Why Does a New Mom Offer a Sacrifice? Understanding Purity and Impurity in Judaism

The Torah states in Parashat Tazria that a woman is considered impure after childbirth, and we must try to understand the concept behind it. Typically, impurity stems from negative occurrences—death, insects, disease. But childbirth? A pure Jewish child is born into the world. Why impurity?

Additionally, a new mother is required to bring a sacrifice. Again, why? Sacrifices are typically brought for sins, but a Jewish mother, who carried her child for nine months and endured labor to bring him into the world, undoubtedly performed an immense mitzvah, not a sin. Why, then, a sacrifice?

Rabbi Hirsch and other scholars clarify the broader context of impurity. Impurity is not a physical dirtiness; it isn't cleansed with soap. It's a spiritual state proclaimed by the Torah, associated with certain psychological conditions and themes.

We observe the tangible world around us, but we recognize there's a vast hidden realm. Remarkable events unfold before us. Someone plants a seed in the ground, and from it grows a large tree bearing fruit. More astonishing still, a baby develops naturally within a mother's body—a small piece of flesh becomes a human being with a soul!

The soul descends from the heavenly realms, areas to which we have no access, but beyond our understanding, there are also regions of impurity, darkness, and the 'other side,' which the Creator has empowered. Why does a person sin? Because the evil inclination possesses the power to lead them astray. Even someone who knows their Creator might fall into sin. The evil inclination has the power to blind them. The 'other side' can cause terrible and frightening things in the world; the adversary has power.

Impurity is linked to any connection with what transcends our comprehension. The Torah prohibits summoning spirits—it is an abomination. "Be whole," we connect exclusively through Hashem, to whom we pray, according to His commandments we work, and not through any external, independent connection such as witchcraft or divination.

When a soul comes into the world, it's essentially drawn from the higher realm—the reverse process of death, where the soul returns to the upper world. We do not know if it tragically goes to a bad place or a good one (indeed, there is a view that the righteous do not impart impurity, as they are entirely good and go only to a good place). Thus, we must purify this connection; the mother assumes the need to atone and purify for the inherent human impurity and sin, and according to Rabbi Bachya, also for Chava's curse that led Adam astray. Some add that the mitzvah of circumcision is related to this—it teaches that a person isn't born perfect; they have a bad part that we must cut both physically and metaphorically. When a soul enters the world—a process of rectification begins, to atone for sins, purify, and nurture the new soul.