All men today are safek zav?

Question

Someone told me that it was obvious to him (and he got someone else to agree with them) that all men today are a safek zav. Meaning, a zav is someone who had an unusual emission from their body (Leviticus Chapter 15). Since we today don't know what that entailed exactly, who knows if they never had one. They were saying everyone has the stringencies of a full zav, who needs seven clean days and offerings (similar to how women accepted upon themselves safek zava status). Since we don't know what to check for, people are stuck in this state.

Do any poskim or seforim say such a thing? I find it incredibly hard to believe. I feel the emission was very abnormal, and much easier to notice, and is nothing like a zava at all.

This conversation came up with regards to going to har habayis, which is forbidden for a zav (Kelim 1:8). My understanding is the poskim who discuss going up there just say to be careful where to go and to go to the mikveh (presumably for tumas keri). If men were safek zav, a mikveh alone wouldn't help...

Answer 1

Tzitz Eliezer X:1 and Minchat Yitzchak V:1 both quote the opinion of Chazon Nachum Kelim 1:6 that nowadays one needs to treat himself as a zav, and use this as part of their arguments to prohibit ascending har habayit.

Those poskim who permit ascending har habayit (without requiring shiv'ah nekiyyim and tevilah bemayim chayyim) presumably are not concerned for this opinion.

Answer 2

May I suggest you learn Masechet Zavim so as to become knowledgeable in the topic.

Some Halachot you'll learn:

• A person needs to see an unusual emission from their body thrice before he is a full-blown Zav who needs to bring a Korban.

  • These 3 times have to be on the same day or on consecutive days.

• Seeing an unusual emission from their body only once - unless it's a very long emission - makes you a בַּעַל קֶרִי. Long is defined in the Mishna, but it's long enough that you would have noticed something very unusual.

• After seeing קֶרִי - and I assume after normal marital relations - you cannot become a Zav for 24 hours.

• There are 7 examinations a person who has an unusual emission from their body needs to pass, else he cannot become a Zav

  • Food he ate recently: he didn't overeat, or eat foods that are conducive to causing an unusual emission from their body like fatty meat, milk, cheese, eggs, old wine, and some others.
  • Over drinking - probably alcoholic beverages - until he sobers up.
  • Carrying heavy objects recently enough that he's still in pain
  • Jumping - as long as he still feels the after-effects.
  • Not feeling well
  • For 24 hours after seeing women that attract his attention
  • For 24 hours after thinking inappropriate thoughts

While it's obviously possible to comply with the above conditions, it's unlikely you're a Zav by accident.

The statement you quote "Since we today don't know what that entailed exactly, who knows if they never had one" is nonsense; just learn the Mishnayot or the 2nd chapter of the Rambam in הלכות מחוסרי כפרה which begins with this definition of what we're discussing.

הַזָב הָאָמוּר בַּתּוֹרָה הוּא שִׁכְבַת זֶרַע הַבָּא מֵחֳלָיֵי הַחֲלָלִים שֶׁהִיא מִתְקַבֶּצֶת בָּהֶן. וּכְשֶׁיּוֹצֵא הַזּוֹב אֵינוֹ יוֹצֵא בְּקֹשִׁי כְּשִׁכְבַת זֶרַע וְאֵין בִּיצִיאָתוֹ תַּאֲוָה וְלֹא הֲנָאָה אֶלָּא נִגְרָר וְיוֹצֵא כְּמוֹ בָּצֵק שֶׁל שְׂעוֹרִים כֵּהֶה כְּלֹבֶן בֵּיצָה הַמּוּזֶרֶת. אֲבָל שִׁכְבַת זֶרַע לְבָנָה קְשׁוּרָה כְּלֹבֶן בֵּיצָה שֶׁאֵינָהּ מוּזֶרֶת:‏

^{Feel free to edit in a translation.}

---

That said, there are Poskim who do consider everybody as Safek Zav as far as the Torah prohibition of a Zav entering the Bet HaMikdash, as Joel K answered.

Answer 3

At some point during the period of the 2nd Bet HaMikdash (IIRC) Chazal instituted that an Am Ha'Aretz - a regular unlearned fellow - is to be treated as Tameh - impure.

Which impurity? The impurity of somebody who touched a Zava; we assume they due to ignorance his wife may be a Zava and she probably touched him.

However, the Am Ha'Aretz is not assumed to be a Safek Zav.

It seems to me that Zav is rather rare else Chazal would have worried about it.

^{It's not that they didn't consider the possibility; but they decided that if every Am Ha'Aretz would be a Safek Zav then one would find it impossible to hire workers, as everything they carry would become Tameh. Clearly it was a remote possibility if they decided to ignore the possibility.}

---

That said, there are Poskim who do consider everybody as Safek Zav as far as the Torah prohibition of a Zav entering the Bet HaMikdash, as Joel K answered.

Also see the comments, that not everybody agrees with this; specifically Tosafos in Shabbos 15b