וכל אשר יפול עליו מהם במותם יטמא מכל כלי עץ הקרוב אלי בזה כי "מהם במותם" ירמוז לכל הנזכרים למעלה בבהמה טמאה ושרץ וחיה כי למה יזכיר טומאת הכלים והבגדים בשרצים ביחוד והיא נוהגת גם בנבלות וכן כל המשפטים אשר יזכיר בהכשר האוכלין כולן שוין בכל הטומאות ובכללן דבר הכתוב ואל יקשה עליך היות "בהם במותם" שבכתוב הראשון בשרצים ו"מהם במותם" בכתוב השני בכולן כי כן במקומות רבים ויתכן לומר שהמתין הכתוב עד שהזכיר כל הטמאים בבהמה ובחיה ובשרצים ואח"כ בסוף הזכיר הטומאה בכלים באחד אשר ישלים בו ללמוד ממנו לכל האחרים כי דעת רבותינו (חגיגה יא) שיהיה "מהם במותם" בשרצים וממנו ילמדו על השרץ שהוא מטמא בכעדשה וכן נהג הכתוב בטבילה שהזכיר (בפסוק זה) בסוף כל הטומאות טומאת הכלים וטבילתן וממנו נלמוד לאדם וכלים בכל שאר הטומאות הנזכרות: AND EVERY THING UPON WHICH ANY PART OF THEM, WHEN THEY ARE DEAD, DOTH FALL, SHALL BE UNCLEAN: WHETHER IT SHALL BE ANY VESSEL OF WOOD etc. It appears to me in the interpretation of this verse that most likely the expression any of them, when they are dead, alludes to all those mentioned above — impure animals, creeping things, and beasts. For why should He mention the law of impurity of vessels and garments only with reference to creeping things, when it applies also to carcasses? Similarly, all the rules that He mentions with reference to making food susceptible to impurity240Further, 34, 37-38. [conveyed by creeping things], apply equally to all [forms of] impurity, and Scripture speaks of the general concept of them. Do not find it difficult to accept that the expression touch them when they are dead in the first verse241In Verse 31: These are which are unclean to you among all that creep; whosoever doth ‘touch them, when they are dead,’ shall be unclean until the even. applies to the creeping things, while the same expression any of them when they are dead [in Verse 32 before us] applies to all things that convey impurity, for such is the case in many places in Scripture [where similar words apply to different things].
It is possible to say that Scripture waited until it had mentioned all impure things amongst cattle, beasts, and creeping things, and then at the end mentioned impurity of vessels with reference to one of them [namely, the creeping things], with which it had concluded this theme, in order that the law of all the others be derived from it, for the opinion of our Rabbis242Chagigah 11 a. is that the expression any of them when they are dead [in Verse 32 before us] refers [only] to creeping things, and from that they learn that a creeping thing in [a minimal] size of a lentil conveys impurity.243Since Scripture (here in Verse 32) states ‘any of them’ when they are dead, it shows that even though one has not touched the whole creeping thing but “any” part of it, he is rendered impure. “Now since the sand-lizard [one of the eight creeping things that convey impurity] when born is the size of a lentil,” therefore that amount of any of the eight creeping things when dead also conveys impurity (Chagiga ibid.). Thus according to the interpretation of the Rabbis, Verse 32 before us also speaks only of the impurity conveyed by creeping things, and not, as explained above, about all other impurities. Scripture dealt likewise with the subject of immersion, in mentioning at the end of all [the laws of] impurity, the impurity [conveyed by creeping things] to vessels and their purification by immersion,244Verses 34-36. and from it we learn the law of man and vessels with reference to all the impurities mentioned above.
במים יובא ואף לאחר טבילתו טמא הוא לתרומה עד הערב השמש ואחר כך הוא נטהר בהערב שמשו לשון רש"י (רש"י על ויקרא י״א:ל״ב) ומדרשו בתורת כהנים (פרק ח ט) וטמא עד הערב יכול לכל תלמוד לומר וטהר אי וטהר יכול לכל דבר תלמוד לומר וטמא עד הערב הא כיצד טהור לחולין מבעוד יום ולתרומה משתחשך ושיעור הכתוב לפי המדרש במים יובא וטהר וטמא עד הערב ועל דרך הפשט במים יובא וטמא עד הערב וטהר בערב והנה הזכיר הכתוב בכל הפרשיות "עד הערב" כי יתפוס הטהרה לתרומת הקדשים כמו שאמר (להלן כב ו ז) וטמא עד הערב ולא יאכל מן הקדשים כי אם רחץ בשרו במים ובא השמש וטהר ואחר יאכל מן הקדשים כי לחמו הוא אבל הטהרה לחולין או למעשר היא בטבילה בלבד ולא יזכירנה בכאן כי איננו מצוה להטהר לחולין ואם רצה אוכלן בטומאה: IT MUST BE PUT INTO WATER, AND IT SHALL BE UNCLEAN UNTIL THE EVEN; AND IT SHALL BE CLEAN. “Even after it has been immersed, it is still impure with regard to the heave-offering, until the setting of the sun, and afterwards at the setting of the sun it becomes pure.” This is Rashi’s language. And the interpretation in the Torath Kohanim is:245Torath Kohanim, Shemini 6:9. “And it shall be unclean until the even. I might think that [it shall be impure] for all [purposes]; Scripture therefore says, and it shall be clean. But if so, I might think that it is pure for all purposes; Scripture therefore says, and it shall be unclean until the even. How then can this be explained? It is pure with respect to ordinary food246In Tractate Yebamoth 74a the reading [instead of “ordinary food”] is “the Tithe;” i.e., eaten by the owner in the city of Jerusalem in a state of purity. But the law regarding it is less stringent than that which applies to terumah (the heave-offering) eaten by the priest. Thus if an Israelite who was impure immersed himself to be purified, he may straightaway eat of the Second Tithe, even though the sun has not yet set. But a priest who was impure and immersed himself before sunset, may not eat of the heave-offering until the sun has set and the stars have come forth. when it is still daytime [immediately after it was immersed to be purified], but regarding the heave-offering it is not held to be pure until it becomes dark.” The interpretation of the verse according to the explanation of the Torath Kohanim is thus: “it must be put into the water [before sundown] and it shall remain unclean till the evening.” But by way of the simple meaning of Scripture [the verse is to be transposed, thus]: “it must be put into water and it shall be clean, but it shall be unclean until the evening.”
Now Scripture mentioned in all the sections [that the impurity is] “until the evening,”247Verses 24-25, 27-28, 31-32. because it refers to the degree of purity required for the holy heave-offering, as He said, The soul that toucheth any such [unclean things] shall be unclean until the even, and shall not eat of the holy things, unless he bathe his flesh in water. And when the sun is down, he shall be clean; and afterward he may eat of the holy things, because it is his bread.248Further, 22:6-7. “The holy things” here mean the terumah (the heave-offering). But the purification required for ordinary food or the [Second] Tithe249See above, Note 246. is attained after immersion alone, and it is not mentioned here because it is not mandatory upon an impure person to purify himself in order to eat ordinary food,250As explained above in Ramban, Verse 8, at the end. for if he wants to, he may eat it in a state of impurity.251Hence Scripture always speaks about the impure person being “unclean till the even,” because in order to be able to eat the heave-offering, the impure priest must purify himself, and wait till evening, whereas for ordinary food there is no requirement that it must be eaten in a state of purity, and thus no necessity to immerse oneself. If he does wish to eat it in a state of purity, however, he attains this immediately after immersion and even before sundown, as explained above in Ramban and in Note 246.