Explanation of the Laws of Childbirth in the Torah
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Question
Hello, In Parashat Tazria, we see that a woman who has given birth is impure for sacred offerings and terumah for forty days for a male and eighty for a female. 1. How can it be explained that the law differs between a male and a female? 2. Why, in our days, is the purification for her husband not as written after eight days for a male or fifteen days for a female?
Answer
Hello
1. There are many explanations, and I will present some of them:
Ibn Ezra explains that the formation of a female takes two weeks, while the formation of a male takes one week. A similar explanation is found in Ramban (in the first explanation).
Bechor Shor explains that during childbirth, 'impurity' exits the body, and after it exits, the blood is pure and clean. In the birth of a male, a small amount of impurity exits, so she is impure for seven days, but since a small amount exits, she has pure blood only for 33 days. In the birth of a female, a large amount of impurity exits, so she is impure for 14 days, but since a large amount exits, she is pure for 66 days. A similar explanation is found in Ramban (in the second explanation).
2. The law is that a woman who gives birth from zivah needs to purify herself from her zivah with seven clean days, and it does not help her that the days of impurity have ended. Therefore, we are always concerned that before the birth there was blood of impurity, and she needs seven clean days.
Source
Rishonim, Leviticus, Chapter 12