Tazriah 2022
Isaac’s Parsha Corner · 2022
“Speak to the Children of Israel saying, should a woman become pregnant Tazriah and give birth to a male child, (and) she shall be unclean for seven days, like during her days of menstruation so shall she be unclean.” (Vayikra 12:2)
The term Tazriah is translated by Saadia Gaon and by the Rashbam as “becoming pregnant.” The liberty taken by these great scholars reflects a difficulty with the word Tazriah. Literally, the word means “to impregnate,” and to do this by contributing seed. Since the woman doesn’t contribute seed but rather receives seed, the grammatically correct term would have been “Tizareah” - to become pregnant by receiving seed. The Ibn Ezra quotes the Talmud in Niddah, “When a woman contributes seed first (Mazraat Techilah), the child is male, and when the man contributes seed first (Mazriah Techilah), the child is female. The meaning here is quite explicit. It is found in the frank discussion of the Amoraim there: “Can a man determine the gender of his offspring? But because the man is patient and waits for his wife to “Mazriah,” meaning, to reach sexual climax, he will merit having male sons.” The reward to the man who defers his own pleasure and encourages his wife to experience her pleasure is the traditionally desired male child. In the deliberate use of grammatically incorrect language, the Torah is teaching husbands to be sensitive to the needs of their wives.
Rashi skips over the problem entirely, quoting a rule associated with the term Zerah or seed. The Ramban quotes a Talmudic reinterpretation of human reproductive biology: “The male contributes the white (bones and eyes) and the woman contributes all the rest.” (Niddah 31) He also mentions Greek philosophers who concur with the Talmud on this matter. All of this makes for interesting reading, but it seems that the Rashbam and Saadia remain closer to the intent of the Torah.
Dedicated to the memory of Joel Shulman A’H