Pesachim 67b — the Talmud in English

The Sages said to answer:

:

in such a case, as with the impurity of a creeping creature, which lasts only one day, and immersion is effective for him, and in the evening he becomes pure—

the zav likewise becomes impure

even

through an accident,

and the impurity of a creeping creature is not more severe in this regard than the impurity of a zav.

and the impurity caused by a creeping creature is not more severe in this respect than the impurity of a man with a gonorrheal discharge.

And

when

said

Rav Huna.

For Rav Huna said: The first emission of a zav,

through which he is impure like one who experienced a seminal emission, and immerses on that very day and becomes pure in the evening—

renders impure

even if it was

through an accident.

And the Gemara continues to explain the continuation of the words of the beraita, that one could have derived the case of a metzora from a zav by a kal va-chomer:

What is the severity of a metzora over a zav?—

for

the metzora

is required to let his hair grow wild,

the hair of his head, which he grows and does not cut,

and

is required

to rend,

the tearing of his garments,

and he is forbidden marital relations.

And we challenge:

On the contrary, a zav is more severe

than a metzora,

for

the zav

renders impure

with the severe impurity of

“lying and sitting”,

for a person who touches the lying-place of the zav or his sitting-place becomes impure, and thereby also renders his garments impure.

And

likewise, a special manner of becoming impure was innovated with regard to a zav, which does not apply to the other impurities: For the zav [who does not render an earthenware vessel impure through touching, but only if he inserts his hands into the airspace of the earthenware vessel],

renders an earthenware vessel impure [without inserting his hands into it]—

through shifting.

That is, he shifts [moves] the vessel [and even does not touch it, but shifts it or carries it by means of another object. And this manner of becoming impure through shifting is stated only with regard to a zav and not with regard to any other impurity! For with the other impurities, becoming impure occurs through touching or carrying the impure object, or through overshadowing, and not through shifting or carrying the impure object].

That is, he shifts

And all these stringencies do not apply to a metzora!

And we answer:

The verse says

in the matter of the sending out from the camps

“a zav”,

and Scripture added the inclusive expression “every,” as it is written:

“and every zav,”

and we learned from here—

to include one who experienced a seminal emission

to be sent outside two camps. And one who experienced a seminal emission does not have all these stringencies of a zav.

And a metzora is more severe than one who experienced a seminal emission,

and from it one can derive by a kal va-chomer with regard to a metzora.

And what is its severity

of a metzora over one who experienced a seminal emission

—

as we said,

for he is required to let his hair grow wild and to rend, and he is forbidden marital relations.

And since Scripture did not need to write sending out with regard to a metzora, we learn from here that there is sending out for a metzora from a third camp, from the camp of Israel.

And we challenge:

On the contrary! One who experienced a seminal emission is more severe

than a metzora,

for

one who experienced a seminal emission

renders impure through

the emission of

something

of seminal fluid, even in a small measure like a mustard seed, whereas the impurity of leprosy renders impure only when a lesion the size of a gris is visible in it.

And we answer:

He holds

Rabbi Shimon

in accordance with Rabbi Natan,

for one who experienced a seminal emission also requires a measure for his emission and does not become impure through any amount.

As it was taught in a beraita, Rabbi Natan says in the name of Rabbi Ishmael: A zav

who became impure through an emission of ziva

requires

that the ziva have a measure that is at least

the measure

of

the sealing of the opening of the organ. And the Sages did not agree with him.

And one who experienced a seminal emission was equated with a zav,

for one who experienced a seminal emission likewise becomes impure only when seminal fluid issued from him in a measure sufficient for the sealing of the opening of the organ.

And now, since a metzora is more severe than one who experienced a seminal emission, and one can derive from it the sending out of a metzora, the metzora written in the passage concerning the sending out from the camps is superfluous, and Rabbi Shimon learns from here with regard to the sending out of a metzora from a third camp.

And we examined this:

“And every leper”—

why do I need it?

That is, what does the “every” stated with regard to a leper include?

And we answer:

Since it is written

with regard to a zav

“every zav”,

to include one who experienced a seminal emission,

it is also written

with regard to a metzora the expression

“every leper,”

but it does not come to include anything.

And we examined this:

And

what will

Rabbi Judah

answer to the words of Rabbi Shimon? For

Rabbi Shimon has said well

that one can learn from the passage concerning the sending out from the camps itself the three camps and the three types of sending out, and there is no need to go farther and learn the sending out of the metzora from the passage concerning the metzora!?

That “every leper and every zav,” stated in the passage concerning the sending out from the camps, is not superfluous, and it is impossible to learn from it with regard to the third camp.

Since

it is needed for that which was taught in a beraita:

Rabbi Eliezer says: Could it be that zavim and metzoraim forced their way in and entered the Temple courtyard during Passover that comes in impurity, could it be that they would be liable

for karet for entering the camp of the Divine Presence without permission, for impurity was permitted for the community only with regard to those impure through contact with the dead, and not with regard to zavim and metzoraim?

The verse says [Numbers 5]

“And they shall send out from the camp every leper and every zav and everyone impure through a person”.

Those impure through contact with the dead were equated with the metzora and the zav, to teach you an exemption from karet for entering the camp of the Divine Presence:

When those impure through contact with the dead are sent out

from the camp of the Divine Presence,

also

the zavim and the metzoraim are sent out

from it.

But when

those impure through contact with the dead are not sent out,

when Passover comes in impurity for the community,

—

the zavim and the metzoraim are not sent out.

And the derivation from the equation is effective only with regard to exempting them from karet for entering at that time, but they are not permitted to enter then. For Scripture permitted only those impure through contact with the dead to enter in impurity in order to perform the Passover offering.

The Master said

in the beraita:

“A zav”,

“and every zav”—

to include one who experienced a seminal emission.

And this teaching of the tannai in the beraita, that one who experienced a seminal emission is sent out like a zav—

supports Rabbi Yohanan.

For Rabbi Yohanan said

two matters, which he heard together from his teacher, and he would repeat them together as he heard them from his teacher together, although they are two different matters:

a. The

subterranean passages

and the caves beneath the Temple courtyard

were not sanctified

with the sanctity of the Temple courtyard.

b.

And one who experienced a seminal emission is sent outside two camps.

We challenge

from that which we learned in tractate Zavim:

One who experienced a seminal emission—

is like one who touches a creeping creature.

What, is it not—

with regard to their camps,

that one who experienced a seminal emission is sent out only outside one camp, like one impure through a creeping creature, and not as Rabbi Yohanan says, that he is sent outside two camps?

And we answer:

No,

it is not in this regard that one who experienced a seminal emission is equated with the impurity of a creeping creature.

Rather,

with regard to their impurity,

for neither of them renders impure with seven-day impurity, like one impure through contact with the dead and a zav.

And we challenge: Is the fact that they are equal

with regard to their impurity—

this the novel point of the Mishna?

But it is an explicit verse with regard to both of them!

For with this one, one-day impurity is written, and with that one, one-day impurity is written.

Rather, is it not

necessarily that the tannai came to say that they are equal

with regard to their camps!?

And we answer:

No, in fact

the tannai came to equate them

with regard to their impurity.

And this it teaches us

the Mishna:

that the form of becoming impure of one who experienced a seminal emission

is

like touching a creeping creature.

Just as touching a creeping creature renders impure

even if the creeping creature fell

through an accident—

so too, one who experienced a seminal emission renders impure through

an emission resulting from

an accident,

such as eating and drinking.