A woman who is impregnated and bears a male, she shall be impure for a sevenday period… and if she bears a female, she shall be impure for a two-week period…
In plumbing this passage for some personal messages, let us start with a nuanced observation: Why is the reference to הערזה, impregnation, by the birth of the son alone, while that of הדיל, birth, by the daughter as well?
There are a number of approaches that we could take in expounding these verses; we will now focus on one that provides direction in the pace of our learning and self-growth.
The Poskim* instruct that one should not engage in the study of Kabbalah, the esoteric side of the Torah, until after he has “filled his stomach with,” that is, mastered, its exoteric side, namely the Talmud and the Codes. This can be understood by appreciating the common composition of both the human being and the Torah. Man is a hybrid of a physical body and a spiritual soul. The two maintain a male/female relationship, the masculine soul occupying and acting upon the feminine body much as a man provides input for the woman to develop.** Similarly, the exoteric side of Torah is its “body,” which contains and is animated by its esoteric “soul.” An allusion to this can be seen in the term תוכלה יפוג – the description of the exoteric halachos as the body of Torah.
If we follow through on this analogy, we can suggest that just as in the creation of the original man, first the body was molded and then the soul inserted, so too, when one creates his relationship with Torah, first must come the body of the exoteric legalisms and then the soul of the esoteric mysticism.
Now, it is no secret that there are some who engage in the study of the Torah’s mysticism before mastering the entirety of the Talmud and the Codes.*** I would attempt to justify this practice by suggesting that Torah as a corpus parallels the entire collective of the Jewish People as one body; as such each individual parallels but one of its limbs. Hence, it is only incumbent upon him to master his corresponding exoteric part of Torah to allow him entry into its esoteric side.
Of relevance is a passage in Sanhedrin**** in which the meaning of the words ילבל היפ קח (literally: She [i.e., the grave] opens her mouth without limit)***** is debated, with the assumption that the verse refers to those who are condemned to the punishment of Gehinnom. Reish Lakish takes the verse as “she shall open her mouth [to consume those] that lack [any] law,” even the failure to fulfill a single mitzvah is grounds for punishment. R. Yochonon takes it as “[…those] that lack [every] law,” consigning only those completely devoid of mitzvos to Purgatory. This latter view is in line with the above notion of the Jewish collective: since the responsibility for the Torah’s fulfillment is shared by everybody, each individual is saddled with but one specific mitzvah. Being that the rule is that the halachah follows R. Yochonon’s opinion, we have solid justification for the engagement of mysticism by those who have not mastered the entirety of the revealed Torah. And I would observe that those who reject this line of thinking, insisting that only total mastery will do, are adopting the position of Reish Lakish; as such, they subject themselves to the fires of Gehinnom with even the slightest infraction. I would even suggest a playful reading of our verse along these lines: הרעפו היפ קח ילבל הרעפו , one who opens his mouth in criticism , of those who engage in esoteric Torah despite their mastery of the exoteric Torah lacking but a single detail – as a consequence, היפ הרעפו , Gehinnom will open its mouth to consume ילבל קח, those whose fulfilment of the Torah lacks even a single law… It is best, then, that everyone should mind their own business.
This would seem to be the effective method in developing one’s Torah knowledge: to first master a small area of its exoteric side and then delve into its corresponding esoteric depth, and then repeat the process. As Mishlei states, הברי די לע ץבוקו , one who gathers small handfuls will eventually amass a fortune.****** A similar idea is true regarding personal growth – slow and steady wins the race. If one attempts to master every good quality simultaneously, as the yetzer ha-ra encourages us to, the difficulty will only overwhelm him, leading him to abandon it all.
With this in mind, we can now attempt to unravel our verses. The parshah begins השא, one starts with the feminine, exoteric dimension of Torah. Then, יכ עירזת , one develops it to its proper capacity until רכז הדליו , he is able to engage in its masculine, esoteric dimension. And the same is true of personal growth – it must be measured.
However, as the verses continue, דלת הבקנ םא , beginning with the esotericism or attempting to produce a finished personal product in one shot – absent any הערזה, any process – then that is all that will remain…
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* See Rambam, Hil. Talmud Torah 4:13; Shach, Yoreh Dei’ah 246:6.
** Cf. Yirmiyah 31:21: רבג בבוסת הבקנ, the female shall surround a man.
*** The reference, of course, is to the nascent Chassidim, who were criticized by their detractors on this matter, as referred to below.
**** 111a.
***** Yeshayah 5:14.
****** 13:11.