Kedusha , holiness, refers to the identity that an object has of being associated with or designated for service of Hashem. Items in the Temple, a kohen and a sefer Torah all have kedusha as each one is designated for serving G-d. Tahara , halachic purity refers to the state of being prepared to encounter the Almighty in the Temple. Specifically, one must be in a state of tahara prior to entering the Temple. Note that the halachic state of impurity is not bad or a sin. Most people in history were regularly in a state of impurity. The beginning of this week’s parasha deals with these two concepts – holiness and purity – as they relate to giving birth. The Torah explains that when a woman gives birth, she is tameh – halachically impure – for a period of time. The Torah explains that if she has a boy, she is tameh for seven days. On the eighth day, her son is circumcised and she continues to be tameh from that eighth day for another thirty-three days - a grand total of forty days. ...
Rabbi Benjy Owen, Dean, Margolin Hebrew Academy-Feinstone Yeshiva of the South, Memphis, TN