Tazria – Metzoira 2017: Menstruation, Childbirth & Leprosy: Everything They Forgot To Teach You In Yeshiva

by devadmin | April 28, 2017 8:57 am

Raboyseyee and Ladies:

Menstruation, Childbirth & Leprosy: Everything They Forgot To Teach You In Yeshiva

We’re just about done with korbonois and it’s time for some straight talk about sex and childbearing.  Does the parsha discuss these topics? Mamish? Vey iz mir (OMG)! Just kidding: the parsha is not about sex at all, only what happens after sex.  Welcome to Parshas Tazria, the front half of a springtime doubleheader wherein we learn all about menstruation, childbirth, and much more, and also to Parshas Metzoira, which is about leprosy and according to many, its root cause: loshoin horo.  Zicher the heylige Oisvorfer knows a thing or two about that topic, if you chap. Parshas Tazria begins by informing us how boys and girls are made. Forget about chromosomes, the X factor, sperm spinning and other such narishkeyt (bs). Want to know how to make a boy? Learn the parsha.  Says the heylige Toirah azoy:

Speak to the children of Israel, saying: If a woman   conceives and gives birth to a male, she shall be unclean for seven days; as   [in] the days of her menstrual flow, she shall be unclean. ב. דַּבֵּר אֶל   בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לֵאמֹר אִשָּׁה כִּי תַזְרִיעַ וְיָלְדָה זָכָר וְטָמְאָה   שִׁבְעַת יָמִים כִּימֵי נִדַּת דְּוֹתָהּ תִּטְמָא:

Way before scientific journals and other at-home experimentation techniques put forth various theories on gender selection, the heylige Toirah summed it all up in but a few words. Parshas Tazria begins with Moishe telling the Yiddin all about childbirth. Well. Not all about it; but a few key halochois. Says the heylige Gemora (Nidda 31a): If the woman gives seed first, she gives birth to a male; if the man gives seed first, she gives birth to a female.  Nu, does the Oisvorfer have to spell it out for you?  Poshit giredt (simply speaking), men need to slow down, if you chap, and allow the women to seed first. Avada that’s a tall order for most men, an impossibility for others. Ober, if the codifiers of the heylige Gemora gave us the recipe for boy making, efsher we need to listen.  Speed, if you chap, is precisely why we taka have so many more girls than boys and of course the shidduch crisis. Case closed, no need for further discussion or scientific facts: we don’t argue with the heylige Gemora, chas v’sholom. Veyter.

 

6. And when the days of her purification have been completed, whether for a son or for a daughter, she   shall bring a sheep in its first year as a burnt offering, and a young dove  or a turtle dove as a sin offering, to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, to the koihain. ו. וּבִמְלֹאת   יְמֵי טָהֳרָהּ לְבֵן אוֹ לְבַת תָּבִיא כֶּבֶשׂ בֶּן שְׁנָתוֹ לְעֹלָה וּבֶן   יוֹנָה אוֹ תֹר לְחַטָּאת אֶל פֶּתַח אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד אֶל הַכֹּהֵן:

You hear this?  The woman who spent nine months carrying her baby and having thankfully delivered a healthy baby, must now bring not just any korban (sacrifice) to the RBSO, bit a korban Chatos, a sin offering? What’s taka pshat?  Seemingly, having a baby is epes a shtikel sin.  Grada the prevailing thinking has always been that having an illicit relationship  and especially one that led to having a baby was a big no-no, ober, having a baby with one’s own husband is also a sin that requires a korban (sacrifice)? What’s taka pshat? What terrible sin did the mother commit in having a child? Didn’t the RBSO command Odom and Noiach each (twice) to be fruitful and multiply.  Isn’t having children mamish a mitzvah?  Why should a mother be declared unclean for fulfilling a Mitzvah? And why must she offer a Korban Chatas?

Says the heylige Tanna Reb Shimon bar Yochai (Nidda 31a) in response to a kasha posed by his talmidim: When she kneels in labor, she swears impetuously that she will have no intercourse with her husband. The Toirah, therefore, ordained that she should bring a sin offering [to atone for her false oath.]  Nu, mistama you’re klerring (thinking) that when the woman was swearing about abstinence, mistama she wasn’t kidding and certainly she wasn’t swearing falsely. Why taka the need for a korban? Horaya (a proof of this is), the more children one has with his eishes chayil, the less sex they have on an ongoing basis (forever). We can therefore kler (posit) that, when she made that oath, she really meant it. Ober, veyst zichois (it appears) that a Korban Chatas is taka in order.  Not because of the physical process of giving birth, but rather, to atone for the mother’s thoughts (of not servicing her husband properly and often, following childbirth): Shoin: guilty as charged!

 

Mistama you’re perplexed by this entire concept of a woman having to bring a sin korban following childbirth as logically speaking, one would think punkt farkert (quite the opposite). Isn’t childbirth one of the most amazing and awe inspiring events that a woman can experience? And if a korban is required, wouldn’t a more appropriate korban for the naya mama (new mother) following such an event be a Korban Toidah (thanksgiving sacrifice)? What’s p’shat, what gives here?

Ober Raboyseyee, even though you think your kasha is so givaldig, the Medrish already thought of this hundreds of years ago. One Medrish explains that since childbirth is a painful experience there may have been a split second of extreme pain during which the mother may have thought that it would have been better not to have the child at all. Even though the mother did not mean this seriously, the very fact that this thought entered her mind, is reason enough to make her give a Korban Chatas (sin offering) instead of a Toidah.

Says Nechama Lebowitz, azoy: the laws of purity concerning childbirth are the “most perplexing phenomenon” of all such laws. A seemingly excellent kasha (question) might be: If the first commandment is Pru –U’rvu (to procreate), why is the mother fulfilling the mitzvah  made unclean and why does she have to bring a sin Korban? Ver Veyst? She suggests that when a child is born, the mother looks at this pure and innocent child and looks at herself and what she has become. More often than not, the mother will realize that when she was born she had so much potential to become an amazing person; however, as time went on, she drifted farther and farther from that goal. The very fact that the mother comes to terms with this and realizes how little she really has accomplished is reason enough to give a Chatas to the RBSO. A shtikel shver (hard) to follow, especially from a woman ober that’s what she says. Unless of course she was referring to all the extra weight the mothers forget to take off following childbirth.

Nu, since we’re tif (deep) into the woman, I meant the sugya (topic) of childbirth, let’s taka learn one more halacha about post-delivery activities (of a sexual nature). As you can imagine, these opening pisukim of the parsha, about seeding, conception, childbirth and the ensuing impurity of the child-bearing mother, didn’t go unnoticed and there’s quite a bit of commentary in the medrish. Let’s go veyter:  Says the heylige Toirah azoy:

4. And for thirty three days, she   shall remain in the blood of purity; she shall not touch anything holy, nor   may she enter the Sanctuary, until the days of her purification have been   completed. ד. וּשְׁלֹשִׁים   יוֹם וּשְׁלֹשֶׁת יָמִים תֵּשֵׁב בִּדְמֵי טָהֳרָה בְּכָל קֹדֶשׁ לֹא תִגָּע   וְאֶל הַמִּקְדָּשׁ לֹא תָבֹא עַד מְלֹאת יְמֵי טָהֳרָהּ:
5. And   if she gives birth to a female, she shall be unclean for two weeks, like her   menstruation [period]. And for sixty six days, she shall remain in the blood   of purity. ה. וְאִם נְקֵבָה   תֵלֵד וְטָמְאָה שְׁבֻעַיִם כְּנִדָּתָהּ וְשִׁשִּׁים יוֹם וְשֵׁשֶׁת יָמִים   תֵּשֵׁב עַל דְּמֵי טָהֳרָה:

Nu, before we turn this shiur into a class on anatomy, a topic your rebbe may have enjoyed teaching through touch and don’t tell, if you chap, let’s see what others said. Says the Chizkuni (a rishon who lived later than Rashi) quoting the Sefer Ha-Tolados azoy: A woman has inside of her [uterus] seven chambers, three on the right side and three on the left side, and one in the center. When the seed enters on the right side, she will give birth to a male child; if the seed enters on the left side she’ll give birth to a female child. And if the seed enters at the center, she will give birth to a tumtum (child with ambiguous genitalia) or an androgynous child.  Then he gives a primer on gender selection: Follow this if you have too many of any one gender (or just for fun).

When the woman rests, after intercourse, on her right side, the seed will enter the chambers on the right side, and she will have a boy…ober (but) if she rests on her left side, the seed will enter on the left and she’ll have a girl. (Interesting to note that there is no mention of the man following intercourse. Taka why? Because he’s already sleeping or long gone).  As proof of his scientific theory, he cites an intimate possik (verse) from ‘Shir Hashirm, “His left arm is under my head and his right arm embraces me” (2:6).

While the heylige Gemora (Kiddushin 19) cautions against interpreting Shir Ha-Shirim literally, this verse, which may be understood as an image of the two lovers engaged in a special moment of intimacy, is interpreted by the Chizkuni as a purposeful arrangement of bodies so that the woman would give birth to a male child! If the man’s left hand is under the woman’s head, and they are facing each other, then it must be that she is lying on her right side – the appropriate arrangement for having a boy. Is this p’shat? Ver veyst (who knows)?

Grada today’s leading experts on the uterus (including some of you) and medical halacha state that Chizkuni’s description of the anatomy of the female uterus, while taka common in Jewish exegesis in the middle ages, coincided with the prevalence of that anatomical view among medieval scientists.  In other words: the so-called doctrine of the seven chambered uterus is a product of medieval imagination; in other words: nisht geshtoigen nisht gifloygin (a bunch of bs).

Today, scientists and later commentators no longer believe in the doctrine of the seven-chambered uterus; have you seen seven on anyone? Zicher this is no heter to do a bidika this evening, if you chap. Besides, Pesach is already over.  Moreover, you shouldn’t be looking altogether and if you are, you’re a big chazir and some taka say it’s ossur (verboten). Ober, once upon a time, there was a rich body of brilliant Toirah interpretation that drew on this idea. Anyway, guys are happy with one chamber too! Ok, veyter.

Says the heylige Toirah that after giving birth, the woman is impure for seven days (in the case of a male child) and like the ‘nida’  (a woman during her menstrual period), is mamish  forbidden  from entering the Temple or from having sexual relations. Nu, relations they can zicher forgo, but no temple entry?  Yikes!

And listen to this. Says the heylige Gemora (Nida, 31b): R. Meir used to say, Why did the Toirah ordain that the uncleanness of menstruation should continue for seven days?  Because being in constant contact with his wife [a husband might] develop a loathing towards her.  The Toirah which avada understood men, therefore, ordained: “Let her be unclean for seven days in order that she shall be beloved by her husband as at the time of her first entry into the bridal chamber.”  In other words, absence, or in this case abstinence, makes the heart grow fonder. Shoin, bazman hazeh (in our times) many women are sadly more machmir (even stricter) and hold that separation from their husbands should be extended for many months.  Shoin, what happens next needn’t be reduced to paper, if you chap, or when.

Added The Netziv: that this must also be the reason for the impurity following childbirth. Since, according to the Toirah, a woman is permitted to have sexual relations during the thirty-three-day period of her “blood purification,” the Toirah prohibits her during the first seven days after childbirth. This is so that the husband and wife do not lose their attraction to each other. The Toirah prescribes a period of physical separation between husband and wife so that their excitement and love for each other remains strong and vibrant forever. Seemingly the Rabonim in their wisdom figured out that another week of separation wouldn’t hurt either.

Nu, we have space for one more topic. The students of R. Shimon ben Yochai asked him, Why did the heylige Toirah command that circumcision should take place on the eighth day? He answered, so that it should not happen that everyone is happy while the father and mother are grieved. What’s p’shat? Says Rashi: for they are still forbidden to have sexual relations.  Ober shtelt zich di shaylo (the question arises), azoy: why taka did the RBSO instruct us to perform a bris on the eighth day? Why not on the first day? Why not mamish upon delivery? The baby is already crying and somewhat bloody; would one more cut and some blood be so giferlich? Nu, efsher we can kler that a newborn baby is not yet strong enough to withstand a birs and that such a procedure might be considered unhealthy to the baby’s well-being.
Let’s learn a shtikel from Parshas Metzoirah.  Strap in and buckle up; we’re about to meet some of the more colorful characters that Sefer Vayikra has to offer. None are mentioned by name but rest assured that you will not soon forget them. Let’s quickly meet Mr. or Mrs. Metzoira (they got a parsha named after themselves), Mr. or Mrs. Zav and Zava, Master, if you chap, or Mr. Motzie Shicvas Zera(levatol at times), and Mrs. Nidda. We’ll get to know them better shortly. And now that we have your attention, let’s learn some parsha.

Let’s begin with a shtikel discussion on discharges.  Not from the hospital, a nursing home, the military or even from prison. We will? Ober halt zicheyn (keep your pants on): grada, that’s usually a good way to prevent discharges, if you chap, though not always.  Discharged from where, you must be klerring? Nu, the heylige Toirah does not disappoint, and if the RBSO decided to include discharges in His heylige Toirah, avada we must learn the sugya (subject). Efsher you’re longing for and miss terribly the exciting stories we read back in Sefer Bereishis about individuals, their challenges, successes and foibles.
What’s a metzoira you ask? Nu, because you were so busy looking for the seven chambers that your eishes chayil or significant other is supposed to have somewhere in her holy grail, mistama you forget that in plain English, a metzoira is a person who has Tzora’as. We spoke about tzora’as a few pages back, and also check it out at www.oisvorfer.com.  The first four aliyos of the parsha  are taka dedicated to his healing, purification and return to the camp. Ober this year we will focus on other characters not specifically mentioned by name but mamish central to the parsha. They are found at chamishi (5th aliya), closer to the end of the parsha, the part you never get to because you long lost concentration while engrossed in loshoin horo talk with your chaver. Don’t you remember that Miriam, Moishe’s sister got Tzora’as for speaking loshoin horo? Not to worry: she recovered! In any event, a series of commandments which surround these mystery people, made for a whole lot of interesting Gemora and medrish discussion. We’’ll learn some of them below. Because they are a shtikel graphic, the Oisvorfer will, instead of giving his own spin, quote them verbatim (almost). Of course you will find a shtikel commentary along the way. There are many, way too many for this short (joke) review ober we’ll try to cover a few interesting highlights.

 

Let’s meet the fab five. Each of them is Tomay (impure) for a different reason. The Metzoira was introduced a few pages back, the others are found beginning this week. Say hello to the ‘Yoiledes’ (a women who gave birth to either a boy or girl), the ‘Zav’, the ‘Zava’ (male and female leakers), and the ‘Nida’ (she in her menstrual cycle and beyond). Oh and let’s not forget the emitter. And what do they all have in common? They all, says the heylige Gemora, belong to a subset of tum’a known as “tumois-hayotzois-migufo” (the source of tum’a is the body of the tamei). In plain English: something coming out of them renders them impure. Seemingly, things going in for some of the group are ok, if you chap. Shoin! The bottom line: they are impure. Not by coming into contact with something else, or something they contracted from the outside, but as a result of a body condition where something came out of them. And what is that something? Chap nisht, you’re about to be enlightened. Veyter.

The action, as we said, picks up as the heylige Toirah turns its attention to other people who are impure. They include – the zav (literally the flow), a man with an unusual penile emission; a man who had a regular seminal emission; the niddah, the woman who has menstruated; and the zava, the woman who has had an irregular flow of blood. The Toirah says all that? Not exactly but of course the heylige Mishnah, the Gemora and myriad medroshim fill in the blanks. Nu, do you see why it’s important to learn the heylige Gemora daily and why hundreds of thousands do so all over world?
Says the heylige Toirah (Vayikro 15:2) azoy: Speak to the Children of Israel and say to them: Any man, should there be a discharge from his body, [because of his discharge] he is impure. A later posik will discuss female discharges. In other words: a he or she, who has a flow from their bodies, is a Zav or Zava.  A flow? What the hec is a flow? Nu, for now, a flow is a discharge. And shreklich as it sounds, the heylige Toirah discuses those very discharges you are most familiar with, chazerim that you are. We’re talking semen, indeed we are. Or are we? And if not exactly semen, it epes looks like semen, ver veyst. And we’re talking blood, Welcome to the laws of the Zav and Zava, the male and female offenders. Who are they? They are the discharges and because they are discharged, they are tomay. Is that so giferlich? Weren’t most of you discharging zav in high school and ever since, if you chap? Wasn’t the rebbe zaving all over himself when he approached you with his shtekin?  Let’s go veyter.

And who were the experts that chapped what the heylige Toirah meant? The heylige Gemora of course and lommer lernin (Niddah Daf 35): A zav is a man who has an emission similar to, but not identical to, a seminal discharge. He is tomei and he transmits tumah only through contact. What to do? He immerses in a mikvah on the same day and he is tahor (pure) by nightfall. (Of course this assumes that the mikveh itself is not full of zav from the last pervert who dipped in, if you chap. This also assumes he emitted only once. Shoin! But…..if he experiences two emissions, he is upgraded and now classified as an ‘av hatumah’. His ability to transmit tuma through contact and by being carried, are upgraded as well. He must observe seven clean days and then immerse in spring water. Interestingly enough, a woman does not require spring water; any mikveh water will do.  That for another day. And as expected, there is also the case of the zav that discharges three times. We’ll call him lucky! In any event, the three-time offender will need to bring a korban (sacrifice) as part of his purification process. Of course there are loopholes in counting and says the Gemora that if one of the three emissions was caused by stimulus, whatever that means, that one discharge does not count towards the three that would require a korban. In other words: stimulated discharges do not count towards the Zav count.

 

Ober what is a discharge that epes looks like semen but may efsher not be real semen? Said Rav Huna azoy: The discharge of a zav resembles the dough water of barley. The discharge of the zav issues from dead flesh- meaning a limp organ, while the real thing, semen,  issues from live flesh – meaning an erect organ. Shoin, no further commentary required; all you chazerim know exactly what Rav Huna meant. Ober he continues: The discharge of a zav is watery and resembles the white of a spoiled egg, while semen is viscous and resembles the white of a sound egg. You hear this Raboyseyee?

 

Said Rashi who is quoted verbatim, azoy:  “I might have thought, a discharge from any place [in the body] would make him impure, Therefore the verse says “from his body” – and not all his body. Now after the verse distinguished between flesh and flesh (i.e. flows from different parts of the body), I might reason, that once [the Toirah] declared a man with a discharge unclean and a woman with a discharge unclean, (I would reason) that just like a woman with a discharge from the place [in her body] that she becomes unclean with a lesser impurity – the menstruating woman – so from that same place does she become impure with a stricter impurity – a discharge – likewise with a man, from the place (his sexual organ) from which he becomes impure with a lesser impurity – a seminal emission – from that same place he becomes impure from a greater impurity – a zav.”
And what does all that mean? Ver veyst. And why is Rashi discussing discharges from organs? Ver veyst? Seemingly, like in the army, not all discharges are the same; certain discharges are sanctioned and givaldig and certain, mistama the ones you knew best in high school, make a person impure. Wait, Rashi is not quite done, though you may be, if you chap. By logical analysis, Rashi concludes that the discharges mentioned above, refer to bodily fluids coming from the male or female organ of the person and not from any other discharge in the body. What’s pshat? Seemingly, puss from a wound or blood from the mouth does not render one impure.

Zicher not all discharges are the same. Discharge (zava) from a woman is blood (verse 19), the same as the blood she discharges when she is menstruating (the lesser impurity). The difference is that menstruation comes at a more or less fixed time in the woman’s monthly cycle, while the Zava discharge comes any other time. But both are blood. For men there is a difference. His Zav discharge is not blood; it is a semen-like substance. But it is seemingly different from the healthy semen that is active in conception. Ok, a few more items of interest about the Zav.

A man who emits a discharge that may be Zav is “checked ” to determine whether or not he becomes a Zav. If the discharge came about b’Oines (accidentally but due to an external cause), he is Tahoir (pure). How does one discharge Zav accidentally? Says the heylige Gemora that such accidental emission can come about from seven external causes. 1. eating too much; 2. drinking too much; 3.carrying a heavy load; 4. jumping; 5. being sick; 6. (a) seeing a frightening sight (Rashi to Nazir 65b); (b) seeing a woman, even without having unclean thoughts (ROSH to Nazir ibid.); 7. having unclean thoughts. Nu, need more be said? Bottom line: mistama none of you qualify, nebech.

 

And what’s so giferlich (terrible) about an accidental discharge? And when was the last time you had an accidental discharge, you chazzir?  And when was the last time you called someone in to check your discharge so that it could be determined if the emission was of a seminal nature or just plain simple and unadulterated Zav? And whose job is it to inspect the discharge? And where does one train for a job like this? Ver veyst?

 

In any event, in order to start his purification process, a Zav, checking once in the morning and once towards evening (efsher by his high school Rebbe, must count seven clean days in which he experiences no discharge of Zav. On the seventh day or afterwards, he must immerse in spring water during the day. At nightfall he becomes Tahor, unless he suffered (or enjoyed) from yet another emission, if you chap.

 

Even if the first time was b’Oines, as long as the second emission was not, he is Tomay.  If he emitted Zav three times, whether it is emitted in one day or in two or three consecutive days, he has to bring a Korban after he becomes Tahor (on the eighth day) in order to enter the Beis ha’Mikdash and to eat Kodshim (holy food). The Korban is two Torim (turtledoves) or two B’nei Yonah (common doves), one offered as an Olah and one as a Chatas. But in case the chazir (pig) had three emissions, he is only obligated in a Korban if the first two emissions were not b’Oines.

The bottom line is this: discharges of blood during the cycle and discharges of regular semen, especially if stimulated, are considered lesser impurities than the discharge of blood from a woman not during her cycle and the discharge of a semen-looking-like-substance at any time!  They are? And if emes, which it appears to be, this is more than givaldige news for most oisvorfs who take advantage. It appears and is seemingly not disputed, that regular seminal emissions, be they in the form of regular semen from a man or regular blood from a woman, are considered lesser impurities than are the emissions known as zav.

Does that make sense? Says the Ramban azoy: the difference between the lesser impurity (menstruation for a woman, and seminal emission for a man),  and the more severe impurity (zava for a woman and zav for a man) is that the latter must bring a korban (an offering) in the Temple when their days of purification have ended. For the lesser impurities there is no need to bring an offering. Noch a mol (one more time). Whereas a  Zav that has several emissions, three to be specific, needs to bring a korban, the average chazir that has three healthy emissions from an erect member, is exempt from having to bring a korban. Seemingly he has sacrificed enough, if you chap.

Though this may sound counterintuitive, says the Ramban azoy: The lesser impurities are natural biological processes. That is how the RBSO created humans. For these natural events, no offering is necessary. But the occurrence of a discharge (zav or zava) is not a natural event. They are signs of an illness. Illnesses strike a person, not accidentally, but by divine design. Therefore the individual is in need of forgiveness and repentance. Thus, a repeat offender, one with multiple unprovoked discharges, needs forgiveness in the form of a korban.

Oh and since we met the Zav, let’s also say hello to the Baal keri. Who is that? It’s you! Someone who emits semen once is a Baal Keri. Maybe it’s taka not you! In other words: a Ba’al Keri is a man who ejaculated and was required to immerse in a mikveh before learning Toirah and davening. A zav is someone who has two or more emissions. And the difference? The former is tomei until he immerses in a mikvah, and after that, needs only to wait for nightfall to be permitted to eat kodshim, assuming that’s what he wants to eat. The latter cannot purify himself in a mikvah until he has seven days with no emissions. And, if he had three emissions, he was of course a superstar but did subsequently need to bring a korban before he could eat kodshim again (holy food).Another difference: A Baal keri gets that status whether intentional or accidental, while a zav is only when it was accidental.

Given these very interesting laws that govern the Zav and Zava, efsher you’re wondering why daily mikveh dipping isn’t mandatory? Whatever happened to this halocha? Is the mikveh a dangerous place? It was when the Oisvorfer was growing up!

As stated above, no one chapped this topic more than the heylige Gemora; let’s then learn one more givaldige piece that will put your mind to rest. And because this topic is mamish so explosive, if you chap, the Oisvorfer has decided to quote (in English of course) this next portion. The sidebar comments are of course his.

 

Says the heylige Gemora (Yuma 88a) azoy:  One who experiences a seminal emission [inadvertently –adds Rashi] on the day  of Yom Kippur, all his sins will be forgiven.” Is that all it takes? Is that why they instituted the davening break? Ver Veyst? Another Gemora states: “All his sins are arranged before him?” What does this expression “arranged before him mean?” [It doesn’t mean in order that he will be punished] but rather so that he will be forgiven. Ober before we answer, let’s see one more shtikel Gemora.

 

In the School of Reb Yishmael it was taught, one who experiences a seminal emission on the  day of Yom Kippur should worry the entire year [that he will be punished]. However if he survives the year, he is assured that he is deserving of the World to Come.

 

Rebbe Nachman bar Yitzchok (Yuma 88a) explained [why having a Yom Kippur emission could be  a sign of blessing]. The entire world is being deprived and yet he experiences satiation. When Reb Dimi came he said, he will have a long life, thrive and have many children if he has a seminal emission – inadvertently. All his sins are forgiven – it is a favorable sign that indicates he will have many children and long life. He should worry the entire year –  that the emission is a sign that his fast is not accepted since he is experiencing satiation.

 

This is like a servant who pours a cup for his master who throws it in his face. However if he survives the year and doesn’t die – then he possesses good deeds that are protecting him and thus he is deserving of the World to Come. Because you should know that the entire world is deprived of sexual relations while he is sexually satisfied and is not sexual deprived though not through his intent. Nevertheless if he survives the year that shows that he is completely righteous (tzadik gamur). His life is magnified – the one who has the emission on Yom Kippur is deserving of long life. He will multiply and become many – he will have children and grandchildren. As is alluded to in the Novee (Yeshaya 53:10): “you will see seed (seminal emission or children) and long life.”

 

Says the Mishna Berura (651.3) azoy: If he has a seminal emission he should worry the whole year [for punishment]. Because perhaps his fasting was not accepted because G‑d is showing him that He doesn’t desire his sexual abstention.

 

And said the Mogen Avraham (6:15:3): If he survives the whole year he is assured that he will get the World to Come. His survival for a year after a seminal emission on Yom Kippur indicates that he apparently is a tzadik and therefore did not need to afflict himself on Yom Kippur.

And the real bottom line is more good news: except for the laws of the Nidda, none of the laws are relevant today. Seemingly without the Beis Hamikdash and without the ability to bring a korban, seemingly we all remain Tomei and can seemingly enjoy or get away with multiple emissions; accidental or not.

 
A gittin Shabbis-

 

Yitz Grossman

The Oisvorfer Ruv

 

Source URL: https://oisvorfer.com/tazria-metzoira-2017-menstruation-childbirth-leprosy-everything-they-forgot-to-teach-you-in-yeshiva/