About two weeks ago I planted cucumbers and corn for the first time. I watered it and checked it every day to see if anything popped through the soil. You can imagine my excitement when finally, around day seven I started to see some green sprouting in the brown soil. I check each day and they seem to be doing well but who knows if the seeds I planted will stay healthy and produce, only time will tell.

When the Torah says “…a woman becomes pregnant and gives birth” it uses a Hebrew word for pregnant (tazria) that literally mean “seeds.” It is definitely referring to a woman who becomes pregnant but it is interesting that the Torah chooses the word for seed rather than the more common word for pregnancy.

For example, if you look at Genesis 4:1 it says “…and she conceived (became pregnant) and bore Cain…” The Hebrew word used for conceived here is “va’tahar” and would have been more fitting to be used in our verse in Leviticus.

Why does the Torah in Leviticus use the word “tazria” (seed) instead of the more common word “va’tahar” (became pregnant)?

Perhaps the message is that a human being is similar in many ways to a seed.

Just like with a seed, there are no guarantees so too by people. When a baby is born, like the seed, you nurture the baby, take care of him/her physically, provide all of their needs and you pray a lot hoping that the baby will grow into a strong adult connected to God. You pray that they will strike deep and healthy roots and that their soul will be nourished with the right type of foods.

You expose them to the sun—the word of God—and hope that it will illuminate the path and help them grow.

Will all of your efforts produce fruit? At the end of the day, you do all you can for the seed but ultimately it is not in your control.

If you see some brown on the leaf of your plant, you check to see what is wrong. Too much water? Perhaps an infestation? So too with your children, you need to check on your child often to see if they are sprouting and blossoming in a healthy way. If you see that they need some help, you do what you can to correct whatever may be going wrong.

Parents are gardeners in the garden of God. We have been entrusted with the most beautiful seeds that we need to nurture and raise to become beautiful plants and flowers!