We live in a culture where when we want something, we want it now. And if it is something that we need, we feel entitled to have it even faster. Of course, we understand there are times when we have to be patient; after all, if the time is not ripe, we must wait.
We can all understand that work is work, and that if we want to take a vacation, for example, we have to wait until the designated day arrives. What can be confusing to us is if the day finally arrives and suddenly all of our plans are put on hold, what happens then?
How about when we create a plan to accomplish something. Let’s say you have a business plan, you have the funding, the staff, the location, and so on. Everything is ready to launch and then something happens, and you must put everything on hold. What happens during that holding time?
A fascinating subject, a woman’s purity, is discussed in this week’s Torah portion. The Torah teaches us that when a woman menstruates, she becomes ritually impure. After, she counts seven days of cleanliness then immerses in a Mikvah. Similarly, when a woman gives birth to a boy, she is impure for seven days, then after, she counts thirty-three days, then seven clean days. The numbers double for a baby girl. After the last clean day, she then goes to the Mikvah and brings an offering. These days, the ritual has been simplified.
The question is, what is her status during these middle days? As the Yiddish saying goes, nisht ahier nisht a hin – neither here nor there. She is not impure, nor pure. As the Torah verse continues, since she is not yet pure (although is she is not impure), she should not touch any holy food, etc.
If you ever wondered if the Torah can be confusing, here it is.
The Torah is actually teaching us a profound lesson here.
The new mother is transitioned from the impure to the pure, but she is not there yet. It takes time. True she may no longer be considered impure, but it takes time to make the transition. Patience is what is needed. To hold back the desire to move forward and take the next step is what is required at this point in time.
Yes, we all want to make a change in this world, and many of us want to do it now. But there are times when we need patience; timing is essential. Not always is rushing in to do something a virtue.
Sometimes the answer is yes, but not now.