Wednesday 1 October 2014

Chagiga 24: Ritual Purity: Guidelines for Hands, Vessels, Sacrificial Wine, and More

Ritual impurity has a number of degrees.  First degree ritual impurity is imparted through contact with a corpse or a dead creeping animal.  The subsequent degrees of ritual impurity are more complex; they can be contracted in different circumstances under differing guidelines.  

Today's daf discusses how to carry multiple ritual items in vessels where ritual purity might be at risk.  It considers further differences between sacrificial foods and terumah.  It reminds us that all people are to be trusted when it comes to preparing wine and oil for sacrificial services.  It looks at the susceptibility of dry and wet foods to ritual impurity.  It also considers the human body as a receptacle: if only one hand touches a ritually impure object, both hands should be immersed.

I am trying to imagine a society that operates according to these rules.  Would people become tremendously aware of what they touch; when and how they touch?  Would these guidelines become second nature?  Would people automatically place items in their vessels according to which items were susceptible to ritual impurity?


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