Tumahandtaharah

This article is presented as a compilation of the laws ofṭumahandṭaharah,as recorded in the Torah and Rabbinic literature. Forṭaharohin terms of Kosher animal consumption, seeKosher.For theṭaharahritual for the deceased, seeBereavement in Judaism.

InJewish religious law,there is a category of specificJewish purity laws,defining what is ritually impure or pure:ṭum'ah(Hebrew:טומאה,pronounced[tumʔa]) andṭaharah(Hebrew:טהרה,pronounced[taharɔ]) are the state of beingritually "impure" and "pure",respectively.The Hebrew nounṭum'ah,meaning "impurity", describes a state ofritual impurity.A person or object which contractsṭum'ahis said to beṭamé(טמא‎ Hebrewadjective,"ritually impure" ), and thereby unsuited for certain holy activities and uses (kedushah,קְדֻשָּׁה‎‎ in Hebrew) until undergoing predefined purification actions that usually include the elapse of a specified time-period.

The contrasting Hebrew nounṭaharah(טָהֳרָה‎) describes a state ofritual puritythat qualifies theṭahor(טָהוֹר‎; ritually pure person or object) to be used forkedushah.The most common method of achievingṭaharahis by the person or object being immersed in amikveh(ritual bath). This concept is connected withritual washing in Judaism,and both ritually impure and ritually pure states have parallels inritual purification in other world religions.

The laws ofṭum'ahandṭaharahwere generally followed by theIsraelitesandpost-exilicJews,particularly during theFirstandSecond Temple periods,and to a limited extent are a part of applicablehalakhain modern times.

Etymology

TheHebrewnounṭum'ah(טֻמְאָה‎) derives from the verbṭamé(טָמֵא‎), in theqalform of the verb "to become impure"; in theniphalto "defile oneself"; and in thetransitivePielto defile something or pronounce something impure.The verb stem has a corresponding adjective,ṭamé(טָמֵא), "impure".

Likewise the Hebrew nounṭahara(טָהֳרָה‎) is also derived from a verb, in this caseṭaher(טָהֵר‎) "to be ritually pure". and in the transitive piel "to purify". The verb and noun have a corresponding adjective,ṭahor(טָהוֹר‎), "ritually pure". The word is a cognate to the Arabic word 'طهارة'ṭahāra(h)(pronounced almost identically, with the elongation of the second 'a') which has the same meaning in Islam.

Some sources, such asSamson Raphael Hirschon Genesis 7:2, claim that the meaning is "entombed", meaning the person or item that is in thetamestate is blocked, and not in a state of receiving holy transmission.Ṭahor,by contrast, is defined as "pure" in the sense that the person or object is in a clear state and can/may potentially serve as a conduit for Divine and Godly manifestation. Althoughṭum'ah and ṭaharahis sometimes translated asunclean and clean,it is more aspiritualstate than a physical one. Once initiated (for the physical signs that initiatetzaraath,zavandniddah,see below) it is generally immeasurable and unquantifiable by known mechanical detection methods, there is no measure of filth, unsanitary, or odorous affiliation with the state ofṭum'ah,nor any mechanically measurable level of cleanliness, clarity, or physical purity for the state ofṭaharah.

In the Bible

Usage

The noun form ofṭum'ahis used around 40 times in theMasoretic Textof the Hebrew Bible is generally translated as "uncleanness" in English language Bibles such as the KJV, and JPS Tanakh.The majority of uses are in Leviticus. Though uses for national impurity occur in Ezra and Ezekiel, and Zechariah prophesies the removal of the "prophets and spirit of impurity (רוּחַ הַטֻּמְאָה‎) from the land ",the adjectivetamei(טָמֵא‎, "impure" ) is much more common.

The verb form ofṭaharah(טָהֳרָה‎), the verbṭaher(טָהֵר‎) "be pure", is used first in the Hebrew Bible is inGenesis 35:2,where Jacob tells his family to "put away strange gods, and be pure".

In general, the termtum'ahis used in two distinct ways in the Hebrew Bible:

• Ritual impurity– the opposite oftaharah( "purity" ), also known as "impurity of the body".
• Moral impurity– the opposite ofkedushah( "sanctity" ), also known as "impurity of the soul"; this category also includes activities which are disgusting or abominable.

In general,tum'ahin the sense of "ritual impurity" is prefixed by the letterlamedor lacks any prefix at all, whiletum'ahin the sense of "moral impurity" is prefixed by the letterbet.

Ritual impurity

Activities which create impurity

The Torah, particularly the book ofLeviticus,lists various activities which create an "impure" (tamei) status:

• A person whotouches a corpsebecomes impure.
• A person who touches something that has been made impure by a corpse becomes impure.
• A person who touches or carries carrion becomes impure.
• A person who touches or shifts the carcass of one of theeightsheratzim(creeping animals).A vessel orclay ovenupon which falls one of these carcasses becomes impure.
• A woman, upongiving birth,becomes impure for 7 days for a son or 14 days for a daughter.
• A person who has been diagnosed withtzaraatis impure.
• A house which has been diagnosed withtzaraatis impure, as are its contents.
• A man or woman with an unnatural emission from the genitals (zav/zavah), or a menstruating woman (niddah), are impure. A person who touches them, or who touches their chair, or vessels that they touch, is impure.
• A man who has had a seminal discharge, or a garment touched by semen, is impure.
• A person who eats meat of animals that have died of themselves or been killed by beasts becomes impure.
• A priest who performs certain roles in thered heifersacrifice becomes impure.
• If a corpse is present in a house, people and objects within the house become impure.

Some of these activities are forbidden (i.e. eating non-kosher meat),others are permitted (i.e. sex between a married couple),and others are unavoidable (i.e. if a person dies suddenly while other people are in the house). Thus, there is no automatic moral stigma to becoming "impure"; impurity "comes to everyone universally and without exception by virtue of biological existence".

Implications of impure status

Certain activities are prohibited as a result of acquiring this "impure" status. For example:

• Before the giving of the Ten Commandments, the people were warned not to approach their wives (presumably due to semen causing impurity).
• One who is impure due totzaraat,genital emissions, or touching a corpse, had to live outside the desert encampment.
• Priests could only eat sacrificial meat while pure.
• One who is impure due to a corpse could not visit the sanctuary without making it spiritually impure, which is a crime punished bykaret.

Just as it is a severe offense to bring impurity into the Israelite sanctuary, "impurity" is also seen as a means of nullifying a worship site of other religions;though the rules for this impurity are not made clear.

Purification

Different forms of impurity requires various rituals in order to regain a "pure" (tahor) status. For example:

• Impurity due to seminal emission can be purified by immersing in aritual bathafter the next nightfall.
• Impurity due totzaraatrequires waiting seven days, shaving one's hair, washing one's clothes, immersing one's body, and offering a Temple sacrifice to achieve purification.
• Impurity from touching a corpse requires a specialred heifersacrifice and ritual to achieve purification.

Moral impurity

The termtumahis also used to refer to certain sins, for which there is no specific ritual to remove the impure status. For example:

• Sexual sins such as incest, adultery, rape, bestiality
• Consulting theOv or Yidoni
• Delivering one's child to Moloch
• Murder/manslaughter
• Leaving a hanged criminal's corpse on the scaffold overnight
• Idolatry
• According toMalbim,the laws ofkashrutfall in this category.

In a number of cases, no specific sin is mentioned; overall sinful behavior has led to impurity.

In Ezra–Nehemiah

Christine Hayesargues that moral impurity is the reason for the gentile expulsion and alienation that occurs inEzra–Nehemiah.However, S.M. Olyan argues that this expulsion was inspired by earlier biblical traditions regarding both ritual and moral impurity.

In rabbinic literature

TheMishnahdevotes one of its six sub-divisions, namedTohorot( "purities" ), to the laws of ritual impurity.

Neither theBabyloniannor theJerusalem Talmudcontains systematic commentaries to the tractates of Tohorot (except for Niddah which is an integral part of Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmud as well), as these laws had little practical relevance after the destruction of the Temple. However, the laws are discussed many times in other tractates, and in later rabbinic literature.

Maimonidesclarifies that, in addition to all of Israel, thepriestsare expected to be knowledgeable and fluent in the general and specifics ofṭumahandṭaharahlaw. Given his role of Temple service and year round consumption ofterumah,each priest was required to be in aṭahorstate.

Mandatory or optional

The mainstream view amongrishonim(leading 11th-15th-century legal authorities)and non-Kabbalistic authoritiesis that one is permitted to becometamei(except on those occasions when one must visit the Temple, or touch holy objects), and thus there is no obligation to attempt to remaintahor.As an example, it is not only permitted but amitzvahto tend to a dead person, even though this causes impurity.

A niddah hut (Mergem Gogo) at the Jewish village ofAmboberin northern Ethiopia, 1976.

However, some rabbis have advocated keeping some of the laws of purity even in the absence of thetemple in Jerusalemand even in the diaspora.

One category that was commonly kept in Talmudic and pre-Talmudic times isṭumath ochlin v'mashkin(consuming food and drink that did not becomeṭamei).Sages such asRabban GamalielandHiyya the Greatencouraged eating only pure food at all times.Targum Yonathanconsidered this to be implicit inExodus 22:30.One who kept this stringency was called aporush,meaning "separated" (fromṭumah). This was also one of the criteria for being ahaver(a "friend" or "fellow" with whom the rabbis could eat without risk of violating purity laws),and according to some, the main criterion.

Additionally, some rabbis advocated abstaining from themidrasof aniddah.RabbiMenachem Schneersondiscouraged abstaining from any object made impure by a menstruating woman in modern times, with the exception for unique individuals.

Hierarchy of impurity

The rabbis describe a hierarchy of levels of impurity. In general, each level can result from touch by the level above it. The levels are:

• Avi avot hatumah(grandfather of impurity) - a human corpse
• Av HaTumah(father of impurity) - Maimonides enumerates 11 objects which have this status:
  • Tameh met- a living person who has touched a corpse
  • Tumat sheretz- the dead body of a swarming animal (sheretz) listed inLeviticus 11:29–30
  • Tumat nevelah- the body of a land animal which died without ritual slaughter; the body of a non-kosher land animal which died in any manner; a kosher bird which died without ritual slaughter receives this status in relation to its consumption but not its touch
  • Shichvat zera- human semen which has left the body
  • Mei hatat- water into which ashes of thered heiferwere mixed
  • People who were involved in thered heiferprocedure and in certain procedures of theYom Kippursacrifices
  • Niddah- a menstruant woman; a man who has had sex with such a woman; the woman's blood, spit, and urine; objects which she has sat, reclined, or rode upon
  • Yoledet- a woman in the period after she gives birth; the same related categories as withniddah
  • Zavah- a woman with abnormal genital discharge; the same related categories as withniddah
  • Zav- a man with abnormal genital discharge; his spit, urine, semen, and discharge; objects which he sat or rode [or reclined??] upon
  • Metzora- a person who has contractedtzaraat,and in the purification period after recovery; a garment or house infected bytzaraat
  • Subsidiary types of Av Hatumah include:
    • A person who had relations with aniddah,zavah,oryoledet(mother after giving birth)
    • A utensil designed for sitting which was sat on by aNiddah,yoledet,zavah,zav(and possiblymetzora)
    • Liquids expelled from inside the body (e. g., spit, blood, but not sweat) of aniddah,yoledet,zavah,zav(and possiblymetzora)
  • In addition, the rabbis declared several rabbinic categories ofav hatumah.

• Rishon letumah(first level of impurity) orvlad hatumah(child of impurity) - a person, vessels, food, or drink which have touched anav hatumah,

• Sheni letumah(second level of impurity):
  • Food or drink which has touched arishon letumah
  • A person's hands are always consideredsheni letumah,until he or she has donenetilat yadayim.
• Shlishi letumah(third level of impurity) - sanctified goods which have touchedsheni letumah
• Revii letumah(fourth level of impurity) - sanctified goods which have touchedshlishi letumah
• Hamishi letumah(fifth level of impurity) - According to Maimonides this status does not exist, andrevii letumahcannot impurify other objects.However, some sources suggest that this status might exist.In addition,red heiferwaters can have a status similar to this.

Impurity of scrolls

The rabbis declaredTorah scrollsto be impure by rabbinic law. This seemingly strange law had a practical purpose: it discouraged Jews from storing theirterumahproduce alongside Torah scrolls, which attracted mice and caused the Torah scrolls to be nibbled on as well.

In modern times

Main article:Niddah

Following the destruction of the Second Temple, ritual impurity status ceased to have practical consequences, with the exception ofniddahandzav/zavah,and rules forbidding making aKohenimpure. These rules are still practiced inOrthodox Judaism.

InConservative Judaism,while the concept ofniddahand a prohibition on sexual relations during theniddahperiod (including childbirth) are still agreed upon, recent decisions by theCommittee on Jewish Law and Standardshave endorsed multiple views about the concept ofzavah,as well as thetumahstatus of aniddah.The liberal view held that the concepts ofṭumahandṭaharahare not relevant outside the context of aHoly Temple(as distinct from asynagogue;hence aniddahcannot conveyṭumahtoday), found the concept ofzavahno longer applicable, and permitted spouses to touch each other in a manner similar to siblings during theniddahperiod (while retaining a prohibition on sexual conduct). The traditional view retained the applicability of the concepts oftumah,ṭaharah,andzavah,and retained a prohibition on all contact.

See also

• Corpse uncleanness
• Eightsheratzim( "creeping things" ), animals with special ritual impurity laws
• Ritual washing in Judaism
• Taharah(Islam), Arabic word for the same concept in Islam
• Kegare,Japanese for state of pollution and defilement

Further reading

• Neusner, Jacob(1974–1977).A History of the Mishnaic Law of Purities.Leiden: E. J. Brill. Part I–XXII.

External links

• Ritual Purity in the Torah and in the Code of Jewish Law of Maimonides