TORAH: Leviticus 12:1-15:33
HARTARAH: Isaiah 66:1-24
GOSPEL: Luke 2:22-35 and Mark 1:35-45
Portion Summary
Tazria
The name of the twenty-seventh reading from the Torah is Tazria, which means “she conceived.” The name is derived from the words of Leviticus 12:2, where the LORD says to Moses, “When a woman [conceives] and bears a male child …” Leviticus 12 discusses the laws of purification after childbirth. Leviticus 13 introduces the laws for diagnosing and quarantining lepers. Except in biblical calendar leap years, Tazria is read together with the subsequent Torah portion, Metzorah, on the same Sabbath.
Metzora
The twenty-eighth reading from the Torah is Metzora, a word that means “leper.” The word appears in the second verse of the reading, which says, “This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing” (Leviticus 14:2). Leviticus 14 spells out the complex purification rituals for the cleansing of a leper and a leprous home. Leviticus 15 briefly covers the laws regarding ritual unfitness stemming from bodily emissions. Except in biblical calendar leap years, Metzora is read together with the previous Torah portion, Tazria, on the same Sabbath.
Portion Outline
- TORAH
- Leviticus 12:1 Purification of Women after Childbirth
- Leviticus 13:1 Leprosy, Varieties and Symptoms
- Leviticus 14:1 Purification of Lepers and Leprous Houses
- Leviticus 15:1 Concerning Bodily Discharges
Portion Resources
Parashot Tazria-Metzora from Chabad.org
Parashot Tazria-Metzora at My Jewish Learning
Path of a Ragamuffin 