Leviticus chapter 18 introduces the Torah's restrictions on sexual relations. The punishment for violating these transgressions is karet (being cut off from Israel). The title given for the list of the Bible's prohibited sexual offenses...
In modern times, we rarely think of the state of our spiritual purity. We can go into a synagogue, travel where we want, handle fruits and vegetables and sit on any chair without thinking about the spiritual ramifications. But in ancient...
When a woman has her menstrual period she becomes ritually impure. The Torah laws concerning this (referred to as the laws of niddah) are the basis of family purity, one of the most important aspects of the Jews status as a holy nation....
Leviticus (chapter 12) discusses the laws relating to a woman who has given birth. It mandates a seven-day period of impurity for a woman after giving birth to a male, during which she is forbidden to her husband and is not able to come...
The Torah portion of Tazria (Leviticus 12-13) deals with tzaraat, a disease usually mistranslated as leprosy. Tzaraat is a malady that afflicts the body, clothing, and the walls of houses. The afflicted is diagnosed by the priest and...
After outlining which animals are permitted to be eaten, the Torah teaches that coming into contact with the carcasses of non-kosher animals is forbidden and renders a person impure (Leviticus 11). The Torah describes the process to...
