Derasha 51 on Vayikra 12:7

TT #51 · Parshas Tazria · Aliyah 1 · Passuk 7

The Complete Passuk

וְהִקְרִיב֞וֹ לִפְנֵ֤י יְהֹוָה֙ וְכִפֶּ֣ר עָלֶ֔יהָ וְטָהֲרָ֖הֿ מִמְּקֹ֣ור דָּמֶ֑יהָ זֹ֤את תּוֹרַת֙ הַיֹּלֶ֔דֶת לַזָּכָ֖ר א֥וֹ לַנְּקֵבָֽה׃

English: He shall offer it before GOD and make expiation on her behalf; she shall then be pure from her flow of blood. Such are the rituals concerning a woman who bears a child, male or female.

Chabad.org — Chumash, English translation + Rashi for Vayikra 12:7

Source Citation

Torah Temimah cites Nedarim 35b for the inclusion of a woman who is mentally incapacitated in the law of the childbirth offering.

Core Text of Chazal

Core Text — Nedarim 35b
״זֹאת תּוֹרַת הַיֹּלֶדֶת״, בֵּין פִּקַּחַת בֵּין שׁוֹטָה, שֶׁכֵּן אָדָם מֵבִיא קָרְבָּן עַל אִשְׁתּוֹ שׁוֹטָה.

English: “This is the law of the woman who bears a child” — whether she is competent or mentally incapacitated, for a person brings an offering on behalf of his wife who is incapacitated.

Type of Learning

Legal inclusion

What Is Learned

The woman’s mental incapacity does not remove the childbirth-offering obligation; the passage says her husband can bring the required offering on her behalf.