This parsha teaches various conditions which exclude people from entering the Tabernacle, and in some cases, being removed from the general community. The first impression many have of these restrictions is “What did this person do wrong?” It is very tempting to shift into this mode of judgement. It can be very self satisfying to look for another persons faults because it takes the focus off our own feelings of inadequacy.
The parsha actually has no sense of judgement of wrongdoing. It starts with restriction from the Tabernacle immediately after childbirth. This is a blessed event. The issue is not wrongdoing. The mother and child are blessed. The issue is normal life verses sanctified special time. Normal life is where we live. It is blessed. Sanctified time is set apart. We do not and can not live in sanctified time and space very long, any more than we can live on a mountain top. The view is great, the experience exhilarating, but you cannot live there. Even the Kohens work in the Tabernacle for limited times, on rotating shifts.
Photo from My Daily Herald
Here are some study notes:
Parsha Tzaria 5771.doc
Parsha Tzaria 5771.pdf