Ilustration Credit: Elad Lifshitz, Dov Abramson Studio
Midrash מִדְרָשׁ
Midrashim are ideas or stories that explain the Torah. They often come from listening very carefully to what the Torah says and how it says it. Here, we will look for what clues this midrash sees in the Torah's words, and try to understand its messages.
Our parashah opens with a discussion of what happens when a woman gives birth:
דַּבֵּ֞ר אֶל־בְּנֵ֤י יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר אִשָּׁה֙ כִּ֣י תַזְרִ֔יעַ וְיָלְדָ֖ה...
Speak to Benei Yisrael: when a woman becomes pregnant and gives birth…
A midrash wonders why information about childbirth is placed here. At the end of last week’s parashah, we read about the rules of kosher and non-kosher animals. Are kashrut and childbirth connected?
אָמַר רַבִּי שִׂמְלָאי, כְּשֵׁם שֶׁיְּצִירָתוֹ שֶׁל אָדָם אַחַר בְּהֵמָה חַיָּה וָעוֹף, כָּךְ תּוֹרָתוֹ אַחַר בְּהֵמָה חַיָּה וָעוֹף,
הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב (ויקרא יא, מו): זֹאת תּוֹרַת הַבְּהֵמָה, וְאַחַר כָּךְ אִשָּׁה כִּי תַזְרִיעַ.
Rabbi Simlai said: People were created after animals, and the laws for people also come after the laws for animals.
That’s why it says "This is the law about animals…” (Vayikra 11:46), and only afterwards, "When a woman becomes pregnant..." (Vayikra 12:2).
According to Rabbi Simlai, the Torah’s rules appear in this particular order in order to keep us humble. We human beings might think (and act!) like we are the center of the universe, but in fact, we came last in the creation story. Similarly, the rules that govern our human lives come after the rules about animals.
- Does being last in line mean we’re least important? Or is it possible that God saved the best for last? We thought about these questions back in Devash for Bereishit. Could these two ideas work together? Which one speaks to you more?
- How can we act with more humility when it comes to our interaction with the rest of creation?
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