Yoma 30a (ל.) — the Talmud in English

It is a mitzva

for one who urinates

to rub

with his hand the drops of urine that splash onto his feet, so that he will not appear to be one whose organ has been severed, [whose organ has been cut off,] whose urine does not stream far but merely drips down. And one whose organ has been severed cannot father children, and people will say about his sons that they are not his; rather, they are mamzerim.

This supports him

Rabbi Abba’s words provide support [proof

for Rabbi Ami.

As Rabbi Ami said: It is prohibited for a person to go out with drops of urine on his feet, because he appears to be one whose organ has been severed, and by doing so he brings

thereby

disrepute upon his sons, suggesting that they are mamzerim.

Rav Pappa said:

If there was

feces in its place

at the anus

it is prohibited

for a person

to recite the Shema.

And we raised a difficulty concerning this:

What are the circumstances

in which this is the case?

If it is visible,

if the feces is located in a place where it would be visible were the person naked,

it is obvious

that it is prohibited for him to recite the Shema! What, then, is Rav Pappa teaching us?

And

if

the case is one

where it is not visible

when the person is naked, there is a difficulty: How can it be prohibited in such a case to recite the Shema? One cannot take care to avoid it, and

the Torah was not given to ministering angels

but to human beings, and they are unable to take such care! And we answer:

No, it is necessary;

Rav Pappa needed to teach us only the following case:

when he is sitting, and it is visible

[when he sits, it is visible].

When he is standing—

it is not visible.

One might have said that since, when he is standing, it is not visible, this should be considered a matter that one cannot avoid, and it should therefore be permitted. Rav Pappa therefore teaches us that it is possible to take care to avoid this, and consequently it is prohibited to recite the Shema until he wipes it away.

And we raise an objection:

What is different—

how is the law of feces in its place different, such that it is prohibited even when he is standing and it is not visible—

from feces on his flesh,

on another part of the body [not in its place]?

As it was stated:

If there was

feces on his flesh, or if his

hands

alone were

in the bathroom,

for example, he stood and inserted his hands into the bathroom through that opening, what is the law?

Rav Huna said: It is permitted to recite the Shema, as it is stated: “Let every soul praise the Lord” [Berakhot 25a

].

That is, only the mouth and the nose, through which one breathes, are included in the praise, but not the other limbs [Rashi there].

And Rav Hisda said: It is prohibited to recite the Shema, as it is stated: “All my limbs shall say: Lord, who is like You?” [Berakhot 25a

].

And Rav Huna’s statement, that it is permitted to recite the Shema when there is feces on one’s flesh, presents a difficulty for Rav Pappa, who said that feces in its place makes reciting the Shema prohibited [the Rif, Berakhot 16a in the pages of the Rif, and the Ritva here].

And we answer: Feces

in its place—

its foulness is greater.

Its odor is stronger because it is warm, as it has not been exposed to the air. Therefore, it is prohibited even when it is on his flesh and not at the anus.

But

when it is not in its place—

its foulness is not as great;

its odor is not as strong, and therefore it is permitted to recite the Shema.

The Sages taught: This halakha

was stated

with regard to

the laws of

a meal:

A person

who

goes out

from the place of the meal

to urinate,

it is sufficient that he

wash one hand,

the one with which he rubbed off the drops,

and enter

the place of the meal.

But if he

spoke

outside

with his fellow, and was delayed

for an hour or two, once he was delayed he diverted his attention from the meal and was no longer careful to keep his hands clean, and hands are continually active. There is therefore concern that he may have touched unclean places.

Therefore,

he washes both his hands and enters.

And when he washes

his hands,

he should not wash them outside and then enter, because of suspicion

that people will suspect him of not having washed his hands.

Rather, he enters and sits in his place, and washes both his hands

inside.

And so that everyone would know that he had washed his hands, the attendant would take the vessel from which water was poured over the hands, called a “tafiach,”

and pass

[circulate] the

vessel around

[among]

the guests,

asking them: Is there anyone among you who needs to wash his hands?

Rav Hisda said:

What we said in the beraita, that when he washes his hands he should not wash them outside but inside,

we said this

we stated this law

only

when he has finished eating and enters only

to drink.

For this was the practice in the time of the Gemara: After they finished eating, they extended the meal with drinking.

And although he enters not to eat but only to drink, he is required to wash his hands, lest he put a piece of bread into his mouth. He must wash inside so that people will not suspect him of not having washed at all.

But

if he enters

to eat, he may wash

[he is permitted to wash]

outside and enter,

since in this case they will not suspect him of not having washed. Because

it is known that his disposition is fastidious,

everyone knows that a person is fastidious and disgusted by eating with unclean hands.

Rav Nahman bar Yitzchak said: And I,

I,

even

when I enter

to drink, as well,

also in this case I am permitted to wash my hand outside. Because

it is known

that everyone knows

that my disposition is fastidious:

I am fastidious and disgusted by drinking with unclean hands. They will not suspect me of failing to wash my hand.

Mishna:

In the previous Mishna it was explained that anyone who relieves himself must immerse. Our Mishna explains that before the priest enters the Temple courtyard for the service, he must immerse, even if he did not relieve himself.

A.

No person may enter the Temple courtyard

for the service, even

if he is

ritually pure—

until he immerses.

Rashi’s view is that even one who enters not for the service is required to immerse, whereas Rabbi Yitzchak, בעל התוספות, held that one is required to immerse specifically when entering for the service.

B.

Five immersions and ten sanctifications

[washing of the hands and feet from the basin]

the High Priest performs, and sanctifies himself on that day

[on Yom Kippur].

Whenever he changed his service, from the regular service to the service unique to Yom Kippur, and likewise in reverse, he changed his garments. With each change of garments, he would sanctify himself before removing his garments, remove them, and immerse. He would then put on other garments and sanctify himself a second time.

He changed his garments five times. Thus, there were five immersions and ten sanctifications. [The Gemara below will explain the order of these procedures.]

And all of them,

all the immersions, were

in the sacred area,

in the Temple courtyard,

on

the roof of the chamber of

the House of Parva,

were performed. For it is stated concerning the Yom Kippur service [Leviticus 16:24]: “And he shall bathe his flesh in water in a sacred place,” that is, in the Temple courtyard.

Except for this one,

the immersion mentioned in the previous Mishna, in which he immersed before entering the Temple courtyard. It

alone

was performed outside the Temple courtyard, because this immersion is not unique to Yom Kippur; rather, it is the immersion that every person performs before entering the Temple courtyard [as will be explained further below].

C. Now the Mishna returns to the order of the Yom Kippur service. We learned at the beginning of the chapter that when the time arrived for slaughtering the daily offering, they brought the High Priest down to the immersion chamber.

At the place where the High Priest immersed,

they spread a linen sheet

of white linen

between him and the people,

in order to conceal him while he immersed [and the Gemara explains why they made the sheet of linen].

Gemara:

They asked Ben Zoma: This immersion,

which everyone who enters the Temple courtyard performs,

why

must a ritually pure person perform it?

He said to them:

The Sages derived this matter by means of a kal va-chomer:

And

the High Priest on Yom Kippur,

who changes

the place of his service,

from one sanctified place

one

to another sanctified place,

another, for example, from service inside the Temple to service outside, in the Temple courtyard, or conversely, from outside to inside, even though both places are sacred,

And

likewise, the fact that he changes means that he changes

from a place where

if one entered it while impure he would be

liable to receive karet, to a place where one is liable to receive karet.

For one who enters the Temple courtyard while impure is likewise liable to receive karet.

And nevertheless he is

required to immerse

when he changes his service from one place to another.

If so, for every person who enters the Temple courtyard,

who changes

from

a place

of non-sacred status

[from his home]

to

a place

of sanctity,

and from a place where one is not liable to receive karet

[from his home]

to a place where one is liable to receive karet

[the Temple courtyard],

is it not logical that he should be required to immerse?!

Rabbi Judah says:

By Torah law, not everyone who enters the Temple courtyard is obligated to immerse. Rather,

this is an ancillary immersion.

That is, this is a customary immersion [R. Hananel], with which the Sages imposed a stringency upon him

so that

he will reflect on the matter and ask himself: “After all, immersion is only for those who are impure!” He will then understand that they were concerned that he might be impure, and when he reflects on the matter

he will remember an “old” impurity that he bears,

that he is impure with an old impurity that he had forgotten.

And he immerses,

and withdraws

from entering the Temple courtyard for the entire day, until sunset after the immersion [as every impure person who immerses must await sunset before entering the Temple courtyard], and he will not perform the Temple service on that day.

And we raised the following question:

Over what do they disagree?

What practical difference is there in the dispute between Ben Zoma and Rabbi Judah?