Our Gemara on Amud Beis discusses some of the rules for the bird sacrifices (called kinnim or nests because they come in pairs) of a woman after childbirth (yoledes). The majority of sacrifices brought in the Temple were animals, and usually bird sacrifices were allowed for certain required sacrifices when the person was of lesser financial means.
There are a number of unique situations where the bird sacrifice is universally required — rich or poor — and an animal is not even allowed. The Zav and Zava bring birds (Vayikra 15:14, 29), Metzora (Vayikra 13:2) as well although one is released, and the Yoledes brings either a lamb or a bird for an olah (depending on financial means), but exclusively a bird offering for the chattas regardless of finances (Vayikra 12:6, 8).
There must be something unique about these circumstances and persons that require a bird and not an animal. Toras HaOlah (III:71) quotes a Midrash that “the bird which makes noise should atone for sins of the voice.”
He explains the Yoledes atones for the “inevitable” false oath to “never” have children again that she (likely) makes during the throes of labor (Niddah 31b). I don’t think the sages believed every single woman in labor makes this precise oath. Rather, they are referring to the inevitable heresies that one thinks during moments of great suffering. As our sages teach [Bava Basra 16b]: “a person is not held responsible for what he says when he is in distress. Although Job [42:8] uttered certain words that were wrong and inappropriate, he was not punished for them because he said them at a time of pain and hardship.”
The metzora’s birds atone for matters of voice — l’shon hora — which is considered the typical cause for tzoraas (Arakhin 15b).
The Zav and Zava, which are disruptions in reproductive health and function, represent reminders of the primordial corruption of reproductive ability and desire due to eating from the Tree of Knowledge (see Ramban Bereishis 2:9). According to the Torash Ha-Olah, the voice of the bird atones for listening to the rationalizing and temptations of the primordial serpent.
Three out of these four clearly involve the reproductive process. The Yoledes is obviously recovering from the childbirth process and reliving the consequences of the sin of the Tree of Knowledge. The Zav and Zava have some kind of disease, and the purification and sacrificial procedure represent a final recovery from the spiritual deterioration that brought this about — also, as we saw above, related to the sin of the Tree of Knowledge. The metzora, while not directly linked, suffers as a consequence isolation from the community and is also forbidden from sexual relations until he recovers (Chulin 141a), so he too must have broken his marriage perhaps via his slanderous and antisocial behavior.
The Ramban (Vayikra 1:14) says the bird of the Yoledes hints at the marital union, since doves are known in the animal kingdom for their fidelity and lifetime bonding to their mate. Therefore, perhaps the bird sacrifices for these four persons also signify marital and domestic repair and unification.
A hint at this idea can also be found in another unique mitzvah involving a bird, which is the commandment to send away the mother bird before taking the chicks or eggs. The bird’s maternal instincts are honored (see Moreh Nevuchim III:48), which is also an affirmation of family life. And lastly, uniquely, we only have two mitzvos in the Torah which explicitly promise long life — sending the mother bird and honoring one’s parents (Kiddushin 39b) — and honoring parents is also an affirmation of the marital and family bond.
It seems in a symbolic manner the bird and the nest represent healthy family and intimacy, and when physical disruptions occur due to illness or the dangerous liminality of life and death such as childbirth, a mental meditation and restoration of these qualities are enabled specifically through the sacrifice of the vulnerable bird. The matters of voice — that is, the social engagement and intimacy of family life and natural bonds, literally intercourse — are restored by the voice of the bird.
Translations Courtesy of Sefaria, except when, sometimes, I disagree with the translation
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Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, LCSW-R, LMFT, DHL is a psychotherapist who works with high conflict couples and families. He can be reached via email at simchafeuerman@gmail.com