Friday, April 17, 2026/1 Iyar, 5786

Friday, April 17, 2026/1 Iyar, 5786

Parashat Tazria Metzora Leviticus 12:1-15:33

Haftarah: Isaiah 66:1-24

This newsletter is a very joyful one—as always, since it comes to wish you Shabbat Shalom, but it is uniquely joyful this week, as it is also Rosh Chodesh, the beginning of the new month of Iyar… and because it brings not one but two birth announcements. The Bilek and Dodds families welcomed a baby boy and a baby girl, respectively.

That these births from earlier in the month are announced in this newsletter is another reason this feels special: this week’s parasha is a double portion, Tazria-Metzora, and it begins with a passage about a woman after childbirth.

Disclaimer! You may not enjoy this passage from Leviticus, but bear with me!

The Eternal spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to the Israelite people thus: When a woman at childbirth bears a male, she shall be impure seven days; she shall be impure as at the time of her menstrual separation. On the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. She shall remain in a state of blood purification for thirty-three days: she shall not touch any consecrated thing, nor enter the sanctuary until her period of purification is completed. If she bears a female, she shall be impure two weeks as during her menstruation, and she shall remain in a state of blood purification for sixty-six days. (Leviticus 12:1–5)

Throughout modern and arguably pre-modern generations, many have felt alienated or confused by these commandments and what they seem to convey. Why is a woman considered impure after giving birth or during menstruation? And why is there a difference between the length of impurity after the birth of a boy (33 days) and a girl (66 days)?

We may find potentially satisfying answers when we look more deeply into what constituted purity and impurity in ancient Israel and Temple times. One of the main causes of what in Hebrew is called tum’ah (טֻמְאָה), or impurity, is its association with death. This helps explain traditions such as restricting the High Priest from entering a cemetery, or the custom, still practiced today, of washing one’s hands upon leaving a Jewish cemetery.

Why would anything connected to death convey impurity? It can sound archaic or strange. But Judaism is a religion that chooses life, that praises life, and that asks us to find ways to be grateful for our lives even in difficult times. Our own Steve Morris likes to call this the “attitude of gratitude.” If life is at the center of Judaism, then death stands in contrast to it. If life represents readiness to enter sacred space and serve God—ritual purity—then contact with death renders a person temporarily unfit for that space.

That still may not make these ideas feel less alienating. Dividing people into categories of pure and impure can be misconstrued and lead to stigma or exclusion. So why engage with it at all? The truth is that, as Reform Jews, we do not actively live by these categories. And yet, we still sing: “My God, the soul You have given me is pure”—neshama she’natata bi, tehora hi. Here, purity points to renewal, to something refreshed and returned to us each morning, giving us another day of life. We long for pure waters, open meadows, the light of a new day. The promise of life.

But then why is a woman considered ritually impure during menstruation or after childbirth—the very experiences that are so deeply connected to life??

Menstruation can be understood as a monthly reminder that the body was ready to create new life. The blood signals that a cycle has passed without that life coming into being. In this sense, it reflects both life and the absence of life. This is not meant as a political statement about when life begins, but rather as a way of approaching Torah’s reasoning behind these difficult passages.

And what about after childbirth, when new life has clearly entered the world and the mother lives? Our ancestors may not have had the medical knowledge we have today, but they understood, more viscerally that we do today, that childbirth was and remains a risky experience. By giving birth, a mother risks and expends part of her own life force. A daughter, in turn, may one day undergo the same experience. This may help explain why the period of impurity in the opening passage of Tazria-Metzora is longer after the birth of a girl than a boy.

These explanations may not make the commandments fully relatable for everybody. Nor do they erase the ways such categories have been and can be misused or cause(d) harm. But I hope that considering the connection between life (taharah) and death (tum’ah) can offer a more meaningful lens through which to approach this parasha.

I am sharing some of the background here this week because when I first learned about it, it blew me away and made instinctively sense. And of course, because our community is so happy to welcome two new lives, a boy and a girl.

Together with the families, we are grateful that moms and babies are doing well, and we say siman tov and mazal tov, Shabbat Shalom and Chodesh Tov!

Shabbat Shalom!
Rabbi Julia Knobloch

More Torah Tidbits

Hadas Cootware

Torah School Coordinator

Hadas Cootware has been teaching Hebrew and Jewish Studies for over a decade, joining our Temple Beth El Community in 2018. Born and raised in Israel with Hebrew as her native language, she previously served as a combat soldier and operations officer in the IDF. Drawing on her studies in acting and psychology, she published a children’s book in Hebrew, The Marshmallow Story, which focuses on delayed gratification. Outside of teaching, she is the proud mother of her son, Henry, and loves to travel.

TBEtorahschool@bethelsp.org

Ilan Davidson

Cantor

Cantor Ilan Davidson has been pleasing audiences with his singing since before he could read. At age five, he began singing with his Cantor, Philip Moddel, and hasn’t shut up since. At ten, he made his Operatic debut with the Fullerton Civic Light Opera’s production of Bizet’s Carmen, as a street urchin. Since then, he has performed roles in opera and musical theatre, performing, directing, and producing world-class productions.

Among his many accomplishments, Cantor Davidson is also known as a contemporary Jewish songwriter and performer, having delighted audiences all over the world, including Israel and Lithuania with the soulful sounds of his music. His recordings, Stained Glass (1995) and In A Hanukkah Mood (2007) are collections of original and covered songs by himself and many contemporary Jewish artists. His most recent recording, God Is In This Place (2020), is a collection of original liturgical pieces for the Friday night Shabbat Service, commissioned and written in honor of his 25th Anniversary as the Cantor of Temple Beth El.

Cantor Davidson left the stage and in 1995 joined the Temple Beth El family, in San Pedro, where, in his nearly 30 years of service, he has brought many new programs and much enthusiasm to all he does. Coming from a long line of Cantors, it must have been Besheret for Cantor Davidson, although talented in all areas of musical performance, to finally settle down into his career as Hazzan for Temple Beth El in San Pedro, California. In 2007, Cantor Davidson founded a new foundation, KindredSPIRITS, producing an annual world humanitarian aid event. KindredSPIRITS premiered on June 5, 2008 at Walt Disney Concert Hall, adding that prestigious concert hall to the ever growing list of venues around the world, where Davidson has performed. During the 10 years of humanitarian events, Global KindredSPIRITS, Inc., as an official 501©3, raised awareness and close to $500,000 for its beneficiaries over the decade.
As a past president of the South Coast Interfaith Council, Ilan fought for tolerance and understanding of ALL faiths in a difficult climate. For the past 7 years, Cantor Davidson has been service as an LA County Commissioner, representing the 4th District on the Human Relations Commission, where he currently serves as President. Whether it is raising his voice for justice, Hazzanut, Pop, Opera, Musical Theatre, or folk music, Cantor Ilan Davidson shares his soul and genuine love in every note.

When asked about his finest accomplishment, Cantor Ilan invariably responds, “After all the great concerts, services, and roles, my finest role in life is that of husband to my beautiful wife, Jodi, and daddy to my gorgeous daughters, Jordan and Zoe.”

cantor@bethelsp.org

Office: (310) 833-2467 Ext. 106

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