin, you must have a goal so you know what steps to take to get there. As the Torat Tzvi writes, the olah sacrifice creates that vision.
Herein lies a major stumbling block for those wishing to do teshuvah, writes the Sifsei Chaim. Not having established a clear vision of what they want to become, they cannot take the necessary steps to achieve it. Just as a builder would never begin a project without a clear vision followed by a blueprint of the actual steps to complete the project, so must a person see himself as the better person he hopes to become. Otherwise, like a builder with a staircase to nowhere, he will find himself floundering, not knowing what he hopes to become. The vision must be there; even if he does not achieve it completely, he will come closer to it with each step in that direction.
Tefillah/Prayer becomes an important component of this process. If I want my children to be great, I have to have that desire for them. They may fall short of the total vision, but they will approach the goal. If, on the other hand, my vision for them is low, they will fall even short of that. Let us pray that our children will become great talmidei chachamim. Then at least it is likely that they will remain frum Jews with good character.
On Yom Kippur, one of the sins for which we ask Hashem’s forgiveness is the sin of tzoraas ayin/narrow vision. While the usual understanding of this phrase is that we have an eye that looks begrudgingly and jealously at others, Rabbi Friedlander here interprets the phrase as meaning we have a vision of ourselves as small, as full of mistakes and sinful. Only by taking a more generous view of ourselves as human beings imbued with the greatness Hashem has implanted in our souls, can we expect to grow and achieve our potential. Chani Juravel in Sefirah in Our Lives suggests that change in perspective. Appreciate the royalty within each of us, and have the confidence to keep moving forward and growing. Then, write down the first step you need to take to achieve that vision.
The Prophet Hosea refers to Kllal Yisroel as a naar, a youth because a young child is always growing. Therefore, writes the Ohel Moshe, “Chanoch lanaar al pi darko,” educate your children to remain always youthful, always on the road to his improvement.
In the Sukkot mitzvah of the four species, the Torah lists the esrog first. In contrast, the Gemorrah begins with the lulav and ends with the esrog. The Mishchat Shemen offers a profound explanation relevant to our theme. The Torah offers us the perfect vision, the goal, while the Gemorrah provides the practical steps. The esrog represents the perfect individual, having purified his body and his character. But one achieves that only through focusing on one body part and one character trait at a time. Even though we do not know the depth and purpose of a particular mitzvah, we need to accept that the goal is to feel a connection to Hashem and act as an impetus to further observance and closeness.
This incremental process is the purpose of counting the Omer, the season we are currently in, teaches us Rabbi Miller. Certainly, Bnei Yisroel reached tremendous spiritual highs as they left Egypt. But that glow waned with each passing day. It was only through personal effort, supported by Hashem’s love, that Bnei Yisroel again rose to those spiritual highs at Har Sinai as they accepted the Torah after forty nine days of counting. It is only through our own desire and “counting” that we can uplift ourselves spiritually. We must maintain the vision of the olah, and then take the small, incremental steps of the chatas toward achieving sanctity. Even knowing that we may sometimes fail, writes Rabbi Pincus, it is important to have the goal. Every small victory is a positive step in the process.
So why do we fail? The failure is not in our ability, but in our view of ourselves. Rabbi Friefeld profoundly understands that we defeat ourselves by not believing in our ability, by not wanting it enough. The excuses we make may be valid excuses for not working on ourselves, or studying at any given time. But they are not the underlying reason. We must see ourselves as worthy, as the sons of the King, and as capable, with skills He has given us. If we awake each morning with the positive outlook – I am here for a purpose, I can work toward my eternity – instead of waking up each morning dreading another boring or difficult day, then we’ve already waged and won part of the battle. Keep that positive vision in our sight at all times, and, with Hashem’s help, we will have the ability to improve and elevate ourselves, and to strengthening our connection to He Who gives us life and gives us the ability to partner with Him in creating life.