The Spiritual Meaning of Tamei and Tahor

Rabbi Stephen Weiss

Parshat Metzora 2014

The rituals of taharah acknowledge that something dramatic has happened in our life which has fundamentally changed us on a deep psychological, emotional and spiritual level.

Some might think skin diseases and infestations of some sort of mold-like substance in your home might not be the stuff out of which one derives great spiritual meaning. Many lovers of Torah want to skip gently over the sections in last week’s portion Tazria and this week’s portion Metzora. Yet centuries of Jewish scholars have derived some of the most profound and deeply spiritual messages from these very seemingly unseemly sections.

Taken together, these two portions describe the status of those who have moved from a state of taharah to that of tum’ah, and prescribe the process for bring them back from being tamei (the adjective form of tum’ah) to being tahor (the adjective form of taharah).

What makes us tamei ? According to the Torah we become tamei when we have contact with a deceased human being. A woman becomes tamei after her monthly cycle and after childbirth, one who contracts the skin disease tzara’at (often incorrectly translated as leprosy) also becomes tamei, as does a home which is infested with tzara’at ha–bayit (some kind of infestation of its physical structure).

When a person becomes tamei, they must be “outside the camp” for a prescribed period of time. In the case of one with the skin affliction, that time is until after they are healed. The afflicted home must be cleansed of the infestation or – if not possible – then destroyed. Once a person passes out of this state of tum’ah, there is a waiting period followed by immersion in “waters of life” (from a natural source such as a lake or river, or a mikvah) before they re-enter the community.

Tum’ah is often translated as “ritually impure” or “unclean” and taharah is often translated as “ritually clean” or “pure,” but these translations are inaccurate and carry negative connotations not contained in the meaning of the original Hebrew. There is no one word or phrase that adequately translates these words.

The Etz Hayim Torah commentary we use in our synagogue captures the essence of these words and the transitions associated with them. Regarding the process of taharah for one healed of the skin condition, the commentary notes that the sacrifice offered by a recovering metzora afflicted with this skin disease is sometimes referred to as “the sacrifice of one who has returned from the dead.” It comments: “The formal description of the cleansing ritual masks the deep and possibly conflicted feelings of the person who has recovered from a serious illness. These might include feelings of relief and happiness together with a new appreciation of good health, perhaps resentment over what had been gone through as well as envy of people who remained healthy” (p. 660).”

We can see then that a person becomes tamei when they have a “liminal” experience which puts them in contact with the fine line between life and death. That experience may be a tragic one such as illness, death, or the loss of one’s home. It could also be one such as childbirth, which exposes the mother to risks and anxieties as well as (God willing!) exultant joy and a sense of awe and wonder. The end of the monthly cycle is marked ritually in the same way because the loss of potential life can also at times evoke a mix of emotions.

What these experiences share in common is that they are moments in which we are forced to face our fears, hopes and dreams, moments in which we sense the wonder and the mystery of life and the universe, moments in which we encounter God. The rituals of taharah acknowledge that something dramatic has happened in our life which has fundamentally changed us on a deep psychological, emotional and spiritual level. After an illness or crisis, after a birth, we are not the same. Our encounter with our deeper selves and with the Divine has transformed us. Hence this transition is marked by immersion in “waters of life,” which represent the waters of the womb. We are “born anew,” as it were, and the waters of taharah acknowledge and celebrate that new beginning.