Parashat Tazria-M'tsora, Leviticus 12:1-15:33

As we continue through our prayer campaign leading to Shavuot (Pentecost) in less than five weeks, it's good to remember that counting the days of the Omer (Lev. 23:15) is also counting the days of the Resurrection of Messiah. Yeshua rose on the first day of the week during Passover. Resurrection day, the first day of the week, is also day eight, seven days plus one.

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks reminds us of the significance of the number seven. "Seven in Judaism is not a simple prime number. It is the one-after-six. Six represents the material, physical, secular. Ancient Mesopotamia  . . used a numerical system based on the number six. Western civilization still bears traces of this in the twenty-four hour day (2 X 6 hours of light, plus 2 X 6 of darkness); the sixty (10 X 6) minutes in an hour, and seconds in a minute; and the 360 degrees in a circle. . . . Judaism acknowledges the six-part structure of time and space, but adds that God exists beyond time and space. Hence seven--the one beyond six--became the symbol of the holy."¹

If seven is the symbol of the holy, what about eight, the one beyond seven? There is nothing left but to begin again. Eight is the number of renewal. The eighth day is the day of new creation, following the six days of original creation capped by Shabbat, the seventh day. On the eighth day, as in last week's portion, Shemini or "eighth," the priests, who went through a seven-day ritual of ordination, begin their service before God. On the eighth day, this new priesthood begins to serve in the newly consecrated tabernacle where the glory of the Lord appeared before all Israel.

Likewise, Parashat Tazria, our reading for the week, opens with these words:

Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, "Speak to the children of Israel, saying: 'If a woman has conceived, and borne a male child, then she shall be unclean seven days; as in the days of her customary impurity she shall be unclean. And on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.'" (Lev. 12:1-3)

The eighth day is the first day of new Creation. In Genesis, the seven days are the week of Creation, but here they are seven days of impurity, followed by an eighth day that designates a new beginning. Creation holds within itself the seed of a new Creation. This does not mean that the "old Creation" is somehow corrupt and must be replaced by the new. Rather, Creation is good and holy, but it is in process, on its way to completion. Likewise, the creation of the male child, which is in itself holy, does not reach its fulfillment, or redemption, until the eighth day, through circumcision. Then the holiness of Creation is elevated to a new level.

God gives the original instruction concerning circumcision, of course, to Abraham:

God further said to Abraham, "As for you, you and your offspring to come throughout the ages shall keep My covenant. Such shall be the covenant between Me and you and your offspring to follow which you shall keep: every male among you shall be circumcised You shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and that shall be the sign of the covenant between Me and you. And throughout the generations, every male among you shall be circumcised at the age of eight days." (Gen. 17:9-12, njps)

Circumcision on the eighth day becomes the boundary that distinguishes the household of Abraham, which is joined to the Lord through covenant, from the rest of humankind. We might say that God creates humanity on the sixth day, as the culmination of his work of Creation, and then creates a new humanity on the eighth day through circumcision.

The eighth day is particularly significant because the newborn has completed a seven-day unit of time corresponding to the process of Creation. In like manner, Exodus 22:29 stipulates that the first-born of an animal is dedicated only on the eighth day after birth, and Leviticus 22:27 lays down that an animal is not fit for sacrifice before that day.²

The eighth day, then, is a day of new Creation that carries forward the purpose of the original Creation. Now we understand why the gospels emphasize the first day of the week in recounting the resurrection of Messiah. "After Shabbat, as the next day was dawning, Miryam of Magdala and the other Miryam went to see the grave" (Matt. 28:1, cjb). "In the evening that same day, the first day of the week, when the talmidim were gathered together behind locked doors out of fear of the Judeans, Yeshua came, stood in the middle and said, 'Shalom aleikhem [Peace to you]!'" (John 20:19, cjb). The first day is the eighth day, the first day of redemption.

As we remember Messiah's resurrection through the days of counting the Omer, we anticipate Shavuot, the day of revelation and outpouring of the Ruach. The eighth day reminds us that God created us not just to await redemption and certainly not just to await our "heavenly reward" in some other realm. Rather, we are to be active participants in a drama that reaches its turning point in the resurrection of Messiah, and moves toward fulfillment through the giving of the Spirit, which equips us to play our part in the cosmic drama planned from Creation.

Shabbat Shalom

Russ Resnik This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Adapted from "Creation to Completion: Your Guide to Life's Journey from the Five Books of Moses," by Russell Resnik, published by Messianic Jewish Publications, www.messianicjewish.net.

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