Tazria
Leviticus 12:1 – 13:59
The parasha opens with the laws of purification after childbirth, prescribing periods of ritual impurity and the offerings a new mother must bring. It then turns to the extensive laws of tzara'at, a skin affliction often mistranslated as leprosy, which serves as a visible sign of spiritual malady. The priest examines the afflicted person, determines whether the condition is ritually impure, and may quarantine the individual. These laws teach that the body can reflect the state of the soul, and that restoration to the community requires both physical healing and priestly declaration.
Key figures
- Moses — Receives and transmits the laws of purification and tzara'at
- Aaron — The priest who examines and determines the status of skin afflictions
Famous verses
- 12:3 And in the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.
- 13:46 All the days in which the plague is in him he shall be unclean; he is unclean; he shall dwell alone; without the camp shall his dwelling be.
Haftarah: {'ref': 'II Kings 4:42-5:19', 'connection': "The story of Naaman the Aramean general who is stricken with tzara'at and healed by Elisha directly parallels the parasha's laws of diagnosing and purifying skin afflictions."}
Total gematria: 246,019.