Questions tagged [tamei-tahor-ritual-purity]
Questions related to the Torah concepts of *tumah* and *taharah* - ritual impurity and purity.
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Contradiction between Mishnah and Tosefta?
Mishnah Keilim 11:4 says:
קלוסטרא, טמאה ... רבי יהושע אומר, שומטה מפתח זה ותולה בחברו בשבת. רבי טרפון אומר, הרי היא לו ככל הכלים, ומטלטלת בחצר
A door bolt is susceptible to impurity ... Rabbi Joshua ...
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Notched 2x4 for maamid?
Let's assume that there is a lechatchila to not use metal object that are mekabel tumah (susceptible to tumah) for something that supports the s'chach ("maamid"), which can be avoided by using ...
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Is the partially generated animal dead?
Chulin, chapter 9, mishna 6, is discussing the ritual impurity imparted by a dead sheretz (animal of any of certain types). Note that the impurity is imparted only by a dead animal. The mishna says (...
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Forbidden to immerse, as opposed to doesn't work?
I was learning Pesachim, and on 17b I saw Tosafos say the following:
דבתוך הכלי ודאי אסור לטבול מדאורייתא
It is definitely biblically forbidden to immerse something within a vessel (as opposed ...
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Why are אוכלי חולין בטהרה called "בני הכנסת"?
Zavim, chapter 3, mishna 2, lists a bunch of cases in which someone is deemed tame (ritually impure) by decree of the rabbis. However, it concludes,
וְכֻלָּן טְהוֹרִין לִבְנֵי הַכְּנֶסֶת וּטְמֵאִין ...
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Are gentiles tameh ? Do they convey any kind of tumas?
I find a lot of contradicting sources - does anyone know the actual halachah (with sources please) ?
A lot of mishanyot seem to state that Gentiles do not contract/convey impurity (Negaim 11 and 12; ...
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Does tumah applies in any way to Bnei Noach? [duplicate]
As gentiles also worshipped in the Holy Temple, I wonder if ritual impurity also applied to them
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Hargasha nowdays
There are various reasons that the Poskim nowadays give to explain that there still is a concept of Nidda Min Hatorah despite women not having a Hargasha. From what I have managed to see, there seem ...
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Common denominator cases tumah
Looking for a common denominator for all mentioned cases of tumah, trying to find something that would bind them together, I found that a thematic denominator is death (or loss of life, diminution of ...
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Machshirin and being satisfied with wetting
Mishnah Machshirin 3:3 explains that a loaf of bread which is placed over the top of a wine cask and absorbs wine fumes is considered hechsher. But why is this the case, because there is no reason to ...
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Can someone [be] tovel accidentally? (Does tovelling need kavanah?)
Does tovelling, either for vessels or a person, require kavanah (intent) to achieve the purification?
Let's say someone went bathing in the river, or for whatever reason just fell in naked; for dishes,...
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Talking In Bathrooms
The Rema in או"ח סי' ג סעיף ב says that it is impermissible to talk in the bathroom. The Mishna Berura adds the Gemara in Berachos 65b, that even in order to let someone trying to enter know that ...
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Food cooked by woman during Niddah?
If according to my Bible translation - please correct me if it is wrong - anything a woman in niddah or a state of tumah, or 'impurity', touches or sits on becomes 'impure', can food cooked by her be ...
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Is fishing line mekabel-tumah? Can it be used in schach?
סכך cannot be made of a דבר המקבל טומאה, there is a company that make a reed mat that is held together (מעמד) with fishing line and it comes with instructions to put some wood on top of it so that it ...
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Is a felt hat made with beaver or rabbit fur unclean according to Leviticus 11:8?
Many of the finer felt hats (especially antique ones) are made of felt created from animal fur, such as beaver or rabbit. The fur is initially harvested from the pelt of a dead animal before it is ...
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Why don’t Sheretzs made into a Streimel convey tumah?
The body of a sheretz conveys impurity. The translations of the animals that count as Sheratzim (listed in Parashat Shemini) often include weasels or ferrets as well as rats, insects, and lizards.
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1:1 correspondence of spiritual purity to spiritual impurity?
I’ve always held the belief that the amount of spiritual purity in the world is equal to the amount of spiritual impurity. I think I heard this idea before, however, I do not know the source. My ...
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Discussion of tumah issues when a Kohen Gadol died on Yom Kippur
I was wondering if there is any discussion anywhere of the tumah complications that occurred when the Kohen Gadol died in the Kodesh Kodashim.
At an initial glance the issue one would need to worry ...
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The amount of Parah Adumah ashes and water ("mei chatas") required to purify a person
This week's parsha teaches us all about the Parah Adumah and how it can purify a person.
Namely, that in order for a person who was ritually impure via a dead body to become pure, said person ...
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Kohen Entering the Taj Mahal
Can a kohen enter the Taj Mahal? When visiting India is a kohen allowed to enter even certain parts of the Taj Mahal? The tombs themselves are of non-Jews, of course, and they are buried beneath the ...
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Tahor and Tamei
Tahor and Tamei are often translated as clean and unclean or (ritually) pure and impure.
But what exactly do they mean, what are the definitions for tahor and tamei? How does one render "ritually" ...
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How can tumah pass through a cupboard?
Ohalot 4:1 says that where there is a source of tumah beneath a cupboard, everything in the house is tamei.
ArtScroll adds that the things in the cupboard remain tahor: “the tumah penetrates into the ...
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What was the spiritual significance of the blood being used as a means of atonement, dedication, and purification?
Blood played a significant role within Israelite Culture ceremoniously and ritualistically. For example (including but not limited to) for confirmation of a covenant, as part of the dedication of the ...
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How did King Shlomo have General Yoav killed in the tent of the Aron (that had an Altar too), didn't everything become impure?
By killing Yoav inside the tent the Aron and the Altar that were there became impure. Wasn't this a problem? See 1 Kings 2 (28 -34).
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Can a non-kohen touch non-kosher animals (dead or alive)?
Is this correct: Non-kohanim may touch non-kosher animals (live or dead), including שרצים, but must avoid doing so when going to the Beis Hamikdash (for the holidays or otherwise).
Are kohanim always ...
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IDF ceremony on the Temple Mount
Last year someone sent me this video. It shows an IDF "misdar", a kind of military formation/inspection/ceremony (not really sure how to translate it) on the Temple Mount after it was freed ...
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Is contamination from lack of kashrut reversible? [duplicate]
We are taught the kashrut mitzvot are meant to elevate our holiness and avoid spiritual contamination. What of an uneducated Jew that for most of his/her life did not keep kosher and eventually became ...
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Does Tumah Wear Off or Expire from an Object?
Does tumah contracted from a niddah wear off or expire? Like a seat that she sat on? According to the times when the Temple stood?
*edited
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After a טמא מת gets הזאות and is still טמא until טבילה והערב שמש, is this a new טומאה or the remains of the original טומאה?
Are the הזאות really מטהר him completely, only now is חל a completely new טומאה? Or is this טומאה that he still has the remainder of the old טומאה; the הזאות aren't מטהר him completely and leave over ...
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Do the items a Baal Keri touch become impure?
So I understand it is said that Ezra's decree no longer applies today. However if one was still Baal Keri would he transfer his tumah to any object (literally any) that he touched?
Say someone had a ...
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How can a table be a sheni l'tum'ah?
Mishna Berachos 8:3 says:
בֵּית שַׁמַּאי אוֹמְרִים, מְקַנֵּחַ יָדָיו בַּמַּפָּה וּמַנִּיחָהּ עַל הַשֻּׁלְחָן. וּבֵית הִלֵּל אוֹמְרִים, עַל הַכֶּסֶת:
Bet Shammai says: he wipes his hand with a towel ...
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If humans build the third temple, would the builders be required to be cleared of "purity standards" for the project?
We are taught that when we came to Israel, King David could not build the temple because he had blood on his hands. Though he was acting under divine command and in the interest of the nation, he ...
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נגעים of houses - is the house מקבל טומאה from the נגע, or are the נגע and the house together one object of טומאה
Is the house מקבל טומאה from the נגע, or are the נגע and the house together one 'item/חפצא' of טומאה?
Same question essentially by נגעי אדם and נגעי בגדים as well.
See Kisvei HaGrach siman 65. Please ...
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What is meant by "pure" oil for Hanukka?
The concept of "pure" oil is central to the holiday of Hanukka (see, for example,
https://www.chabad.org/holidays/chanukah/article_cdo/aid/221817/jewish/Pure-Oil.htm and
https://www.aish.com/...
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Does rain purify the earth in a similar way we use water for spiritual purification rituals or does the purification require a human element?
Judaism has different rituals around water and purification. A simple example is washing of the hands after a funeral or cemetery visitation.
My question is this.
Water is used for purification. Is ...
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Source for pure status of those buried on Har Hazeitim
In this article on Har Hazeitim (Mt. of Olives) it says:
"People buried on the Mount of Olives are exempt from the ritual of atonement that those buried elsewhere must undergo."
Is there a ...
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שכבת זרע and the purification of the world
In Sanhedrin 108b:3, it says:
אמר רב חסדא ברותחין קלקלו בעבירה וברותחין נידונו
Rav Ḥisda says: With hot semen they sinned, and with hot semen they were punished.
In Torah Ohr 8c-d, the Alter Rebbe ...
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Why does the man who guards the Red Heifer defile his clothes?
Bava Metzia 93a reads: "One who safeguards the red heifer renders his garments impure ... Rabba bar Ulla said: This is a decree, lest he move a limb of the heifer."
But... how does it deter ...
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How can a solid pile of planks be considered an ohel?
Ohalot 15:1 says that a pile of garments, where the uppermost garment is at least a tefach off the ground, counts as an ohel. This is presumably because the uppermost garment is considered the 'roof' ...
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Exact distances and sizes in the Mishna
In many locations in the Mishna, it is mentioned what should be done if something has an exact measurement. For instance in Shekalim:
Coins which were found between the [chest inscribed] “shekels” ...
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Machshirin 1:6: Chazon Ish's defence's of Bartenura's peirush
Machshirin 1:6 contains three clauses:
When someone blows on lentils, the Sages say this counts as b'chi yutan.
When someone hides their vegetables in a river from thieves, this doesn't count as b'...
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Why are there degrees of impurity?
Why does the Torah outline many different degrees of impurity טומאה with different purification methods?
You have corpse-impurity which requires sprinkling with the water of the red heifer during a ...
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Why isn't a cemetery a public domain for the laws of tumah?
Tohorot 3:7 explains why, when it comes to tumah, we are lenient in the case of a child found "to the side of a cemetery" (namely because he can't be interrogated).
My question is, though, ...
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Why is marble not considered a stone?
Hilchot Tumat Tzara'at 14:8:
הַלְּבֵנִים וְהַשַּׁיִשׁ אֵינָן חֲשׁוּבִין כַּאֲבָנִים
Bricks and Marble aren't considered stones.
What is the reason for this decision?
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Mikdash David, Kuntres Tohorot 3:4
The Artscroll elucidated Mishnah (Oholot 4:1) contains a footnote referring to Mikdash David, Kuntres Tohorot 3:4 (d'h והנה זה). Can anyone help me find a copy of this source?
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Does clay used as a foundation count as clay or as the ground?
The mishnah in Keilim 6:1 describes a stove made in two ways: a pot resting on three metal* pegs that are either (1) attached at the ground via clay, or (2) stuck into the ground. In the first case, ...
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What do the terms tahor, tamey, taharah and tumah add to the description that one isn’t allowed to enter the temple under certain circumstances
The Tanach is full of descriptions of what's allowed and what's not allowed; commandments and prohibitions.
But there are also certain occasions in which someone or something is describes as tahor or ...
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Chatam Sofer on tumat met
This article states that the Chatam Sofer described tumat met as being not a solid fact of the layout of the building, but more something that we should view like a "viscous vapour" (קיטור צמיג) in ...
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Aeroplane flying over a cemetery as ohel
For those who argue that a Cohen can fly over a cemetery in an aeroplane because the floor of the ‘plane functions as an ohel and blocks the impurity from reaching the passengers, how do they avoid ...
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