Pesachim 19
“And the flesh that touches any impure thing shall not be eaten.”
Today’s reading is the equivalent of threading a needle without my glasses on and with a thick thread that will not fit through the narrow eye. I have said this before, but it is ringing true more than ever over the last few days: the Talmud would benefit from a good editor. We established in Pesachim 17 through the wisdom of Shmuel that an item cannot be contaminated through fifth-degree impurity. Today’s reading went back to the topic again. And really, it was not that interesting the first time around.
We are reminded from Leviticus (7:19) that “the flesh the touches any impure thing shall not be eaten.” The Gemara asks if we are dealing with second or third-degree impurity. I have learned through my Daf Yomi friends that the Rabbis are not all sitting in a room debating the intricacies of impurity but are talking across generations. Today, they come together in a virtual round table to debate degrees of impurity.
The Gemara tells us that in the case of the meat, third-degree impurity status is assumed. Rabbi Yosei and Rabbi Akiva, claim that the meat under consideration could be impure through a fourth degree. And by extension, Rabbi Akiva says that the impurity can reach to the fifth degree (which sounds like a musical group.) This is where he parts ways with Rabbi Yosei who does not agree. Rav Kahana joins the debate and supports Rabbi Akiva’s point of view.
However, it is all taken back after Rav Kahana leaves the study hall in order to find a quiet place to ponder the matter. He comes to the conclusion that Rabbi Akiva never held that there is fifth degree impurity in regard to consecrated items in particular. He parses the argument between consecrated items and teruma. Evidently, there is a body of work by Rabbi Akiva which states that fourth degree impurity exists for consecrated objects but does not apply to fifth degree status. This also applies to teruma, which does not assume fifth degree impurity status. So, we appear to have come full circle back to the pronouncement by Shmuel two days ago that impurity is not derived by the fifth degree. I am not sure where this leaves Rabbi Akiva, but I have lost some brain cells trying to unravel all this.
Oh, but we must now analyze the angel that lives in the eye of a needle. Although in today’s example it is a needle that is found inside a cow. A comparison is made with spittle which we are told is pure if it is found in Jerusalem but nowhere else. And once again, as I have requested before, I plead with all the gentleman to keep their bodily fluids to themselves – and now more than ever. Spittle outside of your body is impure by definition, regardless of where you find yourself. We are also told that if the cow is outside Jerusalem, the needle is assumed to be impure. By extension, if it is found within the city, it does not carry impurity. But why a needle would be embedded within a cow’s stomach is a topic for another day.
The impurity discussion extends to the bathhouse which has paths designed so that those who immersed in the waters and achieved a state of purity would not cross paths with those that had not yet gone through the ritual. This is not unlike the one-way signs that exist in office and apartment buildings in New York, that direct people to walk only in one direction in a complete loop around the floor. This is to prevent them from passing each other in the hallway and swapping contaminated viral droplets.
And finally, we are asked if the angels that reside in the eye of a needle have a voice. We are told that if a needle “does not have knowledge to be asked” it is impure due to uncertainty about its own status and that of anyone it might have come into contact with. I will resist the urge to take out my sewing kit and see what wisdom I can gain from studying the eye of a needle. My head hurts from all this. And as I said, the Talmud would benefit from a good editor. If given the chance, I could trim the seven year and a half cycle down to an efficient three years.
Happy Chanukkah everyone! This is certainly a holiday of miracles, including our tenacity and perseverance to be almost one year into the journey through this difficult text.