Parsha Mitzvot: Tazria: Mitzvah 167 – Concept 437

“Upon the completion of the days of her purity for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring a sheep within its first year for an elevation offering, and a young dove or a turtledove for a sin offering, to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, to the Kohen (Vayikra 12:6).” A woman who gave birth must bring an offering after she goes to the Mikvah (Rambam, Hilchot Michusarei Kaparah – The Laws of Those Lacking Atonement).

The woman experienced one of the most intense and powerful Divine experiences while giving birth and bringing life into the world. She was attached to God at that moment, as is rarely otherwise possible. It is for the loss of such an intense feeling of the Divine capacity of a human being that she must bring a sin-offering, as must all of us who have achieved an intense connection to God and lost it.