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The Rambam · Sefer Taharah

הלכות טומאת מת ב׳Defilement by a Corpse 2

Chapter 2 of 25 in Defilement by a Corpse — 16 halachot

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Halacha 1א׳

הַנֵּפֶל אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁעֲדַיִן לֹא נִתְקַשְּׁרוּ אֵיבָרָיו בְּגִידִין מְטַמֵּא בְּמַגָּע וּבְמַשָּׂא וּבְאֹהֶל כְּאָדָם גָּדוֹל שֶׁמֵּת שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (במדבר יט יא) "הַנֹּגֵעַ בְּמֵת לְכָל נֶפֶשׁ אָדָם". וְכֵן כְּזַיִת מִבְּשַׂר הַמֵּת בֵּין לַח בֵּין יָבֵשׁ כְּחֶרֶשׂ מְטַמֵּא כְּמֵת שָׁלֵם. וְהַנֶּצֶל בַּבָּשָׂר מְטַמֵּא בִּכְזַיִת. אֵיזֶהוּ נֶצֶל זֶה הַבָּשָׂר שֶׁנִּמּוֹחַ וְנַעֲשֶׂה לֵחָה סְרוּחָה. וְהוּא שֶׁתִּקְרשׁ אוֹתָהּ הַלֵּחָה הַנִּמְצֵאת מִן הַמֵּת שֶׁאִם קָרְשָׁה בְּיָדוּעַ שֶׁהוּא מִבְּשָׂרוֹ וְאִם לֹא קָרְשָׁה אֵינָהּ מְטַמְּאָה שֶׁמָּא כִּיחוֹ וְנִיעוֹ הוּא:

A miscarried fetus, even though its limbs have not yet been knit together with sinews, conveys impurity by contact, by carrying and by a tent, like a grown man who has died, as it is said (Numbers 19:11), "One who touches a corpse, the body of any man." So too an olive's bulk of a corpse's flesh, whether moist or dry as a potsherd, conveys impurity like a whole corpse. And putrefied flesh conveys impurity in the measure of an olive's bulk. What is putrefied flesh? It is flesh that has dissolved and become a foul liquid — and that is when this liquid found from the corpse congeals; for if it congealed, it is known to be from his flesh, and if it did not congeal it does not convey impurity, since it may be his phlegm and mucus.

Halacha 2ב׳

אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁהַשִּׁעוּרִין כֻּלָּם הֲלָכָה לְמשֶׁה מִסִּינַי הֵן אָמְרוּ חֲכָמִים תְּחִלַּת בְּרִיָּתוֹ שֶׁל אָדָם כְּזַיִת וּלְפִיכָךְ שִׁעוּר טֻמְאַת בְּשָׂרוֹ כְּזַיִת:

Although all the measures are a law given to Moses at Sinai, the Sages said: the beginning of a man's formation is an olive's bulk; and therefore the measure of the impurity of his flesh is an olive's bulk.

Halacha 3ג׳

אֵיבָר שֶׁנֶּחְתַּךְ מִן הָאָדָם הַחַי הֲרֵי הוּא כְּמֵת שָׁלֵם מְטַמֵּא בְּמַגָּע וּבְמַשָּׂא וּבְאֹהֶל אֲפִלּוּ אֵיבָר קָטָן שֶׁל קָטָן בֶּן יוֹמוֹ שֶׁהָאֵיבָרִים אֵין לָהֶם שִׁעוּר שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (במדבר יט טז) "כּל אֲשֶׁר יִגַּע עַל פְּנֵי הַשָּׂדֶה בַּחֲלַל חֶרֶב" וְהַדָּבָר יָדוּעַ שֶׁדִּין חֲלַל חֶרֶב כְּדִין חֲלַל אֶבֶן אוֹ חֲלַל שְׁאָר דְּבָרִים מִפִּי הַשְּׁמוּעָה לָמְדוּ שֶׁלֹּא בָּא זֶה אֶלָּא לְטַמֵּא נוֹגֵעַ בְּאֵיבָר שֶׁפְּלָטַתּוּ הַחֶרֶב. בַּמֶּה דְּבָרִים אֲמוּרִים כְּשֶׁהָיָה הָאֵיבָר שָׁלֵם כִּבְרִיָּתוֹ בָּשָׂר וְגִידִים וַעֲצָמוֹת שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (במדבר יט טז) "אוֹ בְעֶצֶם אָדָם" עֶצֶם שֶׁהוּא כְּאָדָם מַה אָדָם בָּשָׂר וְגִידִים וַעֲצָמוֹת אַף אֵיבָר מִן הַחַי עַד שֶׁיִּהְיֶה כִּבְרִיָּתוֹ בָּשָׂר וְגִידִים וַעֲצָמוֹת. אֲבָל הַכֻּלְיָא וְהַלָּשׁוֹן וְכַיּוֹצֵא בָּהֶן אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁהֵן אֵיבָר בִּפְנֵי עַצְמָן הוֹאִיל וְאֵין בָּהֶן עֶצֶם הֲרֵי הֵן כִּשְׁאָר הַבָּשָׂר. חָסַר מִן הָעֶצֶם שֶׁל אֵיבָר כָּל שֶׁהוּא הֲרֵי הָאֵיבָר כֻּלּוֹ טָהוֹר. חָסַר מִבְּשָׂרוֹ אִם נִשְׁאַר עָלָיו בָּשָׂר שֶׁרָאוּי לַעֲלוֹת בּוֹ אֲרוּכָה בְּחַי וְיִתְרַפֵּא וְיִשָּׁלֵם. הֲרֵי זֶה מְטַמֵּא בְּמַגָּע וּבְמַשָּׂא וּבְאֹהֶל. וְאִם לָאו מְטַמֵּא בְּמַגָּע וּבְמַשָּׂא וְאֵינוֹ מְטַמֵּא בְּאֹהֶל. וּבָשָׂר הַפּוֹרֵשׁ מִן הַחַי טָהוֹר. וְכֵן עֶצֶם בְּלֹא בָּשָׂר הַפּוֹרֵשׁ מִן הַחַי טָהוֹר:

A limb severed from a living person is like a whole corpse: it conveys impurity by contact, by carrying and by a tent, even a small limb of a child one day old, for limbs have no minimum measure, as it is said (Numbers 19:16), "whoever touches, in the open field, one slain by a sword." And it is known that the law of one slain by a sword is like the law of one slain by a stone or by other things; from tradition they learned that this comes only to declare impure one who touches a limb that a sword has cut away. To what does this apply? When the limb was whole as it was formed — flesh and sinews and bones — as it is said (Numbers 19:16), "or a human bone": a bone that is like a man; just as a man is flesh and sinews and bones, so a limb from a living person must be as it was formed, flesh and sinews and bones. But the kidney and the tongue and the like, although they are limbs in themselves, since they have no bone in them are as the rest of the flesh. If any amount at all is lacking from the bone of the limb, the whole limb is pure. If flesh is lacking from it: if enough flesh remains upon it that it would be capable of healing over in a living person and being made whole, it conveys impurity by contact, by carrying and by a tent; and if not, it conveys impurity by contact and by carrying and does not convey impurity by a tent. And flesh that separates from a living person is pure; and likewise a bone without flesh that separates from a living person is pure.

…and 11 more halachot in this chapter.

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Mishneh Torah, Torat Emet 363 edition, via Sefaria — public domain

English: rendered from the Hebrew for this app — our own, not a borrowed translation