By Joseph Shulam.
The reading from the Torah and the Prophets for this Shabbat is from Leviticus 12:1 – 15:33.
From the Prophets, it is 2 Kings 7:3-20.
The New Testament is from The Gospel of Luke 2:22-35 + Mark 1:35-45.
The name of this reading from Leviticus is Tazriah – Metzorah.
We are already past Passover and into May, and we passed May 1, which used to be a significant holiday for my family during my youth.
I still have some sentiments about May 1: My childhood memories of the parades in Jerusalem’s streets on that day. I especially recall one faithful American immigrant, a big guy with a severe limp who was marching in the street with workers from the factories in and around Jerusalem, screaming with a strong USA Southern accent, “Lehem, Avoda” – “Lechem, Avoda.” His limping went with the song’s rhythm, and the limp had a slight jump. “Lehem, Avoda” are the Hebrew words for Bread and Work.
There was another song that people who were marching sang in Hebrew. The English translation is, “Who will give us a glass of milk? Who is going to provide us with a slice of bread?” The song answered, “Outwork, our work.” Today, dear brothers and sisters, if such a song were sung on any day of the year, the answer to the question: Who will give us a glass of mild and provide us with a slice of bread? It would be different; it would be “the government.” If the politicians asked the same question of the orthodox Jewish political parties, the answer would still be different; it would be “Goldknopff” + “Gafni.” These two are the leaders of the two Jewish ultra-orthodox political parties. Most orthodox men don’t work; a good portion of their wives work, and they get all kinds of “special benefits” for housing and children, and you name it. Our Orthodox Jewish communities need to learn from the New York Orthodox communities. They work AND study Torah. They are successful business people selling mail-order high-tech equipment and photography shops, and you name it, they work and work hard, but they also find time to study Torah in their synagogues and raise successful families with multiple children.
I miss the old-time Jerusalem that I was raised in; it doesn’t exist now—the age of innocence and simple Zionism that was defined by absorbing immigration from over 100 countries. Immigrants from Eastern Europe, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Romania, Serbia, Macedonia, Greece, and a few families from Poland first populated my neighborhood in the south of Jerusalem. Everyone’s family was a holocaust survivor. My father was not at home for most of my youth. He would be gone for a few months, come back for a few months, and go away for a few months, and once he was gone for three years. It was all for his job.
My mother worked 8 hours as a foreman in a cigarette factory in Jerusalem. She left the house at 5:00 a.m. and returned at 5:00 p.m. Two elementary school teachers took turns to their homes after school, feeding me lunch with their families and sending me home at 4:00 p.m. so I would be home when my mother arrived. Every home in my neighborhood would be open to help me, my grandmother, or any neighbor.
Today, my world is different. I live in a nice (almost a suburb of Jerusalem) building some 9 miles from downtown Jerusalem, which has a million-dollar view of much of Jerusalem. Wonderful neighbors in the building. Everyone has at least two cars and a two-car parking space. Everyone has a beautiful apartment and a garden. Everyone works in a good place. Everyone is secular, not religious, but good old upright Israeli. But that feeling of openness and partnership in experiencing the fulfillment of so many prophetic promises to Israel and a sense of oneness in this miracle of Jews returning home after 2000 years of exile throughout the whole world – doesn’t exist anymore. Maybe the backlash of this cruel and monstrous war in Gaza and Lebanon and with Iran and Yemen will restore some of these old and wonderful attitudes and the sense of oneness and unity.
I now feel guilty that I don’t have the same vision and desire for my Christian brothers and sisters in the world. With my Christian brothers and sisters around the world, I have this feeling of sadness. Sadness for an Israel that is fractured, broken, divided, aggressively motivated to compete, and who ignores the effects of this war with Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, and far away in the Persian Gulf with Iran and the Straits of Hormuz at the tip of South Arabia with Yemen. Usually, war unites people and makes them feel closer to each other, more empathic, and helpful, but this war has done precisely the opposite. This war has polarized and divided and turned brother against brother and friend against friend. The division is all based on the politicians and their ambitious aspirations for more power and more control and less democracy and freedom and civil rights.
In short, this is the Jerusalem prayer list. I assume that all of you who read this prayer list will at least lift a prayer for Israel as a nation and a country and for the hostages who today live in hell in the dark tunnels under Gaza.
And I hope you pray for Marcia, my wife, who is very, very sick with several illnesses like diabetes and Rheumatoid Arthritis, dementia, and the newest and most difficult is something that is called hyper-static hypertension. If Marcia is flat in bed and takes her medication, she is more or less o.k. The minute she stands up, her blood pressure drops dramatically, and she faints. Marcia has been on oxygen 24/7 for almost two months and has been on liquids infusion for also nearly two months.
Our children are both in the USA; one is in Tennessee, and the other is in California. For us to travel to the USA to have some family help to take care of us in our old and sick situation, we would have to use Medivac (special medical flight with a doctor and a nurse and oxygen and other facilities with us in the flight.). These flights are at least several 10s of thousands of dollars. Barry has bought a duplex of two connected homes so that we can live remarkably close to them, and they would help us. I do not know when this will materialize; it depends on Marcia’s and my health. I had confirmed with biopsies and Nuclear Pet-Scans a pancreatic cancer, a lung cancer, and a spleen cancer. There was stomach cancer, but in the last gastrointestinal scan, it disappeared. (Yes, they did repeat the scan twice, and they couldn’t find that cancer in the stomach. We experienced a similar phenomenon 30 years ago with a dear member of our community who had breast cancer that was also scanned, and a biopsy was taken. She was taken to surgery, and she already prepared (opened) to remove her breast, and the cancer could not be found. That same day, the surgeon asked what to do, and I asked him if it was his daughter, what would he do? He said I would close the surgery and send her home. That evening, she was already home and praised the Lord. Our dear sister is still healthy and well and praising the Lord. So, it seems like one of my cancers (in the stomach) disappeared also, and I also pray and praise and hope and ask and beg God that the others will also disappear from my body!)
Here are a few words about our Torah reading during this Shabbat. The name in Hebrew is Tazriah – Metzorah. We have two names because, on this Shabbat, we are reading a double Torah portion after the Feast of Passover. The Tazriah portion starts with the word Tazriah. Tazriah comes from the word Zera, which means “a seed.” The English translation of this text is:
Leviticus 12:1-3, “Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘If a woman has conceived, and borne a male child, then she shall be unclean seven days; as in the days of her customary impurity she shall be unclean. 3 And on the eighth day, the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.”
Christians who have not been exposed to the Gospels’ historical settings, the Jewishness of the whole Gospel story, and the Prophetic predictions of almost every event you read in the Gospels cannot connect fully with this passage. I would like you to realize what happened on the 8th Day of Baby (he didn’t have a name yet – But out of respect, I will still call the nameless baby YESHUA – and not an unnamed baby. The name is given to a male baby only after the circumcision and the entrance into the covenant of Abraham. These words from Luke chapter 2, put into a historical and cultural perspective, continue to hold to the semi-mythological attitude that most Christians have inherited from the Catholic roots of the Protestant churches. You ought to remember that there was no Catholic Church in the first century. You ought to recognize the geographical context, the cultural context, and the spiritual context of the whole New Testament. Still, Luke 2, read within the context and events described and prescribed in Leviticus 12, would impress you to see the faithfulness of Yeshua’s family in obedience to all of the Torah requirements and ceremonies dictated to us in the gospel.
Luke chapter 2 is most often ignored and quietly deleted from the conciseness of Christians suppressed to continue the continual historical desire of the churches to divide and separate and ignore and sweep under the carpet. The agenda of the churches today has roots from the 3rd and 4th centuries after Yeshua. The agenda was and, to a large extent, still exists and is the same – cut the umbilical cord that connects and always will continue to connect Yeshua and the Gospels to the Torah and the Jewish nation. Yeshua is still the king of the Jews, and the Jewish nation has no other king on the throne of King David other than Yeshua. Don’t let your church sweep Luke 2 under the carpet stained with Yeshua’s blood, which continues to be shed. Don’t let your church ignore and reject and do everything to wipe away Yeshua’s true identity and make him E.T. Call home! Yeshua will return, and it will still be in Jerusalem, and he will still be the king of the Jews, and of course, include all the world’s nations.
The Rabbi’s ancient interpretation of this text is literal. Remember the words of Yeshua in Matthew 23:1-3, where Yeshua instructs his disciples that the Pharisees sit on the Seat of Moses and whatever they teach us; in this case, Yeshua was speaking to his disciples and through them to us today. Literally, the Hebrew text uses this text almost as a way to know from the very beginning of the incrimination of the woman during sexual intercourse – if she, the woman, will seed first, the baby that will be born will be a male child.. Rabbi Abraham Eben Ezra was a rationalist who took God’s word at face value. He wrote commentaries of the Hebrew Bible and some of the Rabbinical Midrash literature and also had a commentary for several of the Volumes of the Talmud. Rabbi Abraham Eben Ezra was a great Bible Commentator and a succinct, logical, and sharp mind who wrote commentaries of the Hebrew Bible and the Talmud, one of the litmus papers for the Biblical truth in his commentaries.
Our text from Leviticus 12:1-3 is logical and plain and honestly hits the point. Rabbi Eben Ezra understands this text as a hint, at least for the woman to know if her baby will be male or female. As stated by Rabbi Abraham Eben Ezra, if a woman during the process of impregnation finishes first, the baby that will be born will be a male baby.
Luke writes the essential part of this Torah reading, the good doctor who became a disciple of the Apostle Paul, joined Paul on his journey from Greece to Jerusalem, and spent time caring for and following Paul. There is wisdom in the word of God, and it is not all theological; I would say that most of the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament have very little systematic theology. A person would have to be a drunk Catholic or Orthodox Priest seething in a freezing room in a European Monastery’s cold basement to construct some of the classical Christian theology around today. When Jewish Rabbis read the Bible, even if they have had a little wine to keep them sober and calm – they would be looking not for systematic theology but for what we can learn from these texts and how to do it.
In Luke 2, we learn about the developments in the family of Joseph, the carpenter, and Mary, the mother of Baby Yeshua.
Here is a day-by-day timeline from the birth of Jesus until the presentation at the Temple and the purification offering, according to Leviticus 12 and Luke 2, and comment on each event.
Timeline of Events from Yeshua’s Birth to the Temple Offering
Day 1–7 Mary is in a state of ritual impurity Leviticus 12:2 For a male child, the mother is ritually impure for 7 days, like during the menstrual impurity. She would not have entered the Temple or touched holy things during this time.
Day 8 Circumcision of Yeshua and Naming Leviticus 12:3; Luke 2:21 On the 8th day, Baby (without name yet) is circumcised according to the Torah – Law. He officially receives His name, “Yeshua,” meaning “The LORD is salvation,” showing His full entrance into the covenant of Abraham.
Day 9–40 Continued days of purification for Mary Leviticus 12:4 After circumcision, Mary continues in a state of semi-impurity for another 33 days. She would be at home, refraining from sacred activities but able to resume some normal life activities.
Day 40 Presentation of Jesus and Purification Offering in the Temple Leviticus 12:6–8; Luke 2:22–24 When 40 days are over and finished, Mary and Joseph travel from Bethlehem to Jerusalem (about 8 km) to fulfill two obligations: 1) Mary’s purification offering, and 2) Presenting Yeshua as a firstborn male to his family. They offer two pigeons, showing their poverty. Simeon and Anna recognize Yeshua at the Temple.
| Day | Event | Biblical Basis | Commentary |
| Day 0 | Birth of baby Yeshua | Luke 2:6-7 | Yeshua is born in Bethlehem. Mary swaddles Him and lays Him in a manger, showing the simplicity and poverty surrounding His birth. |
| Day 1-7 | Mary is in an impure state | Leviticus 12:2 | For a male child, the mother is ritually impure for 7 days, like during the menstrual impurity. She would not have entered the Temple or touched holy things during this time. |
| Day 8 | Circumcision of Yeshua and Naming | Leviticus 12:3; Luke 2:21 | On the 8th day, Baby (without name yet) is circumcised according to the Torah – Law. He officially receives His name, “Yeshua,” meaning “The LORD is salvation,” showing His full entrance into the covenant of Abraham. |
| Day 9-40 | Continued days of purification for Mary | Leviticus 12:4 | After circumcision, Mary continues in a state of semi-impurity for another 33 days. She would be at home, refraining from sacred activities but able to resume some normal life activities. |
| Day 40 | Presentation of Jesus and Purification Offering in the Temple | Leviticus 12:6-8; Luke 2:22-24 | When 40 days are over and finished, Mary and Joseph travel from Bethlehem to Jerusalem (about 8 km) to fulfill two obligations: 1) Mary’s purification offering, and 2) Presenting Yeshua as a firstborn male to his family. They offer two pigeons, showing their poverty. Simeon and Anna recognize Yeshua at the Temple. |
God chooses a lowly place — not a palace — for the birth of the King of Kings.
• Lesson: 1 for us today and always to remember!
God’s glory shines even (and especially) in humble, overlooked places.
Days 1–7: Mary’s Period of Impurity was observed and respected fully according to the Torah.
Even though Mary conceived supernaturally (by the Holy Spirit), she submits to the normal human purification process. Everything that happens is according to the instructions of the Torah.
• Lesson: 2
Holiness does not exempt a person from obedience and humility.
Day 8: Circumcision and Naming
Yeshua enters the Abrahamic covenant — physically marked as part of the people of Israel.
His name, “Yeshua” (salvation), matches His mission from birth.
• Lesson: 3
Obedience to God’s covenant and clear identity are vital from the start of life.
Days 9–40: Continued Days of Purification
Quiet, unseen faithfulness. Nothing dramatic is recorded. Mary fulfills her obligations quietly and in trust.
• Lesson: 4
Much of the life of faith is lived in patience and unseen obedience.
Day 40: Presentation and Offering at the Temple
Baby Yeshua is formally “presented” to the Lord, fulfilling the ancient law of the firstborn (Exodus 13).
Mary completes her purification by offering a poor person’s sacrifice (two birds instead of a lamb).
• Lesson: 5
Yeshua’s first official “appearance” relates to humility, poverty, and worship.
Holiness and dedication are not tied to wealth or social standing.
Additional Insight: Connection to Simeon and Anna (Luke 2:25–38)
• Simeon, a righteous and devout man, recognizes Jesus as “a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for Israel.”
• Anna, a prophet, also acknowledges Him and speaks about the redemption of Jerusalem.
• Spiritual Lesson:
Those who live close to God (even in long years of waiting) will recognize the Messiah, even when He comes humbly.
• Faithfulness in trivial things (even ritual purity laws) prepares the way for God’s big acts.
• Humility, obedience, and patience are the soil where God’s promises grow.
• God’s concern for the poor and identification with the lowly is seen in every stage of Jesus’ early life.
The conflagration of Leviticus 12 and Luke 2 reminds us that the Messiah did not abolish God’s commands—He fulfilled them perfectly, in humility and poverty, with humanity to be an example and lead us back to God.