Topics Page: Tahara

(8) And יהוה spoke to Aaron, saying: (9) Drink no wine or other intoxicant, you or your sons, when you enter the Tent of Meeting, that you may not die. This is a law for all time throughout the ages, (10) for you must distinguish between the sacred and the profane, and between the impure and the pure; (11) and you must teach the Israelites all the laws which יהוה has imparted to them through Moses.

From here Rabbi Pineḥas ben Ya’ir would say: Torah study leads to care in the performance of mitzvot. Care in the performance of mitzvot leads to diligence in their observance. Diligence leads to cleanliness of the soul. Cleanliness of the soul leads to abstention from all evil. Abstention from evil leads to purity and the elimination of all base desires. Purity leads to piety. Piety leads to humility. Humility leads to fear of sin. Fear of sin leads to holiness. Holiness leads to the Divine Spirit. The Divine Spirit leads to the resurrection of the dead. And piety is greater than all of them, as it is stated: “Then You did speak in a vision to Your pious ones” (Psalms 89:20).

(1) Vessels of wood, vessels of leather, vessels of bone or vessels of glass: If they are simple they are clean If they form a receptacle they are unclean. If they were broken they become clean again. If one remade them into vessels they are susceptible to impurity henceforth. Earthen vessels and vessels of sodium carbonate are equal in respect of impurity: they contract and convey impurity through their air-space; they convey impurity through the outside but they do not become impure through their backs; and when broken they become clean.

(1) והבדלתם בין הבהמה הטהרה לטמאה YE SHALL THEREFORE DISTINGUISH BETWEEN CLEAN BEASTS AND UNCLEAN — It is needless for Scripture to say that one should distinguish between a cow and an ass for these are different and are therefore distinguishable. But it means: you shall distinguish between such an animal as is clean (permitted) to you and such as is unclean (forbidden) to you although it is a clean animal per se, i.e., make a distinction between an animal which has been killed by cutting at least the greater part of each organ (the gullet and the windpipe) or whether it has been killed by cutting exactly the half of each organ. And how much difference is there between the greater part and the exact half? A hair’s breadth only (and consequently the command is given: והבדלתם, “you shall very carefully distinguish”) (Sifra, Kedoshim, Chapter 12 20; cf. also Rashi on Leviticus 11:47 and Chullin 27a). (2) אשר הבדלתי לכם לטמא WHICH I HAVE SEPARATED FOR YOU TO DECLARE THEM UNCLEAN — This means, to declare them as forbidden.

(12) Even though it is permitted to eat impure foods and drink impure beverages, the pious men of the early generations would partake of their ordinary food in a state of ritual purity and would avoid all of the sources of impurity throughout their lives. They are called perushim.This is an extra measure of holiness and a path to piety: to be separate from people at large, to hold oneself apart from them, not to touch them, nor eat and drink with them. For setting oneself apart leads to the purification of the body from wicked actions. Purifying one's body leads to sanctifying one's soul from wicked character traits. And the holiness of the soul causes one to resemble the Divine presence, as Leviticus 11:44 states: "And you shall make yourselves holy; and you shall be holy, because I, God, Who makes you holy, am holy."

Similarly, Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya taught that point from the verse: “From all your sins you shall be cleansed before the Lord” (Leviticus 16:30). For transgressions between a person and God, Yom Kippur atones; however, for transgressions between a person and another, Yom Kippur does not atone until he appeases the other person. In conclusion, Rabbi Akiva said: How fortunate are you, Israel; before Whom are you purified, and Who purifies you? It is your Father in Heaven, as it is stated: “And I will sprinkle purifying water upon you, and you shall be purified” (Ezekiel 36:25). And it says: “The ritual bath of Israel is God” (Jeremiah 17:13). Just as a ritual bath purifies the impure, so too, the Holy One, Blessed be He, purifies Israel.

(1) Malmo, Sweden, Shevat 5757 (1998)

(2) Leaving a dead body over night for the sake of purification (taharah

(3) Question

(4) Earlier many Jews lived in villages far from Malmo. But now only a very few of our fellow Jews are found in these places. However they have a cemetery that they continue to use until today. In these places, there is no possibility of doing purification onsite. Is it permissible to delay the funeral by a day in order to do the purification in our city, or must one make efforts to bury [the body] as soon as possible? We would add that the law in Sweden is that we must wait at least 24 hours between the confirmation of a death and the burial.

(5) Answer

(6) 1) When it is impossible to bury the body on account of some duress, such as because of the laws of the country, there is no prohibition of leaving a body overnight,1The prohibition of leaving over a dead body is learned from the verse in Deuteronomy 21:23, brought down in the Gemara, Sanhedrin (46a) and codified in the Shulchan Arukh (Yoreh Deah 357:1). And there is a negative commandment of, "do not leave over," here as well. According to some decisors, there is also a positive commandment of, "surely bury him on that day.If they did not bury him until sunset (when it is possible), they have then transgressed the positive commandment. And if they delayed it until dawn they have then also transgressed the negative commandment (though there are some that say that they already transgressed the negative commandment from the beginning of the night); and there is no mention among the decisors of twenty-fours regarding this topic. And if he dies at night, there are some that have the practice of burying him before the dawn. However once the duress is no longer present, the prohibition reappears, and the dead body can only be left overnight for the honor [of the one who died].2Everything said in footnote 1 is when they left it overnight without extenuating circumstances. However when they left it overnight for his honor, it is permissible, as it is brought in the Gemara, ibid., and codified in the Shulchan Arukh, ibid.

(7) 2) The purification of the dead body is an aspect of the dead person's honor;3 The essence of the custom of purification appears in the Gemara, Shabbat (151a) and in the Shulchan Arukh (Yoreh Deah, 352:74), and there are many things within it, which are related to the mystical Torah. And in the book, Kol Bo Aveilut (6:1), he cites Ramban that the purification is for the honor of the dead person. hence it is possible to delay the burial until after the purification.

(8) 3) If the family members oppose waiting for the purification and want to bury the dead person immediately the way he is, the matter should be explained to them. However if they insist, he should be brought to a regular Jewish burial,4Kol Bo Aveilut (6:14). like any dead body.5See Responsa B'Mareh HaBazak (III:62).

(2) In the case of a menstruating woman who examined herself on the seventh day of menstruation in the morning and found that she is ritually pure and eligible to immerse in a ritual bath that evening, but during twilight of the seventh day she did not perform an examination that marks the transition between the days when she has a flow of blood and the days when she no longer has a flow of blood but immersed despite not having performed the examination, and after several days she examined herself and found that she is ritually impure, the presumptive status of that woman is one of ritual purity from the time of her immersion until her examination, and all ritually pure items that she handled in the interim remain pure. If she examined herself on the seventh day of menstruation in the morning and found that she is ritually impure, i.e., her menstrual flow continued, and during twilight of the seventh day she did not perform an examination to confirm the transition from ritual impurity to ritual purity but immersed nonetheless, and after several days she examined herself and found that she is ritually pure, the presumptive status of that woman is one of ritual impurity from the time of her immersion until her examination, and all ritually pure items that she handled in the interim are impure. Since she found blood during her last examination in her days of menstruation, the concern is that the flow of blood continued during the days that followed, and therefore her immersion on the eve of the eighth day was ineffective. In a case where there was no blood found during the examination on the seventh morning and she did not examine herself during twilight, and several days later she discovered blood, where the mishna says that a woman’s presumptive status is one of ritual purity, that is the halakha only for the days following immersion. But she transmits ritual impurity to the ritually pure items that she handled before the examination in which she found blood for a twenty-four-hour period and from examination to examination, in accordance with the halakha of a woman who experiences bleeding (see 2a). And if she has a fixed menstrual cycle, on the day that she examined herself and found blood, her time is sufficient, i.e., it is assumed that the bleeding began then, and she does not transmit impurity retroactively. And Rabbi Yehuda says: With regard to any woman who did not perform the examination marking her transition from ritual impurity to ritual purity on the seventh day from minḥa time onward, even if she performed an examination and found no blood that morning, the presumptive status of that woman is one of ritual impurity. And the Rabbis say: Even if on the second day of her menstruation she performed the examination and found that she is ritually pure, and she did not perform the examination marking her transition from ritual impurity to ritual purity on the seventh day during twilight, and after several days she examined herself and found that she is ritually impure, the presumptive status of that woman is one of ritual purity from the time of her immersion until her examination.

(1) That is that He commanded us that someone with tsaraat offer a sacrifice when he is healed from it. And that is three animals - a burnt-offering, a sin-offering and a guilt-offering - and a log of oil. But if he was poor, he should offer a lamb for a guilt-offering and two turtledoves or two young pigeons. And this is the fourth of those lacking [full] atonement - and that is His, may He be exalted, saying, "On the eighth day he shall take two flawless male lambs, one one-year old ewe lamb, etc." (Leviticus 14:10). And one will perhaps say, "Why don't you count the sacrifice of those lacking [full] atonement as one commandment, since they all have one thing that brings them all together - and that is their lack of atonement, such that this would be a certain type of purification. And it would have been appropriate for you to say, 'It is x commandment that He commanded us that the purity of some impure ones not be complete until they offer a sacrifice - and that is the zav; the zavah; the woman after childbirth; and one with tsaraat.' Just like you count purification in a mikveh as one commandment - whatever the specific impurity might be - and you don't concern yourself with the type of impurity with which they became impure; so too, would it have been appropriate for you to count the sacrifice of those lacking atonement as one commandment, and we would not be concerned about their [specific] impurities!" God knows that this would no doubt have been appropriate if the sacrifice of each one of these four that lack atonement were the same and did not differ; just like purification in the mikveh is a specific type of purification for every impure one. However as a result of the variation of their sacrifices - as you can see - it is perforce required to count each sacrifice individually. For the thing with which one [of them] completes purification is different from the thing with which the other one completes it. This is like waters of purification (mixed with ashes of a red heifer), the waters of a mikveh and the four species for the one with tsaraat are three commandments, even while they are all to purify the impure - as I will explain. And the regulations of these four that lack atonement and the regulations of their sacrifices have already been explained - in general and in detail - in the eighth chapter of Nazir, at the end of Negaim, in Tractate Kinnim and in scattered places in the Talmud. But most of them and their principles are in the places we named. (See Parashat Metzora; Mishneh Torah, Offerings for Those with Incomplete Atonement 4.)

(9) "And you shall plate (tzipitah) it with pure gold" (Exodus 25:11): It is is found in the Gemara (Sukkah 45b:3), "'Of acacia wood, standing up' (Exodus 26:15), [meaning] that they supported their plating." We can say that the understanding is like this: That the righteous one is called a tree (the same word is used for wood), as mentioned above; and they can support anything that they anticipate (metzapim) and desire to have bounty and mercy come upon the world. They [hence] support their existence. As it indeed exists according to their words and their desires. [The Gemara continues:] "Lest you say, 'Their hope is lost and their prospect is abolished." Its explanation is lest you say that this is so, God forbid, that their hope and prospect is abolished. "[Hence] we learn to say, 'of acacia wood, standing.'" And that is [the meaning of], "And you shall plate (tzipitah)." It means that the righteous one who anticipates bringing down the flow to the world, his anticipation will be so translucent and clear that he will bring "gold" to sustenance; [sustenance that is] "pure," that will be permissible and with great purity. And how shall he do [this]? "You shall cover it inside and out" (Exodus 25:11), meaning that his inside should match his outside, that he should anticipate bringing blessing to the world with his spirit and body.

(1) As for Me, behold (hinei), My covenant is with you: The expression, behold, indicates something that is already present. So it can be said [here], My covenant is already present with you. And it is truly so. For this standard external circumcision comes for a glorious purpose; and that is it be taken as a sign for the circumcision of the uncircumcised heart and its purification. So there is no doubt that [even] before the standard circumcision, Avraham already had a pure and circumcised heart. Therefore, God, may He be blessed, said to him, "I know about you that, behold My covenant is already with you, since you are someone with a pure heart. However, since from now on, I want to make you the father of all the many nations, I need to give an answer to all those that come to the world, why I appointed you as the father of many nations. And this is to publicize your virtue and the purity of your heart before the eyes of all the nations. [It shall be] through this external circumcision which testifies to the purity of your heart, in order that your generations shall know that it was fitting that I made you the father of many nations." And that is [the meaning of] that which is written (Genesis 17:7), "And I will establish My covenant between Me and you." Meaning to say, that internal heart covenant was already there, hidden between Me and you, and none of those that come to the world knew about it; behold now I have established it as a raised banner of that covenant, in order that all of those that come to the world will know about it. And that is what it said - "for an eternal (leolam, which can also mean, to the world) covenant." It means to say this covenant that was between Me and you will now be a covenant for all of the world. For all of those that come to the world will know about it and gaze at it.

(2) (2) He should wash his hands twice - If one washes their hands and then recites the blessing of “asher yatzar” and then recites the blessing of “al netilas yadayim,” there is an interruption between the washing and the blessing. If one first recites the blessing of “al netilas yadayim” and then recites the blessing of “asher yatzar,” there is an interruption between the blessing of “netilas yadayim” and the blessing of “hamotzi.” And to wait to recite “asher yatzar” until after he recites “hamotzi” is also not correct, because the obligation (to recite “asher yatzar) falls on him immediately after he has finished his needs, and not after everything else. *** The Achronim wrote that one should be careful not to wash a complete washing the first time and use only a little (water, less than a reviis) for cleanliness. For if not, he will purify his hands with the first washing, and it will not be appropriate to was again for “netilas yadayim.” As it appears to me in Siman 158:7. *** And know that there are many poskim who hold that “asher yatzar’ is not an interruption between the blessing of “netilas yadayim” and “hamotzi” because everything is for the purpose of purifying the hands and it is like a fence for the Torah in Siman 167. *** Therefore, if after the fact he washed (i.e. a complete washing, e.g., with a reviis of water) for the first act for netilas yadayim in order to eat, he should first recite “al netilas yadayim” and afterwards “asher yatzar” for he has opinions to rely on (to recite in this manner.) ***And the prospective rule is that if it is difficult to wash twice because there is not enough water or similar reasons (i.e. accidentally did a complete washing the first time), then he should wash once, recite the blessing “al netilas yadayim: and afterwards (immediately) recite “asher yatzar.” *** And writes the Magen Avraham, if one has to go to the bathroom in the middle of the meal, everyone agrees that he washes one time, and then recites “al netilas yadayim: and afterwards “asher yatzar, since he does not have to recite “hamotzi”, as discussed in Siman 198. And we have written on this subject later on in the Mishna Berurah in 164:2.

(7) My God, the soul that you placed within me is pure. You created it, You formed it, You breathed it into me, and You preserve it within me. And in the future, You will take it from me and restore it in the Time to Come. All the time that this soul is within me, I am thankful before You, Hashem, my God and the God of my fathers, Ruler of all creation, Lord of all the souls. Blessed are You, Hashem, Who restores souls to dead bodies.

(47) And in the last chapter of Yoma (85b), we learned [in a mishnah]: Transgressions between a person and the Omnipresent, Yom Kippur atones; transgressions between a person and his fellow, Yom Kippur does not atone until he appeases his fellow. Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya expounded, “’From all your sins you shall be cleansed before the Lord’ (Leviticus 16:30) – transgressions between a person and the Omnipresent, Yom Kippur atones; transgressions between a person and his fellow, Yom Kippur does not atone until he appeases his fellow.” Rabbi Akiva said, “How fortunate are you, Israel; before Whom are you purified, and Who purifies you? Your Father in Heaven, as it is stated (Ezekiel 36:25), ‘And I will sprinkle purifying water upon you, etc. and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.’ And it stated (Jeremiah 17:13), ‘The ritual bath of Israel is God.’ Just as a ritual bath purifies the impure, so too, the Holy One, Blessed be He, purifies Israel.” To here [is the Gemara]. But it can be asked, why does Yom Kippur not atone for transgressions between a person and his fellow? And if it is because he needs to appease him, one must also [go through the preliminary step and] repent for transgressions between a person and the Omnipresent and appease Him. Moreover, sometimes the one that he transgresses against has gone overseas and he doesn’t know where he is, or he becomes sick and is not able to go after him. Nevertheless, Rabbi Akiva explained that this thing that Yom Kippur atones is only about transgressions between a person and the Omnipresent. That is why he said, “How fortunate are you, Israel; before Whom are you purified.” That is to say that that which Israel is purified on Yom Kippur is because Israel clings to Him, may He be elevated, as it is written (Deuteronomy 4:4), “But you, the ones clinging to the Lord, your God.” And it is about this that he said, “How fortunate are you Israel; before Whom are you purified.” For there is no level greater than this. And he added to say, “And Who purifies you? Your Father in Heaven.” As because Israel completely clings to Him, may He be elevated, this thing itself is the removal and the taking away of sin from Israel. For since sin is not applicable to Him, may He be elevated, sin is removed from those that cling to Him. And that is why it is on Yom Kippur. Because there is affliction of the spirit and the removal of physicality from Israel, so Israel clings to Him, may He be elevated; and this thing removes the sin from Israel. And that is why he said, “Just as a ritual bath purifies the impure, so too, the Holy One, Blessed be He, purifies Israel.” For a ritual bath purifies the impure when he completely clings to it, without anything intervening at all, since impurity is not applicable to a ritual bath. Hence when one clings to it completely without anything intervening, he is removed from impurity. And so does the Holy One, blessed be He, purify Isarel. For they completely cling to Him, may He be elevated, without anything intervening or separating at all; and He, may He be elevated, is removed from sin. Hence Israel becomes pure by way of the Holy One, blessed be He, Himself. And that is why it is specifically transgressions between a person and the Omnipresent, on account of which he was distanced from God, may He elevated, that God, may He be elevated, atones for, by way of Israel clinging to Him. But Yom Kippur does not atone for a sin that is from the angle of his fellow, and not from the angle of God, may He be blessed. And about this he said, “How fortunate are you Israel” – about this total clinging without anything intervening at all, to the point that they are made pure from Him. And fortunate are we and fortunate is our portion in our purification in this pure and holy Place, in which [even] the supernal angels are not purified, as is known to the Sages of Understanding.

On a similar note, Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba said that Rabbi Yoḥanan said: Anyone who relieves himself, washes his hands, dons phylacteries, recites Shema, and prays, the verse ascribes credit to him as if he built an altar and offered a sacrifice upon it, as it is written: “I will wash in purity my hands, and I will encircle the altar of the Lord” (Psalms 26:6). Rava said to him: Do you not maintain, Master, that one who does so, it is as if he immersed his entire body, as it is written: “I will wash in purity,” and it is not written: “I will wash my hands”?

(8) A gentile asked Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai, "These rituals you do, they seem like witchcraft! You bring a heifer, burn it, crush it up, and take its ashes. [If] one of you is impure by the dead [the highest type impurity], 2 or 3 drops are sprinkled on him, and you declare him pure?!" He said to him, "Has a restless spirit ever entered you?" He said to him, "No!" "Have you ever seen a man where a restless spirit entered him?" He said to him, "Yes!" [Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai] said to him, "And what did you do for him?" He sad to him, "We brought roots and made them smoke beneath him, and pour water and it flees." He said to him, "Your ears should hear what leaves from your mouth! The same thing is true for this spirit, the spirit of impurity, as it is written, (Zachariah 13:2) "Even the prophets and the spirit of impurity will I remove from the land." They sprinkle upon him purifying waters, and it [the spirit of impurity] flees." After he left, our rabbi's students said, "You pushed him off with a reed. What will you say to us?" He said to them, "By your lives, a dead person doesn't make things impure, and the water doesn't make things pure. Rather, God said, 'I have engraved a rule, I have decreed a decree (chukah chakakti, gezeira gazarti), and you have no permission to transgress what I decreed, as it says "This is a chok (rule) of the Torah."

(3) On Chanukah, holiness and purity descend to the Jewish people. But "the Greeks defiled the oils," such that it follows that the holiness left, as it is written (Ezekiel 7:22), "ruffians shall invade it and defile it." As purity is the preparation (precondition) for holiness. "To make them forget Your Torah," is the aspect of the soul, which is what receives the holiness. "To divert them from the statutes of Your will," are the commandments which purify the body to be a ready vessel, as it is written (Psalms 51:12), "A pure heart, etc.; create a steadfast spirit, etc." As the body needs purity. And they are are called, "the statutes of Your will," because they are called (considered) statutes for the body. However the soul is from the root of the commandments and the Torah. And when the Holy One, blessed be He, "stood for us," He brings down purity to the body and holiness to the soul. That is the "praise and the thanksgiving," as I have written in another place. "You took vengeance for us" - just like they brought in impurity into a holy place, so too did the Holy One, blessed be He, take vengeance, and "gave over the impure into the hands of the pure." So therefore during these days, we are able to purify ourselves even in the impure places outside the Land [of Israel].

(4) It is found [that] it is a commandment to place the Chanukah light in the opening of one's house. The explantion of, "to place," is that there should be a fixed impression in the house of the Jewish person. Behold [the Rabbis] said, "The mezuzah is on the right and the Chanukah light is on the left." They equated it with the mezuzah, which is permanently fixed at the opening; likewise should the impression of the Chanukah light remain fixed in the opening. And they fixed it on left, as it is written (Proverbs 3:16), "In her right hand is length of days" - for the one who involves himself in Torah for its sake. However the Chanukah light gives light even to those who do not do it truly for its own sake. Nevertheless they acquire a pure spirit from the left.

(8) The purity of the place of prayer: What is implied?One should not pray in a place of filth, a bathhouse, a latrine or garbage heap. [Similarly, one should not pray] in a place that is not presumed to be clean until he checks it.The general rule is that one should not pray in any place in which one would not recite the Shema. [Thus,] just as one separates oneself from excreta, urine, a foul odor, a corpse and the sight of nakedness for Kri'at Shema, so too, he should separate himself for Shemoneh Esreh.

(9) [The following rules apply] when one finds excreta in his place [of prayer.] Since he transgressed by not checking the place before he began to pray, he must pray again in a clean place.[The following rules apply] when one finds excreta while he is in the midst of prayer: If he can walk forwards such that [the feces] will be left four cubits behind him, he should do so. If not, he should move to the side. If he is unable [to do the latter], he should stop praying.The great Sages would refrain from praying in a house in which there was beer or brine at the time of its foaming because of the foul odor, even though it was a clean place.

(7) Rabbi Joshua said: I have received a tradition from Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai, who heard it from his teacher, and his teacher [heard it] from his teacher, as a halakhah [given] to Moses from Sinai, that Elijah will not come to pronounce unclean or to pronounce clean, to put away or to bring near, but to put away those brought near by force and to bring near those put away by force. The family of Beth Tzriphah was on the other side of the Jordan and Ben Zion put it away by force; and yet another family was there, and Ben Zion brought it near by force. It is such as these that Elijah will come to pronounce unclean or to pronounce clean, to put away or to bring near. Rabbi Judah says: to bring near, but not to put away. Rabbi Shimon says: to conciliate disputes. And the Sages say: neither to put away nor to bring near, but to make peace in the world, for it is said, “Behold I send to you Elijah the prophet”, etc., “and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children and the heart of the children to their fathers” (Malachi 3:23-2.