“A woman who conceives and gives birth to a man-child ….” (Vayikra, 12:2) It is said in the Midrash (Vayikra Rabba, 14:2), “I will raise my consciousness from far away, and will ascribe righteousness to my Maker” (Job, 36:3). Rabbi Natan says (interprets this), ‘we think on the name of Avraham, who came from afar.’” We have written (in the blessing before the morning recitation of Shema), “Maker of new things,” “Who in His goodness renews continually the work of creation.” The question can be simply put; what new experience is there if He constantly renews the creation each day? Then the renewal will also become expected, commonplace, and what renewal do we experience? Yet here God takes the commonplace nature of constant renewal, and makes it ever new and fresh in our minds. We experience the renewal at every moment, and a feeling of wonderment comes to the heart of all who long for Him in everything, and on everything we ask, “who created these?” (v Yesahya, 40:26). This is just as Avraham Avinu did. The world had been active for some years before Avraham Avinu arrived, yet there was no one to ask or wonder at the nature of its workings. But for Avraham Avinu it was a great wonder (Bereshit Rabba, 39:1), and he asked, “for could you say there is a city without a master? Who is the master of the city?” The Holy One, blessed be He saw that his question was not like a natural scientist or astronomer, but as one who truly wanted to know who had created all of these in order to serve Him. God saw how out of this longing to know he even despised the ephemeral delights of the world. Seeing this, God found it necessary to reveal Himself to Avraham, and to show him that He, may He be blessed, is the master of the city. On this it says, “a woman who conceives,” for in the supernal worlds to term, “born of woman,” denotes a lower level of creation. We find this in the Gemara (Shabbat, 88b, when Moshe ascended to Heaven to receive the Torah, and the angels asked), “what is one born of woman doing among is?”¹⁵ 8:5, but our appreciation of the Creator and His creation makes us beloved in His eyes. So it is said, “a woman who conceives,” meaning one who has true desire, with strength and vigor, for God. “And gives birth to a man-child,” for the giving birth to a male symbolizes the truest form of salvation, as all the good qualities of the world are included in the soul of the Israelite man. This is the meaning of the Midrash, “we think on the name of Avraham Avinu,” meaning that Avraham himself realized that there is One in charge of the world, and we too can recognize this if we concentrate our minds on Avraham and contemplate his path. This is because the awakening experienced in the heart of Avraham will cause great wonderment in the eyes of all who understand why he caused such a stir and storm in his heart in order to know who created the world and its fullness. How many thousands of souls preceded Avraham and it did not occur to one of them to ask this. So from this very awakening itself one may understand that there is a Creator and Master, for the desire that came to the heart of Avraham Avinu was only what God had sent to his heart. If this awakening had been a kind of natural phenomenon then why did it not awaken in the whole world? This is why the Midrash says, “we think on the name of Avraham Avinu,” because “name” signifies will (desire). In a practical sense we find that some people are called on the name of their actions and artistry, since all their will and desire is included in the action that they are doing. Also, the numerical value of sh’mo, “his name,” is the same as that of ratson, “will” or “desire” (both equal 356). This is “I will draw my consciousness from afar,” from the name of Avraham Avinu, “and to my Maker I will ascribe righteousness [recognizing Him as the Artisan of all creation based on the initial awakening from Avraham].”

footnotes: ¹⁵ For we are all born of woman, a relatively low level in one respect in relation to the higher powers, “what is man that you shall be mindful of him?” in Tehilim

“A woman who conceives and gives birth to a man-child ….” (Vayikra, 12:2) “Will I break [bring to birth] and not complete the birth, says Hashem, and If I have completed the birth, have I then shut the womb, said your God” (Yesahya, 66:9). First this is voiced in the future, “will I bring to birth [break], and not complete,” and afterwards it is voiced in the past, “have I shut the womb?” At first, when one begins to bring himself close to God, then God hides His light from him in order to refine his desire. This continues until he breaks his heart and recognizes his deficiencies. By means of this he merits God’s revelation of the Torah more and more according to his desire, until the Holy One, blessed be He, gives him at his full capacity. This is the meaning of the phrase “will I break.” At the beginning of the process of his coming close I have broken his heart with the concealment of the Divine Countenance, in order to intensify his cry for Godliness and refine him so he can merit salvation. “And shall not complete the birth” is expressed in the future. At this point the heart of man does not yet believe that he will be born and merit salvation, because of the power of the concealment of Godliness. Then, after he has merited salvation in great abundance, he realizes that God was with him from the beginning until the end. This is “if I have completed the birth,” past tense, “have shut the womb.” He then realizes that there was no real Concealment of Godliness. He then understands that also at the beginning when he had this great cry of the spirit, this too originated from the power of God, who had built for him this entire salvation by means of the concealment. This is as it is written in Divrei haYamim (1, 28:9), “If you seek it, you shall find.” For if man has merited that God should find him (or reveal His light to him) certainly it is not by chance, but rather coming to this level of salvation was prepared for him from the very moment he was created (or the beginning of all creation). Nonetheless, from the side of man, he has choice, as it is written, “if you [choose to] seek it,” and this is a great wonder. This is also the wonder of this Parsha, “a woman who conceives and gives birth to a man-child,” for one cannot refine this depth. It is impossible that the alacrity of your desire will give birth to the salvation that seems as if it is by chance, and dependent on your choice. In fact, the true salvation was actually prepared this way by God from the beginning of creation. This is “and gives birth to a man-child,” meaning salvation that has been arranged from the beginning of creation.¹⁶) and “memory” (zecher) is apparent here, a male child symbolizing the memory of the initial preparation of salvation that comes to fruition after the process in serving God described above.

footnotes: ¹⁶ The connection between “male” (zachar

“A woman who conceives and gives birth to a man-child, she shall be unclean for seven days ….” (Vayikra, 12:2) We can understand the reason for this impurity with a parable. One comes with a request before a king, and writes his request on a crumpled scrap of paper. Even though he requested properly, and deserved what he had requested, and also the king answered him favorably, nonetheless, the king commands that he be imprisoned because he wrote his request on such a scrap of paper. Thus it is with a man’s prayer before God. At first it springs from physical events in this world, which was in a state of greatly constricted understanding and consciousness. By means of constricting himself in his reception of the benefits and delights of this world, the resulting response from God is to grant him everlasting life. This is the explanation of “a woman who conceives” for prayer is signified by the term “conception.” When one sows a seed it seems as if he has lost what he has, yet he expects that later he will gain much more from the little he had set aside to sow. So too, “and gave birth to a man-child,” that by means of his prayer he merits that God gives him salvation, which is everlasting life without end. “She shall be unclean for seven days” means that his prayer came through the vehicle of the physical events of this world, similar to the parable mentioned above.

“When a man shall have in the skin of his flesh a rising, or a scab ….” (Vayikra, 13:2) It is written in the holy Zohar (Vayikra, 48a), “there are many terms for man, and adam is above them all.” The term for man, ish, is in relation to the term for woman, isha. Isha means that she does not have the power to subdue the desire of her heart. Ish means that when he experiences longings and desires, he can overpower them. However, the term for man, adam, means a state of elevation above all lusts and desires, that no lust or desire will enter his heart save that which is God’s will. The term adam is used here in the passage discussing the procedure for treating biblical leprosy, for leprosy teaches of one who has a deficiency concerning anger. Such is the attribute (deficiency) most prevalent among great men, since they derive no satisfaction from the good of this world, and the good that is prepared for them in the world to come is hidden from them in this world. The advice given to deal with this problem is to strengthen oneself in looking at the rest of the world with a good eye (judging it favorably). There are three sublevels in this attribute. The first wants the Holy One, blessed be He, to effuse His goodness to the whole world in general and to all of Israel. The second level is in a case where when his fellow also receives good; then the good he himself receives is limited; and still he looks on him with a good eye. The third level is when the effusion of God is only to his community, and he himself receives no portion in the good, and still he is happy that God effused goodness to others. This is the meaning of the verse (Mishlei, 22:9), “he who sees with a good eye shall be blessed,” for he is blessed with a good eye. Even though he has no portion in the effusion, still he is content that God effuses to his fellow, and his fellow receives good according to his desire.