Levitical Cleanliness Laws -Leviticus 12:1-15:33

I just woke from the most delightful dream after falling asleep with part of this week's Torah portion playing over and over in my Bible app. In the dream, everywhere I went, women were cheerfully reciting this part of the Torah. We were all surprisingly happy, grateful and enthusiastically delighted with these Levitical cleanliness laws! When I woke up my eyes were opened to the "why" in our delight! G-d loved us so much He wanted to protect us from accidental death!

The key verse in this Torah portion is found in Leviticus 15:31. With the emphasis on the words- "lest they die in their uncleanness when they defile My tabernacle that is among them."

The Levitical cleanliness laws have come under fire by people who have misunderstood what I believe was their original purpose - to protect people from dying (or frying) when they entered the Tabernacle and G-d was present.

When I read the scripture a vision of a computer cleanroom flashed into my mind. For those who are wondering "What on earth is a computer cleanroom? There is an excellent article about the invention of computer cleanrooms here on the chip history website.

I was also reminded of scriptures where people died when they touched the Ark o Covenant.

Often people have taken offence at these cleanliness laws- especially women. However, when we look at the reason behind these laws- to protect people from unnecessary death, it makes a lot of sense.

Anyone who has worked with electronic equipment will understand the importance of protecting yourself from electric shock. I once learned the hard way about the importance of being very careful around electronic equipment when I was doing a practicum in a television repair shop. Let's just say my supervisor was shocked that I survived the shock.

Have you had any experiences that put this Torah portion in a new perspective for you? I'd love to hear about them! Please pop a note in the comments below before you go.