LEVITICUS XII:1-XIII:59

ON PURITY AND IMPURITY IN JUDAISM

Parshat Shemini warns about the animals that are permissible and those whose flesh should not be eaten. All of this is framed within the set of laws about ritual impurity and purity, which is the fundamental theme of our chapters of Tazria. Contact with certain animals, especially their carcasses, introduced a person into a state of impurity that at the time of the Beit HaMikdash(Temple of Jerusalem) became a major impediment. 

The Kohanim (Priests) had been warned that they should refrain from personal contact with the corpse of a human being, which constitutes the greatest source of impurity. The reasoning is that the passage from holiness to impurity is proportional, i.e., that the being that can acquire the highest degree of holiness is the being that produces the most intense impurity. However, it should be noted that caring for a deceased person is a very important Mitsva, even though the people who care for the deceased enter a state of impurity. 

At present, everyone is in a state of impurity, because in the absence of the Beit HaMikdash it is not possible to remedy this situation that requires the sacrifice of the Para Aduma, the red cow, from whose ashes the indispensable element for purification was obtained. This is an additional reason that makes it impossible to rebuild the Beit HaMikdash, an activity that demands purity that cannot be obtained today. 

Considering that the burial of a person is a Mitsva, it can be concluded that there is no prohibition against acquiring the state of ritual impurity. During the existence of the Beit HaMikdash, these laws were carefully observed, because the “impure” person did not have access to the sacred precinct that was the center of Judaism’s ritual activity. 

This created divisions within society, and scholars abstained from eating in the homes of those who were ignorant of the details of the law, on the assumption that they had probably not given  the Kohen and Levi the corresponding Teruma and Ma’aser, that is, they had not set aside a percentage of the harvest for the maintenance of those who devoted their labors to worship.

In ancient times, the Essenes took special care of these laws and therefore kept themselves apart. The Mishna (Oral Law) teaches that the “garments” of the ignorant were considered impure to the Pharisees, whose garments, in turn, were impure to those who ingest Teruma. The garments of the Pharisees being impure to those who ingest Kodesh, the parts of the sacrificed animal that were not consumed by the fire of the altar. Even the garments of those who ate Kodesh were impure to those who tended in the ‘waters of purification’. Yose ben Yoezer was very pious, and yet his apron was unclean to Kodesh.” 

The Mishna implies that there were levels of holiness and purity, which in turn imply a separation between the different groups of society at the time. Today, there is a parallel with Kashrut. Different levels have been created, including the famous Glat Kosher, which means that there was never any doubt about the Kashrut of the animal that demanded the ruling of the Shochet (Ritual slaughterer), who decides whether the meat is fit for human consumption.

According to the Talmud (Oral Law), the schools of Hillel and Shammai had serious differences regarding the laws of purity. “The former call impure the cases which the others had purified.” This discussion had an academic character, because in practice they exchanged kitchen utensils. In this way, the difference of opinion between these two great schools never produced a de facto division in society. 

In general, this is the attitude of the Talmud, which reflects differences of opinion, although the Halacha renders a verdict that reflects only one opinion. Judaism has always encouraged divergence of opinions in the intellectual field, but at the same time it has pointed out a specific path to be followed by all in daily life.

MITZVAH: ORDINANCE OF THE TORAH IN THIS PARSHA

CONTAINS 5  POSITIVE MITSVOT AND 2 PROHIBIITONS

166. Leviticus 12:2,5 A woman’s ritual impurity after childbirth.

167. Leviticus 12:4 A ritually impure person does not ingest sacred sacrifices.

168. Leviticus 12:6 The offering a woman brings after giving birth.

169. Leviticus 13:2 The ritual impurity of the person who has Tsara’at (manifested by a rash on the skin).

170. Leviticus 13:33 Do not cut the hair of a Netek lesion (type of Tsara’at).

171. Leviticus 13:45 A person who has Tsara’at or anyone who can transmit ritual impurity to others should not cut his hair and leave his garments torn.

172. Leviticus 13:47 Laws concerning Tsara’at of clothing.