Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ibn Ezra · Torah
Ibn Ezra on Leviticus 12/אבן עזרא על ויקרא י״ב
אאשה כי תזריע. אחר שהשלים תורת הטהור והטמא בנאכלין הזכיר טמא אדם והחל מן האשה היולדת כי הלידה היא תחלה ורבים אמרו שהאשה מזרעת תחלה יולדת זכר על כן וילדה זכר ועל כן דעת חכמי יון שהזרע לאשה וזרע הזכר מקפיא וכל הבן מדם האשה והנה פירוש תזריע תתן זרע כי היא כמו הארץ:
1IF A WOMAN BE DELIVERED.1 (literally, produces a seed). After Scripture concludes the law of clean and unclean food, it deals with human uncleanliness. The Torah starts2 with the woman who gives birth, because human life begins at birth. Many say that if the woman produces the seed first,3 then she gives birth to a male.4 60a; Niddah 28a. Scripture therefore states, and bear a man-child.5 The wise men of the Greeks similarly believed that the seed is of the woman. The seed of the male congeals.6 All of the child is created out of the blood of the woman.7 Note, the meaning of tazri’a (be delivered) means will give seed, for a woman8 (she) as in Vat. Ebr. 38 rather than hu (it) as in some printed editions. is like the ground.9 (zeru’ehah) to spring forth (Is. 62:11). Thus ishah ki tazri’a (if a woman be delivered) literally means if a woman gives forth her seed, i.e., the seed planted in her.
בוי״ו וטמאה כפ״א רפה בלשון ישמעאל. וסבת טומאתה שבעת ימים עד שובה אל המרובע וכן ימצא בימי החולי כי השנוי יראה עד סוף כל ז׳:
2The vav of ve-tame’ah (then shall be unclean) is like the unaspirated vav in Arabic.10 is not to be rendered: and she shall be unclean, but, then she shall be unclean. The reason that she is unclean for seven days is that she must wait until she completes11 a quarter of days.12 We find a similarity in the days of illness, for a change is seen at the end of the seven days.13
גנדת. שם במשקל בזת והם שניהם מפעלי הכפל:
3THE IMPURITY OF. The word niddat (impurity of) is a noun.14 It follows the paradigm of bizzat (spoil of).15 Both words come from a double root.16 comes from nun, dalet, dalet. Bizzat from bet, zayin, zayin.
דדותה. טעמו כמו חולי כמו מדוה מצרים כי הדם היוצא הוא חולי בבשר האשה:
4HER SICKNESS. Devotah (her sickness) is a noun in the plural.17 plus the feminine pronominal suffix. Compare, madveh (diseases) in the evil diseases of Egypt (Deut. 7:15).18 (her sickness) and madveh (diseases) come from the same root. Thus devotah means her illness. Some interpret devotah as her flow. See Rashi. The blood that comes out is an illness in the woman’s body.19
אוביום השמיני. אמרו חז״ל ביום ולא בלילה והנה הנולד חצי שעה קודם שקיעת החמה יהיה נמול לששה ימים וחצי יום כי יום התורה אינו מעת לעת:
1AND IN THE EIGHTH DAY. Our wise men, of blessed memory, said during the day, not at night.20 Now a child born a half hour before sunset is circumcised after six and half days,21 for the day of the Torah is not measured by twenty-four hours.22
בימול. מבנין נפעל כמו לא יכון ויהיה מגזרת מולים היו ויתכן להיותו חסר נו״ן מגזרת ונמלתם כמו איש כי ידור נדר ויחסר המל כמו אביו או בית דין:
2SHALL BE CIRCUMCISED. Yimmol (shall be circumcised) is a nifal.23. Compare, yikkon24. (be established) in shall not be established (Ps. 101:7). According to this opinion, yimmol is related to the word mullim25. (circumcised) in were circumcised (Josh. 5:5). It is also possible that yimmol is missing a nun26 comes from the root nun, mem. lamed. and is related to the word u-nemaltem27. (and ye shall be circumcised) (Gen. 17:11). Yimmol is like the word yiddor (voweth)28. in When a man voweth a vow unto the Lord (Num. 30:3). Scripture omits the one who performs the circumcision, such as the father or the Beth Din (court).29 comes from the root nun, mem, lamed, then the meaning of yimmol (shall be circumcised) is, he shall circumcise. In this case the subject is missing, for Scripture omits who “he” is. Hence I.E. points out that “he” refers to the father of the child, the Beth Din, or any authorized person. For similar comments of I.E., see I.E. on Gen. 25:26; 48:1; 50:26 (Vol. 1, pp. 251, 412, 452).
גערלתו. ידועה כי הוא בערוה ואין כן ערלת לב ושפה ואזן כי כלם סמוכים:
3HIS FORESKIN. It is known that the foreskin is on the private part.30 This is not the case regarding the foreskin of the heart,31 the lip,32 and the ear,33 for all of them are connected to another word.34 (foreskin) stands by itself, it refers to the foreskin of the penis. When Scripture uses the term orlah metaphorically, it connects it to another word, as in aral sefatayim (of uncircumcised lips) (Ex. 6:12).
אה״א טהרה. נח נעלם והי׳ ראוי להראות כה״א ויקרא לה נבח. וטעם דמי טהרה. שהוא דם טוהר כנגד דם נדה ואיננו מטמא והשם גזר על הזכר כמספר הזכר אשר תשלם צורתו בבטן והנקבה כפלים וזה דבר ברורה ומנוסה:
1[PURIFICATION.] The heh of tohorah35 should be rendered, her purification. (purification) is unsounded.36 (dot) in it. According to I.E. the heh of tohorah (purification) is a pronominal suffix, and tohorah should be rendered as her purification. Such a heh usually has a dot in it. Hence I.E.’s comment. It should have been pronounced. It is like the heh37 in it. in lah (it)38 in and called it Nobah (Num. 32:43). The meaning of deme tohorah (the blood of purification) is clean blood.39 as blood of cleanliness. This blood, in contrast to dam niddah (menstrual blood), is clean. It does not cause uncleanliness. The forty days that God decreed regarding a male child40 corresponds to the time it takes for the form of the male to be completed in the womb.41 3:7). It takes double that time for a female.42. This is clear and tested.
בבכל קדש לא תגע. כמו המעשר והתרומה ובשר שלמים:
2SHE SHALL TOUCH NO HALLOWED THING. Such as the tithe, trumah,43 and the flesh of peace offerings.
גואל המקדש. אל חצר אהל מועד או אל העזרה בבית המקדש:
3NOR COME INTO THE SANCTUARY. The courtyard of the tent of meeting or into the temple courtyard.44
דבדמי טהרה. או על דמי טהרה אחד הוא:
4Be-deme tohorah (in the blood of purification) (v. 4) and al deme tohorah (in the blood of purification)45 have one meaning.
אבן שנתו. לולי הקבלה מי היה מפרש לנו בן שנתו דאם הוא בן שנה תמימה לא יותר או פחות או תוספות ויש אומרים שטעם הכבש לעולה שמא עלתה שום מחשבה על רוחה בשעת לדתה מרוב הצער. חטאת שמא דברה בפיה:
1OF THE FIRST YEAR. If we did not have tradition, who would explain whether ben shenato (of the first year)46 means of the first year. See Mekhilta 4. means exactly one year, or less than a year, or a year plus?47 Some say that the reason a woman who gives birth brings a lamb for a burnt offering is that she may have had some unseemly thought because of her pain when giving birth.48 She brings a sin offering because she might have uttered some unseemly thing with her lips.49 31b: “Rabbi Johanan ben Zakkai’s student asked: Why did the Torah say that a woman who gives birth shall bring an offering? He said to them: when she crouches to give birth she swears that she will not have sexual relations with her husband.”
אוהקריבו. זה וזה הכבש והתור או בן יונה והכתוב אחז דרך קצרה וכן לא הזכיר מליקת חטאת העוף כי הכהן איננו אוכל חטאת עוף:
1AND HE SHALL OFFER IT. This one and the other one,50). Hence I.E.’s comment. the lamb and the turtle-dove or the young pigeon.51 Scripture employed an abridged style. It similarly does not mention the snipping of the head of the fowl brought for a sin offering,52 for53 does not eat of the sin offering fowl (Meijler). the kohen does not eat of the sin offering fowl.54) to refer to it and the burnt offering (the lamb).
בוכפר עליה. כאשר פירשתי:
2AND MAKE ATONEMENT FOR HER. As I explained.55
גוטהרה ממקור דמיה. זה אות כי לא תטהר בתולדתה עד הימים הספורים:
3AND SHE SHALL BE CLEANSED FROM THE FOUNTAIN OF HER BLOOD. This is a sign that she does not naturally became cleansed until the days that are enumerated arrive.
אתמצא ידה. כטעם ואין ידו משגת:
1AND IF HER MEANS SUFFICE NOT.56 This means the same as but if his means suffice not57. (see Lev. 5:11).
בוכפר עליה הכהן וטהרה. זה יורה אם לא יכפר עליה הכהן לא תטהר וזה תלוי בארץ:
2AND THE PRIEST SHALL MAKE ATONEMENT FOR HER, AND SHE SHALL BE CLEAN. This teaches that if the kohen does not make atonement for her she shall not be clean. This applies only in the Land of Israel.58 suffices.