English translation — שמיני ב

Talk on page 58

A.

In our parshah,

on the verse¹

And you shall not touch their carcasses,

Rashi: One might think that Israelites are warned about touching a carcass; the verse says²

Speak to the priests etc. Priests are warned, and Israelites are not warned. A fortiori now: If the severe impurity of a dead body was warned only to priests, the light impurity of a carcass is not all the more so? And what does the verse "you shall not touch" come to teach? On the festival.

(And afterwards it concludes according to the version before us³

"This is what they said: A person is obligated to purify himself on the festival"⁴,

as below).

And behold, the source of this Rashi is in Toras Kohanim on the passage and in Gemara Rosh Hashanah<sup>5</sup>.

However, it is known that it is not Rashi's way to copy the teachings of our Sages etc.,

And in a place where he brings them, it is because they are necessary for the plain meaning of the verse,

And particularly in our case, Rashi does not preface "And our Sages said" and the like<sup>6</sup>,

From this it is proven that his commentary is founded entirely on the plain meaning of the verse.

And behold, the necessity for his commentary here,

In the plain meaning of the text,

Is understood from Rashi's own words: as mentioned several times<sup>7</sup>

That for the most part, it is not Rashi's way to bring the difficulty in the verse,

Rather — he explains and clarifies the commentary on the verse as it is according to the plain meaning of the text,

And the difficulty is nullified in a manner of automatically.

But in our case, Rashi also copies the assumption "One might think that Israelites are warned about touching a carcass etc.",

And this is according to that the content of the verses in this portion speaks about admonitions to all of Israel,

And likewise this very verse is stated in it "from their flesh you shall not eat" unconditionally — all of Israel; and therefore from the plain sense of the verses we would interpret that all of Israel are admonished about touching a carcass,

Except that there is a necessity from another verse "Speak to the priests" that Israel are not admonished about impurity,

[And based on this it is also understood why Rashi did not explain like the words of the Ramban⁸,

That "it is not an admonition to forbid us touching, but it says 'and in their carcasses you shall not touch' because they are impure to you, meaning you shall not touch them unless you become impure, and the matter is to say that one should consider everyone who touches them as impure and be careful about the Temple and about the holy things" — because from the plain sense of the verse "and in their carcasses you shall not touch" it implies,

that this is an admonition⁹

like "from their flesh you shall not eat"].

And therefore Rashi needs to explain and be precise that <pg>59</pg>

This verse, although its subject is a warning to all of Israel,

is not a commandment for all time,

but only for a specific time — on the pilgrimage festival.

But one must understand: what is the source

(and the reason)

in the simple meaning of Scripture that the warning "do not touch their carcasses" is specifically during the festival?

It is true that in the Gemara and Toras Kohanim

(the source of his explanation)

the reason is not stated for this,

but after all, Rashi's purpose is to explain the verse

(and not to copy the Sages' expressions as they are

(as above))¹⁰,

and moreover, we find many times that even when Rashi writes in his commentary "our Sages said" or "it is in Toras Kohanim" and the like,

he is not satisfied with bringing the language of the Sages

(or its content)

— rather, he brings it with additional explanation and the like,

so that it will be understood in the simple meaning of Scripture.

2.

Commentators on Rashi¹¹

wrote the reason that "Do not touch — with the foot" — "because¹²

all Israel are then obligated to bring the burnt-offering of appearance and need to enter the Temple courtyard, unlike the rest of the days of the year."

However, based on this it is not understood why Rashi wrote simply "on the festival" i.e. in every place and every person,

and does not explain nor even hint that it is because of the obligation of bringing a sacrifice

(i.e. only regarding one who is obligated and able [to bring] a sacrifice).

At first glance it is possible to say that since it was already stated above¹³

"And they shall not appear before Me empty-handed,"

and Rashi there explains that this is the command to bring the burnt-offering of appearance,

so it can be said that the warning to purify oneself on the festival is because of the obligation to bring the burnt-offering of appearance that is already known upon him,

since then they must enter the courtyard.

But still explanation is needed: if the command of "do not touch" is because of the bringing of the sacrifice,

then logic dictates that this warning does not apply for the entire time of the festival,

for after entering the courtyard and bringing the burnt-offering of appearance, there is no longer upon him an obligation to be careful about impurity from touching a carcass — and the plain meaning of the language "on the festival" implies during all the days of the festival¹⁴.

Also: If the warning about impurity is only because of the obligation of bringing a sacrifice on the Festival — what is different about this sacrifice of the Festival from all other sacrifices?

Behold, this obligation to be careful about impurity applies to all the sacrifices that the Children of Israel bring

(and eat from them)

— which were already discussed in the previous portions

(Vayikra and Tzav: the sacrifice of peace-offerings,

sin-offering etc.)

— and if so, why does Rashi explain and limit in the simple meaning of Scripture,

that the warning of "And you shall not touch their carcasses" is only on the "Festival"?

And also if you say that this special warning comes only regarding a sacrifice that has a fixed time — on the Festival — unlike other sacrifices that have no fixed time,

therefore there is no command to be careful about impurity regarding them

(for when must one be careful?),

but rather it is included in the laws and obligations of bringing the sacrifice

(that one may not offer it

(and eat it)

except when it is pure)

— behold, there are many sacrifices that have a fixed time for their offering,

like the sacrifice of a leper on the eighth day of his purification¹⁵,

the sacrifices of a woman after childbirth¹⁶,

those that come after her days of purity¹⁷.

And even if we distinguish that also cr­<pg>60</pg>

These daughters do not have a fixed time in the days of the year like the festival offering, and therefore it is not so appropriate to warn about them — however, in any case this applies to the Paschal offering which comes on the 14th of Nissan between the evenings,

but before the festival

(about which they already learned),

that he must be careful about impurity before this in order to be able to offer his sacrifice.

And therefore it must be said that also regarding the Paschal offering

(and all the more so the other offerings)

it is not reasonable to require a special warning not to become impure due to the obligation of entering the Temple and offering sacrifices,

since a person is warned about this from the side of these obligations,

But for this reason we do not need a verse also regarding a regel — that "and to their carcasses you shall not touch" — because regarding a regel he is already commanded to enter the Temple courtyard and bring offerings, for all of which he must be pure¹⁸.

3.

And further and primarily: according to the explanation that this that "and to their carcasses you shall not touch — on a regel" is because all Israel are then obligated to bring the burnt-offering of appearance,

it follows that this prohibition applies only at the time when the Temple exists and to those who are in the Land of Israel

(and in Jerusalem)¹⁹.

And it is said that this is the intention of Rashi — he should not have left ambiguous "with the foot"

(and rely on the verse before this "and they shall not appear empty-handed" — as above),

but rather to add one word "when they go up for the foot" and the like,

so that it would be clear that the prohibition is only

(in the Land of Israel²⁰

and)

at the time when the Temple exists²¹.

And especially since the beginning of this verse "from their flesh you shall not eat" is a commandment that applies in every place and at every time,

surely it would have been proper for Rashi to explain in clear language

(so that the distinction between the first part and the latter part of the verse would be understood)

— that although "from their flesh you shall not eat" is a warning at all times and in all places,

nevertheless the latter part of the verse "and to their carcasses you shall not touch" is a warning only at the time of the Temple.

<pg>61</pg>

And since it is set "with the foot" it is understood that this commandment is regarding the time of the foot

(and not all days of the year),

but it applies in all places and festivals even when there is no Temple.

— And it can be said that Rashi in his commentary on the Torah follows his method in his commentary on the Talmud: In the Gemara²²

it is stated "His betrothed wife, he is not an onen nor does he become impure for her, and likewise she is not an onenet nor does she become impure for him."

And Rashi explained "And she does not become impure,

she is not required to occupy herself with him etc. So I heard and it seems to me: And she does not become impure, such as on a Festival when Israelites are warned about impurity, 'with their carcasses you shall not touch'²³,

from which it is understood that the caution from impurity on a Festival is not because of entry into the Temple and the pilgrimage and the bringing of the burnt-offering of appearance — for women are not obligated in all this,

for it is a positive time-bound commandment; and furthermore: that the betrothed woman "does not become impure for him" is simply equal to "and he does not become impure" which applies to the betrothed Kohen,

and behold the warning of impurity of a corpse that applies to the Kohen is not only in the Land but also outside the Land and even when there is no Temple.

And thus it is understood that also this that the betrothed woman "does not become impure for him"

(from the aspect of the obligation to purify oneself on the Festival)

is also outside the Land and even when there is no Temple²⁴.

4.

Based on this, we can explain the conclusion in Rashi's commentary

(in most editions before us)

— "This is what they said: A person is obligated to purify himself for the Festival."

For its source is in Rosh Hashanah there&lt;sup&gt;5&lt;/sup&gt;

: "Said Rabbi Yitzchak: A person is obligated to purify himself for the Festival, as it is said, 'And you shall not touch their carcasses,'"

On which the Talmud brings the baraita that is brought in Rashi, that "And you shall not touch their carcasses" refers "to the Festival."

For at first glance it is perplexing: For it is not Rashi's purpose in his commentary on the Torah to explain and elucidate the statements of our Sages in the Talmud.

And furthermore: In the Gemara there it implies that they are two matters: a)

warning against touching a carcass on the festival,

b)

obligation to purify oneself on the festival,

for the statement of R. Yose that "a person is obligated to purify himself on the festival" is a precise inference and novelty in the halakha from the verse

(not only prohibition of touching,

but also obligation to purify),

which is not implied from the baraita; and the proof that the Gemara brings from the baraita is

(apparently)

only that the verse "and you shall not touch their carcasses" speaks of the festival²⁵,

and not about the very novelty of R. Yose that "a person is obligated etc."²⁶

—

But from the language of Rashi "this is what they said: a person is obligated to purify himself on the festival" it implies,

that it is the same matter and teaching²⁷.

And according to the above, it can be said:&lt;pg&gt;62&lt;/pg&gt;

a)

With this, Rashi comes to prove that this matter applies in all times and not only in the time of the Temple,

since "this is what they said" is — unspecified.

And furthermore, this statement of our Sages

(by R. Yitzchak)&lt;sup&gt;28&lt;/sup&gt;

was said after the destruction&lt;sup&gt;29&lt;/sup&gt;.

b)

with this it emphasizes that the caution from impurity and the obligation to purify — their matter is one:

it could be said that the warning "and of their carcasses you shall not touch" is because of the entry into the Temple and the offering of sacrifices,

there would be room to say that they are two different matters³⁰,

as above,

that because of the obligation to ascend for the pilgrimage and to offer sacrifices he is warned not to defile himself,

but this does not compel him to purify himself if he already became defiled,

that since he is defiled, one could say that the obligation of ascending for the pilgrimage and bringing sacrifices is voided from him

(But Rashi adds to innovate that "and in their carcass you shall not touch" on the festival we derive a second law,

that a person is obligated

(not only to be careful from impurity but also)

to purify himself on the festival)

;

But according to Rashi that the obligation is not because of entry into the Temple and bringing sacrifices but that because of the festival he is warned not to defile himself³¹

(and also in this time³²

as above)

— then it is understood,

that the warning in "do not touch" is not only a negative matter,

but that the festival obligates him to be in a state of purity and therefore even if he became impure — he must purify himself.

And therefore Rashi emphasizes "this is what they said: a person is obligated to purify himself for the Festival" — because the content of this warning "and you shall not touch their carcasses — at the Festival,"

is

(also)

the obligation to purify himself for the Festival.

5.

However, it still requires explanation: what is the source and necessity to explain in the plain meaning of Scripture that at the Festival Israel is warned about impurity because of the Festival and not because of the obligations of sacrifices in it³³?

<pg>63</pg>

And behold, the Rambam³⁴

wrote: "All Israel are commanded to be pure on every Festival, because they are prepared to enter the Temple and eat holy things, and this is what is said in the Torah: 'And you shall not touch their carcasses' on the Festival alone."

And the later authorities wrote³⁵,

that from the precise wording of the Rambam "because they are pre­pared to enter etc.",

and not "that they are obligated to enter",

"that they should be ready to enter" and the like,

it implies that this that Israel are commanded to be pure on every Festival is not because they can enter the Temple

(and bring offerings³⁶),

but rather this is a revelation of a matter regarding the time of the obligation: since this is a time when they are obligated to enter the Temple,

then at that time one must be pure,

which we do not require at another time³⁷,

and therefore Chazal said that this warning "And you shall not touch their carcasses" is at the time of the Festival³⁸.

But it is difficult to explain thus in Rashi,

who simply wrote "on the Festival" and did not explain this reason,

relying that the matter is understood by itself! Moreover,

this reason is only the rationale for what Chazal said that this warning is "on the Festival"; but the main question remains in its place — what is the source in the plain meaning of Scripture that there is an obligation of purity on the Festival?

And to add to this: It is understandable later in Parshas Re'eh³⁹,

when it is said

(Torah Or)

"And you shall not touch their carcasses" and Rashi repeats the content of his commentary here,

behold there Rashi prefaces "Our Sages explained on the pilgrimage that a person is obligated to purify himself for the pilgrimage etc.'",

and this is that the source for this commentary is from "Our Sages"

(and not — the plain meaning of Scripture)

; but not so here in our parshah,

that he does not write this preface but writes simply "One might think etc. on the pilgrimage" — it must be said,

that there is a source in the plain meaning of the verse to say that there is an obligation of purification on the pilgrimage.

6.

And it can be said that Rashi relies on what he already explained above:

In Parshat Bo⁴⁰,

the first time that it is mentioned in the Torah regarding the matter of Yom Tov,

which is "Mikra Kodesh" — Rashi explains "Mikra is a noun; He called it holy for eating and drinking and clothing."

Thus, the holiness of Yom Tov is connected with man's eating and drinking and his clothing.

And since this is so, it is understood,

that man must be in a state of purity,

for how can it be that his eating and drinking etc. in impurity⁴¹

will sanctify⁴²

the day.

And based on this we learn — according to the simple meaning of the verse — several novellae in halacha regarding the obligation to purify oneself on the Festival:

According to the reason that the obligation to purify oneself on the Festival is because of the sacrifices that one is obligated to &lt;pg&gt;64&lt;/pg&gt;

he brought,

the later authorities wrote⁴³

that because of the obligation of the burnt-offering of appearance and the festival peace-offering he is not warned to become impure except with a prolonged impurity of the impurity of a corpse which is a seven-day impurity, but with an evening impurity like a creeping thing or a carcass he has no concern with it, and even if he has not yet brought the burnt-offering of appearance and the festival peace-offering, if he is still before the seventh day of the festival it is permitted to become impure, since there is still time to purify himself and bring them before the festival ends, for they have completion all seven days,

but because of the peace-offering of rejoicing which he is obligated to eat them on all the days of the festival, and there is no day of the festival days that he is not obligated in them, it is impossible to make himself impure on all the days of the festival⁴⁴.

And according to this it is found:

(a)

that the obligation to purify himself is on all seven days of the festival,

also on Chol HaMoed.

(b)

On Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, where there is no obligation of ascent for the festival and the offering of sacrifices, the warning of "and in their carcasses you shall not touch" does not apply.

(c)

After he finishes bringing all the sacrifices of the festival

(on the seventh day)

there is no longer upon him an obligation to be pure until the end of the festival

(— the seventh day)

exactly.

But according to Rashi

(that the obligation to purify oneself on the festival belongs to the obligation of "Mikra Kodesh" — to sanctify it in eating and drinking and clothing — which is connected with the essence of the holiness of the holiday)

it is understood,

that:

a)

since Chol HaMoed is not called Mikra Kodesh⁴⁵,

there is no obligation in the simple sense of the verse to purify oneself on Chol HaMoed.

b)

Since also Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are called a holy convocation⁴⁶

— also in them⁴⁷

there is the obligation to purify oneself on the festival⁴⁸.

c)

Since this is connected with the essence of the holiness of the festival — it is understood that it must be for the entire duration of the festival.

And also at a time when he is not eating and drinking — nevertheless, from the aspect of the obligation of

(sanctify it with)

clothing, he is still obligated to be pure all day⁴⁹.

7.

Meaning of the verse in Rashi:

At first glance it seems that the matter of purity according to the approach that the obligation to purify oneself on the pilgrimage is<pg>65</pg>

From the perspective of the obligation of the pilgrimage etc., it is in a more elevated level than the matter of purity according to Rashi's view.

Because according to Rashi's view mentioned above, purity is not connected with the Temple and its holy things, but with matters and needs of man: eating, drinking, and clothing.

But in the inner aspect of the matter, it can be said that on the contrary:

If the obligation to purify oneself on the Festival is because of the Temple and its holy things, then in this purification there is no drawing down of a new matter,

but only the preparation of the person to receive this holiness of the Temple and its holy things that exists on the Festival;

But if the purification is because of eating and drinking and clothing, then there is here a new matter,

for although these things

(eating, drinking, etc.)

are not holy in themselves,

nevertheless the person effects and draws down

(purification and)

holiness also into them,

meaning that even mundane matters become

(permeated)

with the purification and holiness of the Festival⁵⁰.

And behold, this is the inner content of the festival that is called "Mikra Kodesh",

not like Shabbat that is called "Kodesh" — for on Shabbat the holiness is holiness from its own essence,

but regarding Yom Tov they call and invite the supernal holiness to be drawn down below⁵¹,

for this is what Shabbat is sanctified and stands⁵²,

that it is a holy day and separated from the six days of creation,

but regarding Yom Tov, it is Israel who sanctified the times⁵³,

that the Children of Israel make from a weekday a holy day

(Yom Tov).

And it can be said that this is also the reason in the inner aspect of the matters of the obligation of purity due to the Temple and its holy things is only in the time of the Temple,

but the obligation of purity due to "Mikra Kodesh" of Yom Tov regarding food and drink and clothing is an obligation at all times even in the time of exile —

Because this is one of the superior aspects in the service during the time of exile,

that they draw down and reveal G‑dly holiness also outside the boundary of holiness,

in the diaspora,

and even lower,

in the concealment and darkness of the exile⁵⁴.

And through the addition of purity of each and every one of Israel,

also in matters of the profane and permissible of the person,

behold "purity⁵⁵

of the body brings to holiness of the soul from the evil opinions, and holiness of the soul causes to resemble the Shechinah, as it is said⁵⁶

And you shall sanctify yourselves and you shall be holy, for I am holy, I am the L‑rd who sanctifies you."

(From the talk of Shabbos Parshas Shemini, 5735)