Our Parsha this Shabbos HaChodesh is Parashas Tazria . This Shabbos is also Shabbos Rosh Chodesh Nissan , an important Rosh Chodesh , before Pesach , around the time when the Laws of Rosh Chodesh were Given By HaShem to us through Moshe and thus this Shabbos is also Parashas HaChodesh . For Parashas Tazria we read Vayikra 12 : 1 - 13 : 59 and from the Second Torah Scroll we read for Rosh Chodesh , Bamidbar 28 : 9 - 15 and from the Third Torah Scroll for Parashas HaChodesh , Shemos 12:1-20 . The Haftorah is Yechezkiel 45 : 16 - 46 : 18 and Isaiah 66 : 1 , 23 related to the relevant topic of Parashas HaChodesh and Rosh Chodesh. Parashas Tazriah starts with the Laws of Purification , on the birth of male and female children . We just discussed in the previous Sedra about the contamination of various animals and now naturally , Torah goes on to the Laws of Purification of people . But why were animals mentioned first before people ? Just as in Creation , HaShem Created the animals first and then humans , So Does HaShem Deal First With contamination of animals before humans . This is also a lesson in human humility for should man become too conceited , HaShem Reminds him that even the Gnat was Created before him . HaShem Starts With the Laws of Human Purity in this Sedra , at the beginning of a person's life , at birth . This also indicates a very important lesson . HaShem Could Easily Have Created humans perfect but instead , we are given the opportunity from the beginning to work on our own , gaining in Purity and Holiness and so , can we earn the merit of it ourselves . Thus HaShem Commands The Laws of Purity to already be in place at birth . HaShem Watches the birth of every member of Creation And Is With all His Creation , Even Before birth , Still Performing Miracles Within the womb . The very fact that an entire human being starts as it does and grows into an adult is such a Beautiful Miracle of HaShem . The Whole concept of " Tazria , " - " Giving Birth , " Is An Awesome Act Of Kindness From HaShem , Who Is A Part of Every Conception With the Parents And Shows us That right at the beginning of every life , HaShem Is There For us . The very act of Tamei Contamination at Birth , goes back to the action of Chava , at the Beginning when she disobeyed HaShem . Before her Aveirah , Birth could have been a pure and painless act . Now every birth comes with a touch of needed climb for purity . The Woman brings as a Korban , both an Elevation offering and a Sin Offering . The Sin Offering goes back as an Atonement for Chava and the Elevation Offering is like the guilt offering here , where she regrets the possibility of vowing at the time of the painful childbirth that she may have wrongly spoken out that she will never be with her husband again . The Idea also of these offerings is that we start out birth clearing ourselves of any negativities that can bring us to Sin and then we work to Elevate ourselves Higher . Parashas Tazria discusses a Woman's Conception and of the period of contamination for a male or female child after the birth . When a male gets born , he is to be circumcised on the eighth day . For a certain period , the Mother is to have a separation period of purity . Our Holy Torah Tells us that if she has a male child , that period is half the time of a female child , thus for a male child , she is contaminated for 7 days and for 33 days , she shall remain in blood of purity , not being able to touch anything holy , or enter the Sanctuary until her days of purity are completed ( thus a total of 7+33 = 40 days ) , and if she has a female child , she will be contaminated for two weeks and for 66 days , she shall remain in blood of purity ( thus a total of 14 + 66 = 80 days ) . Our Rabbis say that the time is doubled for a female child , because , it takes forty days for the life - form to develop into a male and 80 days for the life - form to develop into a female . It is so interesting that the forty days minimum , that it takes , is the same amount of time that Moshe was up each of the three times on Har Sinai and also during the Mabul , The Flood in Noach's time , it rained for 40 days and 40 nights , suggesting that this period of 40 , is a time given to make that which is within it , purified . So the life - form is within the birth sac and remains purified . When her days of purity are completed , the Mother brings as a mentioned , an Elevation Offering and a Sin Offering . The reason for the two offerings are because during her labor , she may have , due to the pain , as i mentioned , sworn an oath never to live with her husband again and also , she brings an Offering , in lieu of Chava , for whose actions , women suffer in childbirth and thus every child bearing Woman , can thus atone for Chava Eve . Also , she atones for any negative feelings she may have had against her husband and even negative feelings she may have had against HaShem , Chas Ve Shalom . This is when a Woman " Tazria , " - " Conceives . " There Are Miracles From HaShem every day , all the time , in every moment and in every instant that exists . HaShem Blesses us With Creation , A Most Amazing Miracle . We really do not realize The Wonderful Beautiful Miracle that HaShem Gives us , in childbirth . When it is time to bring the Soul to the baby to come , HaShem Calls the Malach Angel Layla to bring the soul , either out of Shamaim or Gan Eiden or from The Gaf ( a Holding Place of Souls ) , that soul that will go into that baby . Though the soul does not want to leave its Holy Place of rest , HaShem Instructs the Soul That in order to earn merit , that soul needs to come into a Physical Body and so gain merit and raise itself in Holiness , by keeping HaShem's Mitzvos . What A Beautiful Miracle . Even while it is within its Mother , HaShem Performs so many Miracles for it . The very heat within the Mother would be impossible for a human being to stand for so long , but HaShem , Who Never Leaves , Miraculously Protects it , For He Is At The Birth Of Every Life-Form In His Creation . How Beautiful A Fact . The Position in which the Life-form lies , within the Mother , Is A Miracle From HaShem , for gravity alone would make it fall out , yet HaShem Miraculously Keeps it In , Until The Time Is Ready For it To Be Born . HaShem Directs Toward it , all its necessary food and when it Is Born By HaShem's Miracle , HaShem Miraculously Gives the Mother the power to feed it milk from her very own body , the healthiest of all , for her baby . The Life-form if it would have waste products , from its nourishment within the Mother , would under other circumstances , hurt the Mother , But HaShem Miraculously Takes Care Of That . The very act of conceiving a child , from a small part from the Mother , With HaShem's Miracle and a drop from the Father , With HaShem's Miracle , for that to form a child , with all its faculties and everything it needs to grow into the adult , Is Such A Great Miracle And Act Of Love From HaShem . Oh yes , Conception Is Such A Continuing Miracle Of The Almighty , Praised And Forever Blessed Be HaShem's Beautiful And Beloved Name . From this point on in this Parsha of Tazria and into the next Parsha of Metzora , Tzaraas is discussed and all its allied impurities that can come on the skin or body part of a person is also discussed , Afflictions on Garments and if in Israel , on houses , where if it appeared on a house , if it came to having to remove stones from the house , the previous Canaanite tenants , who had hidden their precious items in the walls to hide them away from us , their hidden wares , would then be revealed . HaShem Sends Tzaraas , for 10 different kinds of Aveirahs , being :- Idolworship , Murder , Immorality , Performing a Chillul HaShem - A Desecration of HaShem's Name , Robbery , Greed and having an evil eye , Making a Vain Oath , Conceit and Arrogance , Loshon Horah - Slander ( the main reason ) and Doing something not allowed by the person who does it - like a king performing the rites of a Kohein . The main sin that Tzaraas Is Sent for , is Loshon Horah . So ends the Parshas . As I mentioned , the main sin that Tzaraas is sent for , is Loshon Horah , for basically defaming and slandering someone , or others . Tzaraas is not modern day Leprosy . Both are very different . Modern day Leprosy comes out with black swellings , whereas , Tzaraas Afflictions are impure when they are white or if they have flesh exposed within them , or if they have two white hairs in them . Tzaraas is very much A Spiritual Affliction , Sent By HaShem , To Manifest Physically, for wrongs done . In that day and time , the Sins we did Were Manifest Upon us , on our bodies , or out of mercy sometimes , first on one's garment , or on one's house only in Israel , but not in Yerushalayim . A person who may have been miserly , claiming that he had nothing to give others , but in reality he did have , may have Tzaraas Appear On his house in Israel , so that he would have to remove first all his possessions from the house before the Kohein could come and possibly declare his house Impure Tamei . The articles within the house , would have to be removed first , so that if the Kohein would come and the articles were not in the house , the articles could then be clear of being declared Tamei - Impure , something they could not be declared of , if they were not removed first from the house before the house was declared Tamei . Thus all the people would see that he was being miserly and that he had the where with all to have helped others and that he had just dishonestly made out he was unable . As I just explained , the, possessions had to be removed first , so that they would not be declared Tamei when the house is declared Tamei , for once the House is declared Tamei , then all things within it , are Tamei . Loshon Horah is a very grave sin . It hurts without warning . A person who Loshons , is an abomination to HaShem And HaShem Says That such a person cannot abide in Creation alongside HaShem , for such a person , denies The Way HaShem Creates that person and the Loshoner tries to refashion that person in his own negative image and in his own negative view . Thus the Loshoner is akin to an idol worshiper who makes himself out to be a creator , of the person loshoned , in the Loshoner's own negative view and image , Chas Ve Shalom . The very first one to do the sin of Loshon Horah , was the Nachash the Snake in Gan Eiden in the Beginning , with the Angel Samael within it . Samael blasphemed and Loshoned HaShem and so , caused Adam Ve Chava to Sin and Eat that which they were Commanded Not To eat and so was the woman punished with painful childbirth and impurity , which both Adam Ve Chava now had ( impurity ) . What was the snake's punishment ? To crawl in the very dust that was its words , for such are the words of Loshon Horah and slander , that is akin to speaking dust . The snake's tongue was also split and separated , just like Loshon Horah and Slander separates people from others who are spoken badly about . The Snake , which once stood upright and regal , was made to crawl on its belly and from it's arrogance and conceit , a trait of the one who commits Loshon Horah , it was forced to be lowered and was humbled . Loshon Horah hurts three people , the Loshoner , the Listener to the Loshon and the Victim who is the one spoken about . A story is told of a man who came before a Judge , for he had bad mouthed his neighbor and it had caused harm to his neighbor and the perpetrator was seeking and pleading with the Judge for a way to make up for it and atone . The Judge told him to take pieces of paper and to write upon them words about himself and to go out into the street and to throw them into the wind and to come back to the Judge the next day . The man did this and came back to the Judge the next day and asked the Judge if he could now be forgiven . The Judge told him , only if he can go back to where he threw the pieces and collect every single one of them . The man said that this is impossible , as by now , the wind has carried them to places he can not possible collect them back from , or know of where . The Judge responded that so is it the same with Loshon Horah and Slander , for it is impossible to retract what one has said and it is impossibly to possibly know how far , in the wind , has a person's slanderous words traveled and they can never be retrieved or retracted , for rumors carry , and even when the truth comes out , not every one will believe it . No wonder a bird is one of the offerings brought for Cleansing from Tzaraas , as birds often chirp and chatter in the open , just like Loshon Horah chatters constantly in the open - so say our Rabbonim . Even in Dovid Ha Melech's time , a man slandered Mefiboshes , son of David's beloved friend Jonathon and this ended up starting the punishment that ended in the final split of the Tribes of Israel after Shlomo's Son Rechavam separated the kingdoms . Slander splits and divides and separates people . This is the exact opposite of what HaShem Wants . HaShem Wants togetherness and unity , in following HaShem Only . The Very Peace of Unity holds HaShem's Beautiful Gift To us Of Creation , on the Right Path towards HaShem . Slander is a very grave sin . Even Shlomo Hamelech said in Mishlei that " Death and Life are in the hands of the Tongue . " It is no wonder that the Punishment for Loshon Horah , is impurity and forced distance from other people and obvious signs of impurity , for that is exactly what the Loshoner did to others , by making them look impure and wrong to others and by their evil talk and tongue , caused distance between others , so now the one afflicted by Tzaraas for Loshon Horah must be alone and isolated and call out Tamei Tamei Impure Impure . We lost our Holy Temples because of Loshon Horah and Groundless Hatred among our brethren . " A Sword can kill one , but a word can kill many . " Loshon Horah " - " Evil Tongue Speech , " is Murder to the one spoken about . In fact Loshon Horah has within it the breaking of every one of the Ten Commandments . It blasphemes HaShem's Name , for it attacks HaShem's Creation , Chas Ve Shalom , The Way HaShem Made a person . It is like Idol worship , for it puts the Loshoner in the place of one who wants to recreate another person , in a way HaShem Did Not , For HaShem Is The Only Creator . To Loshon is to doubt HaShem and His Creation as Creator . To Loshon is to take HaShem's Name in Vain , showing no respect For What And How HaShem Created things . To Loshon is to show HaShem that the Loshoner is arrogantly trying to make his own false creation , thus denying HaShem As Creator , Chas Ve Shalom , which is exactly the opposite of what Shabbos Testifies , that we keep Shabbos , which also acknowledges That HaShem Created the other six days . If one can Loshon others , then one can be brought to the stage of Loshoning one's own Parents , thus dishonoring them , Chas Ve Shalom . Loshoning can kill a person's character and other's opinions of the one Loshoned and also embarrasses them , causing blood to drain from their face , which Halachically is akin to murder . Loshon Horah brings about unfaithfulness by others to the one Loshoned , which is akin to adultery . Loshon Horah causes theft of a person's real character akin to kidnapping their real character . Certainly , Loshon Horah causes the bearing of False Witness against the one Loshoned , putting them wrongly in a way that they are not . Loshon Horah causes hatred of the one Loshoned by those who listen to it and the listeners can thus be caused to covet the one Loshoned . Thus Loshon Horah Evil Tongue , breaks all the Ten Commandments and thus every Law of HaShem Given on Har Sinai . Also , Seeing As HaShem Created the World with Ten Pronouncements , Loshon Horah Directly Attacks HaShem's Creation And Also The Fact That HaShem Created the World With Ten Pronouncements , for as I mentioned , it breaks every one of the Ten Commandments . So is the Punishment for Tzaraas , for ten types of Aveirah . HaShem Put the tongue behind the barriers of the teeth and gums in the mouth so as to keep it in check , as a barrier against a loose tongue of slander Loshon Horah . The tongue is the only muscle in the body that has horizontal freedom . HaShem Thus Gave us Barriers to the tongue , the Teeth and Gums of the Mouth , to help us keep it in check . Yet HaShem Allowed us the easiest ability to earn Mitzvos with our Speech in Holy Talk , By Allowing the tongue muscle , the freedom to speak . So HaShem Wants us to Guard our Tongue , But Still Mercifully Gives us a way to easily earn many Mitzvos , by using the easy moving tongue , made in a resting horizontal position , to be easily able to speak Words Of Holiness Of Torah . We must thus not change it around , but must ensure that we take HaShem's Safeguards and Guard our Tongue from Loshon Horah and easily speak Holy Words , by learning much Torah and so , make this World , a World of Torah Love and Harmony , Where HaShem Can Be Made Welcome with love always . So if we stop Committing Loshon Horah and if we all start keeping HaShem's Commandments , we will stop being afflicted with Tzaraas and we can go back to the Beginning , where child birth was painless and there was no impurity . It is within our reach . All we have to do , is What HaShem Wants us to do . All we Have to do is follow HaShem , in our total love and obedience . Gan Eiden and Shamaim are so reachable . If only we would just reach up to HaShem , and all of us Obey Him . HaShem Made us In Total Love . HaShem Then Discusses a most important set of Laws with respect to Tzaraas and human contamination , should a person Sin , Chas Ve Shalom . Different kinds of Tzaraas are discussed , from Tzaraas on the skin , to the head , to a garment , to a house , and how the Kohein is to judge if it is Tzaraas and what to do with it . So ends our Sedra . The Midrash as I mentioned , talks of 10 sins for Tzaraas that can cause it to come upon a person . These ten are Loshon Horah , Murder, Theft , Arrogance , Idol Worship , Chilul HaShem , Immorality , Blaspheming HaShem , Doing things not permitted ( like doing the work of a Kohein when one is a non-Kohein ) and the Evil Eye Miserliness. The Gemorah in Erchin 15 , lists an eleventh one , which is making a vain oath ( Midrash Says Vayikra - R Weissman ) . The whole idea of Tzaraas , as I mentioned , is so far removed from what we know today as Leprosy . Today's leprosy is a physical ailment , whereas Tzaraas , is a spiritual affliction that comes out physically . The Kohanim had to know all the different Laws regarding Tzaraas and how to differentiate between over 300 different types of Tum'a Tzaraas . It shows us that how we behave and what we do religiously , or in this case , also not do what we should do , can have a very physical manifestation . HaShem Furnishes the afflicted with a suitable punishment , for just as the one afflicted may have Loshoned and thus isolated others , so was the afflicted , forced to leave the Clouds of Glory and isolate themselves from others , putting on sackcloth and calling out ' Tamei Tamei , ' should anyone come near them . We need to take this into account , for the way we act , shows on our very Physicality and our negative emotions does reflect Spiritually on the outside . Usually the regular Haftorah Portion for this Parsha is the story of Naaman , general from Aram , who was leprous . There was a young Jewish girl taken into Aram's territory who spoke out and advised that he should go to Elisha , the Jewish prophet to help. So the king of Aram sent a letter to the king of Israel Yehoram to assist . The King of Israel thought it was a trap pretext to attack and so , tore up the letter . Elisha was angry at the king's reaction and said , " Let Naaman come . " Naaman came to his house , with wealth and Elisha never came out , but told him to go bathe seven times in the Jordan river , but Naaman thought he knew better , saying that his own rivers were just as good . Naaman's sons persuaded their father to listen and Naaman went and bathed seven times in the Jordan and his Leprosy was healed . Elisha told his servant Geichazi not to accept any gifts , for Elisha wanted it made clear that it was HaShem Who Had Saved Naaman and not Elisha himself . This story continued , that Geichazi and his sons with him , deceitfully ran after Naaman , to try and get the valuables under false pretenses . When Elisha prophetically saw what he did , Elisha cursed his deceitful servant Geichazi and his sons with Leprosy and they were stricken . They ended up to be the Lepers who stood outside the city gate subsequently and who were hungry and they made their way to the enemy camp and found the enemy had run due to a conflagration Which HaShem Had Sent and so , they returned to report this to Israel . Geichazi had previously mocked Elisha and Elisha's staff , when Elisha on another occasion had sent Geichazi with Elisha's staff to try heal the sin of the Shunamite woman's son and on the way , Geichazi loshoned his master and mocked him . So Loshon Horah is a big reason for Tzaraas to appear . HaShem Put Into our hands our own destinies . What we choose to do , is where we lead ourselves to . HaShem Wants us to be a partner in His Work , by bringing ourselves to completion . This starts at birth and never stops our whole lives . There is not a single moment in this World where we can't grow. Every moment we are given has within it many opportunities for Spiritual Growth . We just have to look out for them and bring each moment into Heaven . Every moment for us all can either be a step up or a step down . Which one it is , is purely our choice . To waste a single moment on trivial physicalities is a waste Of The Sweet Beautiful And Kind Reason That HaShem Gives us To grow . Our prophets of old knew deep Spiritual things . Like Elisha who knew that Naaman's solution was hidden in the Torah , for Naaman's name started and ended with a Nun , as did a few other verses , like the verse that speaks of the subject of Tzaraas Laws starts and ends with a Nun and also with respect to this very subject where another verse in Torah that refers to the Jordan river , also starts with and ends with a Nun , as does another verse in Torah that refers to seven times immersing , also start with and end with a Nun ( Midrash Says - Vayikra - R . Weissman ) , so all things are in Torah And HaShem Saw To all things . All we need to do is to Follow HaShem's Ways . HaShem Is In the most minute action and even when trials come or punishments happen , HaShem Is There To Improve us . No one is immune from learning a lesson . Even a King , like King David , who after the incident with Bas-Sheva , was stricken with Tzaraas for six months and isolated , until he had worked through the Aveirah he had done . All of us are here to learn and grow and work through our weaknesses so we can become better beings that Bless HaShem instead of just Blaspheming HaShem ( Chas Ve Shalom ) , as Golias ( Goliath ) did every day he came out to mock HaShem and the Jewish people from the Pelishtim , when David called on HaShem To Strike him with Tzaraas , before David killed him with a slingshot with HaShem's Help, for David could not abide any mockery of HaShem . It is interesting to note that as David was descended from Ruth in Moav , so was Golias descended from Orpah ( her sister - in - law ) in Moav , both these women being daughter's in law of Naomi , where Ruth chose to go with Naomi home , unlike Orpah who chose to stay in Moav with its Avodah Zorah . Thus David and Golias had to meet . Our Parsha Tazria, teaches , that working toward purity starts at birth and continues on . We dare not waste a single moment for each moment is very precious And Is A Gift from HaShem . So let us appreciate every moment we are Given By HaShem , For HaShem Gives us Life To Truly Spiritually Live . May we all open our eyes to HaShem and take HaShem's Gift Of Life And True Living and Start to Truly Live HaShem's Way , For Only That Is True Living . May we all keep pure and holy and live every moment for HaShem That we Are Given By HaShem . Let us make our entire lives for HaShem , Who Gives us life . Let us all be for HaShem . I wish HaShem With Purest And Deepest Forever And Eternal Love , A Very Sweet And Beautiful Shabbos Kodesh And Chodesh Tov Nissan with Total Love , and to all of my fellow Jews and to all of HaShem's Beautiful Creation , a very sweet and beautiful Shabbos Kodesh and Chodesh Tov Nissan with love .