I was ritually unclean today because of the discharge of blood. It seems as though much of the Levitical law is written to males. I assume that this was because males were the ones offering sacrifices for their household. I am also wondering if everything is impure for seven days because this is usually how long a period lasts, or if the seven days refers to the amount of time after the period ends that everything is impure. However, I will be done with this assignment before that time and I haven’t decided what I will do in regards to washing everything.
However, because I was already unclean for the day, I was tempted to throw the rest of the laws out and wear and eat whatever I wanted. This was especially enticing because of the persistent rain all day. I went ahead and wore weather-appropriate clothing, even though my raincoat is made out of different fibers and I assume that my rain boots are as well. However, at one time during the day I realized that I was wearing a sweater made out of different fibers and walked home and changed. I surmised that my philosophy toward the assignment was to follow it as long as it wasn’t totally ridiculous in the circumstances or made me miserable.
Wenham says that it is the seven days following the last day of the period that a woman is still unclean. That means that she is ritually unclean for half the month. This seems unfair. What also seems unfair is that “menstrual impurity is viewed as just as contagious as gonorrheal discharges.” What does this mean? As stated in class, the state of impurity meant a level of separation from communion with God. Why must women be separated from God for half the month?
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