This Torah reading deals with the offering a woman brings if she gives birth to a male child. The Zohar uses this as a starting point to expound on the mysteries of conception.
When the soul descends from the treasury of souls in malchut of Atzilut to enter into this world in the body of a person, it first descends to the Garden of Eden, which is connected with this world. It sees the honor of the spirits of the righteous that stand, row upon row, and sees the extent of their reward. Next, it goes to Gehinom to see the punishment of the wicked, and that no mercy is shown to them. At each place it witnesses the evidence of reward for each mitzvah and punishment for each sin.
A woman's defilement for seven days after giving birth was caused by the injection of the snake's poison into Eve. Although the text of the Bible only says that the snake spoke to Eve, it is explained in the Oral Tradition that the snake actually had intercourse with her.
Every individual has a unique divine soul, meant to express his/her distinctive and unique contribution to the world's understanding of G-d's presence in the world. This may express itself in innovative understandings of the Torah, artistic creativity, acts of kindness, inspiring others to lead holy lives, and so on. This is the person's unique, divine "ego".
This divine ego is too often hidden by the alter-ego of the animal soul. This alter ego begins as the consciousness-of-self that a person must have in order to ensure that he will look out for his own physical needs, but quickly assumes complete control of the person's thoughts, making him selfish and self-oriented. This inflated consciousness of self (i.e. inflated beyond the basic consciousness-of-self required for us to function physically) is defined as "evil", inasmuch as it usurps the role intended for the divine soul; the snake personified this "evil".
The inadequacy of the Jewish people at the time of the Exodus is underlined in G-d describing the Exodus as wrenching one people from the midst of the same people, and difficult to justify. That is why it did not endure in the end and the Temple was destroyed.
This is not true of the redemption of the Future, which will occur as a direct result of Israel's merits. First and foremost among those merits is Israel's preoccupation with Torah, never to be forgotten even during a protracted period of exile.
The system of Creation comprises four distinct types: inanimate (mineral), vegetable, animal and human. Parallel to these are four levels of service to G-d: The first level, which is the foundation of all service to G-d correlates to the inanimate, is pure and simple faith. In the creation of the world, the creation of Man was last, coming after the birds, insects, fish and animals.
When it comes to the laws of purity and impurity, the laws which apply to humans (i.e. the leper and his purification process) also are found in the Torah after those of the kashrut of birds, insects, fish and animals. The principal task of a Jew in this physical work is to raise up the holy fallen sparks that are in every part of Creation: inanimate, vegetable, animal and human. Humankind was created at the conclusion of Creation since he is the purpose for all the Creation, the one to repair and heal the world.
What is referred to in Torah as "tzaraat" is not leprosy or any other physical disease. It is a miraculous physical manifestation of a spiritual ailment that appears as a white spot on the skin (or clothing, or walls of a home).
Man has four titles in the Torah. They are the following (in descending order): "Adam", "Ish", "Gever", and "Enosh". The Torah's use of the word "adam" in reference to the metzora is an indication that this individual is on a sublime spiritual level.
The weekly portion focuses on various types of spiritual impurity - on a person, in a person and on a person's possessions - and how we relate to and cleanse ourselves from them. This hints at our dark exile. Yet, the very first few verses of Tazria speak about issuing seed, the process through which new life comes into being. Indeed, the portion itself is referred to as Tazria, "Giving Seed", teaches us that what is required of us now is an effort filled with new "seed".
We have to feel that even if things are difficult, it is only because we are in the early part of the farming process. Now we are planting the seeds, but these seeds will soon sprout and blossom into the future and final redemption and the wondrous revelations of the days of the Mashiach.
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