To birth a new reality into the world is both natural and historic, both an instinctual act and a matter of choice. View the study sheet here. Watch the recording here.
The birds are building their nests. I know it to be true. I watch them from our window as they pick up bits of lint and twigs we have left for them. They dart in and snatch these, and then they disappear. But I know what they are doing. It’s homes they are building. New life is on the way. Spring is here! And with it new beginnings, new hope. Nature insists. We can either resist the flow or join in.
In just two weeks’ time we will celebrate Passover. It is our celebration of spring: “Observe the month of spring (aviv) and make a pesach for Adonai” (Deuteronomy 16:1). Traditionally, the holiday was observed with the offering of the Paschal lamb. Elsewhere this holiday is referred to as the festival of unleavened bread. These elements likely reflect a celebration of nature’s cyclical bounty, embracing a people’s pastoral roots and shepherd traditions.
To that beneficence of nature Torah adds another dimension, that of history. Passover is also called the festival of freedom. In contrast to nature’s repeating cycles of crops and herds, the exodus from Egypt represented a disturbance of time, a break from what had been. It began with a cry of “Enough!” from the mouths of slaves. And the fulfillment of the bounty of freedom required human choice and courage.
The word Torah uses in this week’s portion for bearing a child is tazria. It literally means “to bring forth seed.” Zeraim, based on the same root, is the name for one of the orders of the Mishnah. It concerns laws relating to agriculture. Yet, also included in that order is a volume on blessings, Berachot. So fundamental to life is what we grow that it makes sense to include there guidance on how to give thanks for food and for every aspect of existence.
Parshat Tazria links the life of nature and the life of humans. We read this portion as we begin to prepare for Passover, our festival of freedom. Torah urges us to harmonize the dimensions of nature and history.
New life is on the way. Spring is here! And with it new beginnings, new hope. Nature insists. We can either resist the flow or join in. Abundance is at hand. It is a blessing.
Join us here at 7:00 p.m. (PDT) Thursday March 31 as we explore to bring forth seeds.
