Page 374 - 24107

24107-EYAL - 24107-EYAL | 12 - B | 18-01-28 | 12:12:05 | SR:-- | Cyan
24107-EYAL - 24107-EYAL | 12 - B | 18-01-28 | 12:12:05 | SR:-- | Black
#24107-EYAL - 24107-EYAL | 12 - B | 18-01-28 | 12:12:05 | SR:-- | Yellow
24107-EYAL - 24107-EYAL | 12 - B | 18-01-28 | 12:12:05 | SR:-- | Magenta
#
#24107-EYAL - 24107-EYAL | 12 - B | 18-01-28 | 12:12:05 | SR:-- | Yellow 24107-EYAL - 24107-EYAL | 12 - B | 18-01-28 | 12:12:05 | SR:-- | Magenta 24107-EYAL - 24107-EYAL | 12 - B | 18-01-28 | 12:12:05 | SR:-- | Cyan 24107-EYAL - 24107-EYAL | 12 - B | 18-01-28 | 12:12:05 | SR:-- | Black
#
Orchard of Delights
£The Laws of Family Purity£The Laws of Family PurityThe Laws of Family Purity the initiative and mustering the strength and spirit to draw closer
£
Towards the end of Metzora (Leviticus 19:15-24) the basic laws
relating to menstruating women and the obligation of husband and
wife to separate during menstruation are detailed. These laws, known
as the laws of family purity, dictate the rhythm and cycle of marital
relations and are considered the foundation of Jewish married life
and a Jewish home. Indeed, Kabbalah always associates sexuality
with the sefirah of Yesod (Foundation); thus, intimating that the
laws of family purity – associated with Yesod – are the foundation
upon which a Jewish home is built. Although the importance of
these laws cannot be fully elaborated in this context, we would like
to briefly share two of their fundamental rationales.
Firstly, by creating a cycle wherein sometimes physical intimacy
between husband and wife is permitted and sometimes forbidden, a
multidimensional relationship is established. By restricting physical
intimacy, the laws of family purity provide the space for other bonds
to develop. The following verse in Song of Songs poetically touches
on these various levels of emotional and intellectual attachment
between husband and wife:
I am asleep but my heart awakes! A sound! My beloved knocks!
[He said] “Open [your heart] to Me, My sister, My love, My dove,
My perfect one; for My head is filled with dew and My locks with the
drops of night. (Song of Songs 5:2)
As the verse indicates, a full range of emotional and intellectual
ways to connect are available to a couple: “My sister” relates to the
deep friendship that should exist between married couples; “My love”
represents the fiery, intimate attraction indispensable to a healthy
marriage; “My dove” symbolizes the intellectual compatibility
individuals require to communicate; “My perfect one” relates to the
deep spiritual and mystical connection rooted in couples’ souls.
Secondly, the obligation to separate for a certain period of time
every month has the paradoxical effect of enhancing the intimate
passion between husband and wife. Everyone knows that sexual
374
Tazria
to God. Within the context of His relationship with humanity, God
is always referred to as the masculine principle while humanity is
referred to as the feminine. When the awakening comes primarily
from above, a relatively feminine energy is born, whereas when it
comes from below, a relatively masculine energy is born.
An allegorical interpretation of this portion’s first three verses
provides a concrete example of how reality unfolds in accord with
these mystical two principles. When a person – the mother in the
verse – arouses him or herself from below – to perform, for example,
a certain task and, hence, takes the appropriate initiative then
success is assured – or, as the verse allegorically states, a “male”
child will be born. Furthermore, on an allegorical level, the mother’s
seven “impure” days following the birth represent the hard labor
and any accompanying emotional pressure, stress, and frustration
the mother (or, in the allegory the person, male or female), freely
took upon herself. The circumcision on the eighth day symbolizes
her success and the reward for her efforts. (While below we will
complicate matters by suggesting that sometimes even the “arousal
from below” is subtly stimulated from above, the Chassidic teaching
on this verse clearly stresses the critical role of the “arousal from
below.”)
Kabbalah and Chassidut have also adopted another allegorical
approach to interpreting these verses: a complementary approach
that relates them to redemption and ultimately the coming of
Mashiach. The woman who gives birth represents the collective soul
of the Jewish people aroused in the End of Days to bring the final
redemption, a state of revelation and new consciousness that will not
be followed by further exiles.
In the future, when the Jewish people return to the Land of
Israel in the final ingathering, they will sing a “new song” (Targum
Yonatan on the first verse of Song of Songs). The Hebrew word for
“song” in this phrase adopts the masculine form (shir), whereas
the feminine form (shirah) is adopted to refer to the other nine
archetypal songs sung over the course of history. These nine songs
reflect an acute awareness of God’s Providence, expressing the joy in
363