Introduction

Tum’as Kohanim

Literally translated, tum’as kohanim refers to defilement of members of the priestly family. Everyone can become tamei, defiled, in many ways. The reference here is to defilement by some kind of contact with a corpse. While any Jew who is defiled must go through a cleansing process before touching sanctified items, this does not apply practically nowadays. However, kohanim are specifically instructed not to allow themselves to become defiled in the first place.

Tosefess tum’ah

In practical terms, almost everyone is already defiled, including kohanim. However, most authorities maintain that a kohain is still forbidden to continue defiling himself. He is required to avoid situations wherein he becomes tamei. This applies to all male members of the priestly tribe, including a directive to adults (including mothers) to ensure that male children are also shielded from tum’ah.

Types of defilement

The main sources of such tum’ah are physical contact with a corpse or part of a corpse, known as maga, touching, and being under the same canopy as a corpse or part of it, known as ohel.

While one can easily avoid maga, it is often difficult to avoid ohel. The Talmud (Baba basra 58a) describes how Rabi Bana’ah would seek out all possible gravesites in order to mark them, to warn kohanim about the presence of the tum’ah. For this very reason, a number of contemporary communities have begun to document the situations that could become problematic and to disseminate the cautionary list to kohanim in their communities.

The sources of tum’ah mais be’ohel

There are various sources of tum’as mais, the defilement of a corpse, that apply in an ohel, or canopy. [A complete list is found in the Mishna Oholos Perek 2 and the commentaries there, and in Shulchan Aruch Yoreh Deah 369 and commentaries.] Here we shall use some common examples.

These include:

·       A complete body. [A kohain may, and is indeed obliged to, defile himself to bury a deceased relative. However, this only applies when the relative’s body is complete and intact. Otherwise, he must observe the usual restrictions that he observes with non-relatives.]

·       Any amount of flesh more than one kezayis, the volume of an olive. For our purposes, we shall assume that this equals one fluid ounce – the size of a small plastic shot cup. Examples of this would include samples taken for examination by a pathologist or for research, archaeological remains, such as pieces of skin or mummified organs, shrunken heads displayed in museums (called karkaplin [TB Chulin 123a], where the entire skin from a victim’s head was removed from the skull and shrunken) or the remains of an attack by violence or wild animals.

·       A complete skull, or a complete spine – some authorities require both of them. Examples include artifacts that are made with skulls, such as certain ritual masks.

·       A complete limb, even if it is less than a kezayis, including all bone, flesh, nerves and veins. This last category also includes a live limb, with certain provisions. For example, if there was a serious accident in a factory, it might have severed a limb, or a kitchen worker might have cut off a finger.

·       A revi’is, 3 fluid ounces, of blood from a corpse. This could be in a standard vial or tube. At the scene of a death, after the body is removed, blood might remain. A sub-category is dam-tevusa, where there is blood that bled out during the death. It is partially from a living person, and part of it came after death. Rabbinically, this is treated like blood of a corpse.

·       If a revi’is of blood is absorbed in a garment, it depends whether it could be extracted. If it could be laundered, and the amount of liquid extracted is more than the amount added for laundering, that surplus is measured. If it is a revi’is, the garment is a source of tumas ohel. If not, while the garment remains tamei due to its originally soaking in the blood, it does not cause tum’as ohel. It still has the characteristics of the other types of tum’ah listed below. Thus, if a display of uniforms from dead soldiers had a substantial amount of blood on the items, this might be a problem. Usually, items with this amount of blood soaked into them have dried to the point that a revi’is could not be extracted from them.

·       A rova hakav, just less than 3 cups (about 20 to 22 fluid ounces volume) of bones, where there is no complete skull, spine or any flesh. This can be found in museums where artifacts from various cultures are made of human bone from the dead. Examples include necklaces used in some Far East religions, and flute-like instruments made from femur bones, both of which might be housed in the same showcase in a museum. [There is some debate whether this must be made up of more than a single bone to be considered a source of tum’as ohel.] They could also be found stored by a research institute.

·       If a rova hakav of bones is present, but it does not come from the same corpse, the prevailing view maintains that it does not cause tum’as ohel. It still causes other types of tum’ah [see below]. Thus, a necklace made of bone pieces from multiple corpses does not necessarily cause the entire canopy to become tamei. The same is true of most of the aforementioned sources of tum’ah, such as a revi’is of blood from two bodies, a whole spine or skull made of two halves from different corpses, or a whole limb. We follow the view that these do not combine to make up the minimum amount for tum’as ohel. They still can cause other types of tum’ah.

·       A kezayis of netzel, pure rotted flesh that has become liquefied.

·       A tarvad, literally large spoonful, the amount that fills two hands, of rakav, dried bone dust.

·       A little more than a tarvad of dust from a grave, that also has no impurities, but is not necessarily all bone dust. It has some flesh etc. as well.

·       Golel and dofek, coffins, lids, stones and sarcophagi used in a grave. Some authorities maintain that these items are still able to cause tumas ohel even after they are removed from the grave and the body. This would mean that a museum housing such items must be avoided.

·       Tefusah shel mais, some grave dirt, under certain conditions, is a source of some forms of tum’ah.

The likely locations

Kohanim should therefore, avoid locations that are likely to house such items, and certainly when it is known with certainty that they are present. These include:

·       A cemetery, including nearby areas.

o   The kohain may not step with four cubits of a sealed grave, if it protrudes from the ground.

o   There might be a tree branch that qualifies as a canopy (one tefach in width, which is between 3 and 4 inches, depending on the varying opinions) that covers a grave and the sidewalk.

·       An individual grave or tomb.

·       A hospital where a dead body has not been removed.

·       A hospice, with the same issues.

·       A nursing home or an old-aged home, with the same issues.

·       A morgue, or a funeral home where there is a body or a morgue on the premises.

·       A hearse.

·       A hospital or a center where abortions are committed. A fetus, even very small, is a complete body. Even if it is broken up, it can contain whole limbs, a skull, a spine, or a kezayis of flesh.

·       A pathology laboratory.

·       A crime laboratory.

·       A museum.

·       A building in a college campus where gross anatomy is studied, or where samples of body parts or of tissue are brought. On a cautionary note, colleges often rent space off-campus, where they might house these programs.

·       Antique markets.

We shall focus our investigations on: cemeteries, hospitals, museums and campuses. Unfortunately, apart from cemeteries, most of these locations are completely autonomous. They can change the locations of the items sensitive to our issue at will. Therefore, our list cannot be used as a definitive list. Rather, it will serve to alert kohanim to the issues. Thus, for example, if a kohain is a student studying something unrelated, such as physics, he can check with the university whether the buildings he uses are also used for a forensics course where autopsies are performed, or an OT course where gross anatomy is studied. A large building might have a cafeteria or library for general use, as well as a laboratory or storage space for items on our list. Or, if a kohain realizes that the large office building where he works also houses an abortion clinic, he can consult with his rav on how to enter and leave the building in an acceptable way.

Kivrei Yisroel, kivrei nochrim, sfeikos

Any corpse or part thereof can cause tumas maga. The Rabbis debate whether this is true with regard to ohel. In one view, only a Jewish corpse conveys tumas ohel. A nochri, non-Jew, does not convey tumas ohel. The other view maintains that there is no difference. The poskim, authorities who rule on the conclusions of such debates, are divided.

In practice, we follow the ruling that the right thing to do is that a kohain should avoid an ohel of a dead nochri. However, it is treated as a sfeika dedina, an undecided ruling. Therefore, when there are other mitigating circumstances, the lenient view is invoked. A typical example would be a case of uncertainty, where the corpse might or might not be present. Coupled with the first safek, doubt, this creates a s’fek s’faika, double doubt. In such instances the kohain may follow a leniency.

Another example where such doubts are invoked would be a case where the actual restriction is a Rabbinic extension of the original Scriptural prohibition. For example, certain types of canopy are not included Scripturally. If a corpse is inside a building behind a closed door, the entire building is defiled. If the body will be moved out through certain rooms or passages, the other rooms are not defiled if their doors are closed. This is known as the rule of sof tum’ah latzais, tum’ah is destined to be taken out, rather than brought further inside. The rooms and corridors where it will indeed pass through are Rabbinically included in the greater canopy, even if their doors are closed. In the case of a doubt about a Rabbinical rule, one may rely on the possibility that it is not an issue. Thus, if one does not know with certainty about the presence of a corpse of a Jew in such situations, and he sees all doors closed, he need not be concerned.

What counts as an ohel?

The simple case of ohel is a canopy. The dimensions are a minimum of 1 tefach by 1 tefach by 1 tefach, about 3 inches cubed. Thus, a long piece of wood or stone that covers a tum’ah source at one end and a kohain at the other end, is an ohel. Of course, a house with a full roof is an ohel. If there is a large gap between the two sides of the roof, the other side can be considered outside the ohel. If there remains a piece at the edge of the gap that is a tefach wide, it connects the two sides.

We mentioned that even if the doors are closed, the passage that the body would be leaving the ohel is Rabbinically considered an extension. Thus, if the front door has an overhang a tefach wide, such as a gutter, this extends the ohel around the perimeter of the building, along the same gutter. Even if the front door has no gutter over it, but one of the open windows has a gutter, the tum’ah goes out through the window, into the ohel that is the thickness of the wall, and under the gutter. It can then reenter through a different window under the same gutter, for example, in a row of houses with a continuous gutter. If the window is closed, the same rules for doors apply. Thus, one would avoid opening any windows that open under the continuous overhang. Each time the door to the part of the building housing the corpse is opened, the tum’ah spreads through the open windows. This is Scriptural. When that door is closed, it spreads through the closed door Rabbinically, but only to open windows or openings. Since the body will be removed through the door and not through a window, tum’ah does not pass through the closed windows. [Note: there is actually a major debate whether sof tum’ah latzais is Rabbinical or Scriptural. See Ohalos 7:3, Bartenura, Tosafos Yomtov. Chasam Sofer YD 340, Sdei Chemed Klalim, Tes, 44. ShuT Maharsham II:233.]

Stone walls often have protrusions that could be this wide. These are known as pera’os. If they are strong enough to support the weight of an upper floor, they are considered Scripturally an ohel. If they are not so strong, they would still be considered an ohel Rabbinically. Similarly, branches of a tree that are too weak to hold a floor are called sechachos. They are enough to serve as an ohel Rabbinically.

The big difference between the cases of Scriptural ohel, and the Rabbinical cases is whether they can be chotzaiatz. An ohel not only spreads the tum’ah throughout the canopy, it also blocks the tum’ah from the area above and below it. Thus, if one walks over a chamber with a body inside, and that chamber had the minimum dimensions, he is not defiled. A kohain may walk there. If the space above the body is less than a tefach, as is usual when a body is buried straight into the ground, the tum’ah spreads directly up and down. An ohel over a source of tum’ah contains it. This is called chotzaitz bifnei hatum’ah. A Rabbinical form of ohel will spread the tum’ah within it but will not block the tum’ah from passing through above it.

The other main difference applies when the source of the tum’ah is in doubt.

According to some authorities, the leniency of a Rabbinical rule also applies to a mais nochri. This helps when passing a cemetery with no known Jews buried there. Other leniencies might be applied when the ohel is Rabbinical.

There is a view that the Rabbinical type of sof tum’ah latzais that spreads it through the closed doors to the exit passage, does not apply to mais nochri [See ShuT Maharsham II:233]. Thus, even according to the view that a kohain may not remain in an ohel with a non-Jewish corpse, he may remain in the rooms on that exit passage, if the door of the room and hallways housing the corpse are closed. This helps in a museum, where a display case might be closed with the ability to open it and remove the display. Scripturally, the cabinet holds the tum’ah in place. Rabbinically, it allows it to spread. If it is a non-Jewish corpse, one may view it from the outside. Remember, a chatitza bifnei hatum’ah that contains it must be closed without openings the size of a tefach square. There are many more details which will be discussed in a section further on.

Tum’as maga

Another way tum’ah is transmitted is by touching it. Thus, even in the open air with no canopy, one can become defiled. This includes physically touching the source of tum’ah, in this case a corpse or parts thereof, with one’s skin. If one wears clothing, the clothing can become tamei, which in certain instances, could convey the tum’ah further. Clothing, with regard to this type of tum’ah, cannot convey tum’ah to a person. However, if they have metallic parts, the metal can convey it. One would then worry about a zipper or metal buttons. Nowadays, it is easier to think about metallic items worn on the body. One just has to imagine going through a metal detector. For example, shoes (as opposed to sneakers) often have a metal brace going through the sole. Neither the corpse nor the person will be touching the metal. However, keys are not concealed, and might be touched.

If one touches a metal instrument to the corpse, he will transfer the tum’ah to himself.

Another form of maga is called ma’ahil, literally, making a canopy. If a person stands over a corpse in a way that his body becomes a canopy on it, it is as though he is touching it. The body or body part covering the corpse or part thereof must be a tefach square. Thus, even in the open air, a kohain may not stretch his hand over a kezayis of a mais. There are debates about a dismembered mais, with less than kezayis pieces. If the same kohain creates a human canopy over a few pieces adding up to a kezayis, the issue is whether they can be added together to form a full kezayis.

Ma’ahil alav, where the corpse or part thereof is directly on top of a kohain or part of him is also considered maga.

Tum’as masa (heset)

A third type of tum’ah conveyed by a corpse or its parts is masa, literally, carrying. If one moves the source of tum’ah, he becomes tamei. Thus, even if one is not under the same canopy or it is blocked, and he is not in direct skin contact with it, but he is able to move it, he is defiled. If one takes a long wooden pole and pushes the kezayis of mais, he is tamei. Operating a lever or a see-saw literally lifts the tum’ah. A modern application has been shown where a museum display allows some hands-on activities. A human brain is on display, inside a case. The activities include turning it around on its stand by way of a mechanical or electrical device outside. Moving the lever or pressing the button is like masa.

Additional sources of maga and masa

Almost all of the body parts or items that would cause tum’as ohel, also cause maga and masa. There are debates about some of the items, such as the golel and dofek. In addition, some items cause maga and masa even though they do not cause tum’as ohel. For example, a whole bone the size of a barley grain causes maga and masa. A bone fragment of this volume is also metamei bemaga umasa. Two smaller fragments do not combine to the volume of a barley kernel, according to the prevailing view, for maga, but they do combine for tum’as masa. The same would be true of fragments from different bones. Thus, even if they are not touching, but one moves the two pieces at the same time, he has done masa, and he becomes tamei. Similarly, while the entire spine or skull is necessary to cause tum’as ohel, a partial one causes maga and masa.

Bais haperas

Moving a source of tum’ah does not necessarily entail picking it up or pushing it with intent. If one walks through an area where there are small pieces of bone, he might inadvertently cause them to move a little. Therefore, a bais haperas, field that had a grave in it that was ploughed up, is a source of tumas maga, also known as heset. A kohain may not walk through this field, as a Rabbinical precautionary restriction. If bones were turned over in a building site, kohanim would not be allowed there, until the site is paved in a way that there is no chance that they will move or kick pieces of bone.

Since this is a Rabbinical decree, it only applies in known cases, where there is no real doubt. Thus, a kohain may walk through a historic battle-ground, or a building site, where there is no known unearthed grave. After a flood, it is possible that the area downhill from a cemetery has bones washed out of graves. Until this is established, this is a safek at most. Kohanim need not avoid the area, although it might be prudent to take precautions. Visiting the site of atrocities, where there might be bone fragments or ashes that contain these on the ground, has its own issues, and one should consult with his rabbi and other experts in that field.

Grave items as sources of maga and masa

Golel and dofek can cause tum’as maga. However, they only cause masa, according to the prevailing view, when there is also some of the earth from the grave with them, or underneath them. Thus, one is also moving some of the grave dirt, known as tfusah shel mais. This is also a source of tum’ah.

Maga and masa of a mais nochri

The dispensations from tum’as ohel that apply to mais nochri do not apply to maga and masa. Thus, in the example of the mechanical activity to move the brain sample, one would not be allowed to do it even if the sample was known to be from a non-Jew.

Similarly, if a battle-ground is known to have bone fragments strewn in it, it does not matter whether the dead soldiers were Jewish or not. The bais haperas is forbidden to a kohain. The area of a bais haperas does not extend more than 50 amos in each direction from the known grave or graves. Thus, kohanim would only need to avoid the area around that field with a cushion of about 100 ft to be safe.

The rules of ohel

This section is based on the introduction by the Tiferess Yisroel to the fourth chapter of Ohalos, called “Kiryas Ha’arba”, the town of the four. This deals with hispashtus hatum’ah, the type of tum’ah than can spread through an ohel, as listed above, and how it spreads in an ohel or through the air, in a vertical or horizontal direction. It also deals with how this spread can be blocked. There are four categories to explain: (i) Tum’ah munachas al hakarka, lying on the ground in the open; (ii) Tum’ah retzutza, “compressed” or constrained tum’ah; (iii) Kever sasum (satum), a sealed tomb or grave; (iv) Tum’ah ba’ohel, tum’ah inside a canopy.

[Note: Posaiach tefach means an opening at the side of an ohel. If it is a tefach wide and high, it allows tum’ah through to an adjoining ohel. If it is also a tefach deep, it is itself a small ohel. We will refer to this as a qualified opening, sometimes using the term “a tefach cubed”.]

Tum’ah munachas al hakarka

It is obvious that anything directly above this tum’ah is defiled. It is ma’ahil over the tum’ah, which is like touching it. However, the tum’ah does not spread to the sides, unless it is touched. Whatever lies beneath this tum’ah, under the ground, would seem to be in the vertical line of its spread. However, there are sources that indicate that this is not so, whatever is buried below the ground is protected.

Tum’ah retzutza, constrained tum’ah

If the tum’ah source is completely encased with no spaces in which it can spread, it does not defile horizontally. It spreads vertically to the heavens and down in a vertical line to the depths of the earth.

For tum’ah to spread through an ohel, two conditions must be present: (i) the cavity is a canopy that has an area of one tefach tall, by one tefach wide and one tefach long; (ii) that there is an opening at its side that is also a posaiach tefach.

1.       If the tum’ah is in a small cavity, which is less than a tefach cubed, it is considered tum’ah retzutza. Even if there is an opening at its side, that is posaiach tefach, the tum’ah does not spread out through it. Even if that opening is a tefach cubed, which would be considered an ohel if the tum’ah was in that cavity, since it is in a smaller cavity, it does not spread. Furthermore, if something else is in the same cavity, it is not defiled. Even if it is in the larger cavity at its opening, it is not defiled. This is because the tum’ah retzutza is in its own space and does not connect to the ohel at its side. However, there are a few cases where the tum’ah can indeed spread to a more open space. In such cases, the tum’ah is in a small cavity that is part of a larger ohel, rather than being in its own separate cavity. Examples include tum’ah under the sloping side or roof of a tent. The tum’ah might be under a tiny space, but the same space expands to the rest of the ohel. The same is true when the tum’ah is in a hole in a wall of a larger ohel. There is also a rule that if the tum’ah is retzutza under a house wall, in the inner half of its thickness, the tum’ah spreads into the house itself. [If it is under a radud, which is a part of the tent draped across the ground, it is considered retzutza.]

2.       If there is an ohel cavity (with full minimum dimensions) above the ground where the tum’ah is constrained, it may or may not spread through the ohel. (i) If the ohel cavity or canopy has a valid opening on its side, it becomes a formal ohel. The tum’ah spreads into it, is restricted to the ceiling of this ohel so that it no longer travels vertically infinitely and can spread through its opening to a neighboring ohel. (ii) There is a view that this only applies when there is a crack between the tum’ah retzutza and the space which has the ohel dimensions. (iii) If there is no valid opening at the side, the cavity does not count as an ohel at all. It is as though the space is filled with earth. The tum’ah continues in a vertical direction and does not even spread throughout this cavity. The ceiling does not block further defilement above it. The same rules apply to a cavity below the tum’ah retzutza.

3.       If there is a series of cavities one above or below the other, over or below the tum’ah retzutza, the same basic rules apply. (i) If they do not have valid openings, they are all considered stuffed with earth. The tum’ah continues in a straight infinite vertical line above and below. (ii) if one of them has a valid opening, it is considered a valid ohel. All the cavities between the tum’ah and the valid ohel are considered sealed and stuffed up. The tum’ah does not spread throughout them. The valid ohel spreads the tum’ah throughout itself, blocks it from going further up and can convey it through its opening to a neighboring ohel.

Kever sasum, a sealed grave

This differs from tum’ah retzutza in that the tum’ah spreads throughout the grave first. Then, having now covered a larger area, it starts acting like tum’ah retzutza. However, there are many facets to this:

1.       If there is a cavity above the tum’ah that is a tefach cubed (excluding the tum’ah) and there is a monument built directly over the cavity and above ground level, this is a classic case of a Scriptural kever sasum. The entire area above the structure, including the empty spaces, is tamei. The tum’ah spreads above and below just like tum’ah retzutza. In addition, anything touching this structure is tamei, including the ground next to it. If someone or something is ma’ahil over it, it is ma’ahil over someone or something, if there is an ohel over it and someone or something, the tum’ah spreads to it. There could certainly be an ohel built on to the nefesh, using it as a wall. This ohel might not be directly above the actual tum’ah. Nonetheless, everything in the ohel or in the ground below it, is tamei.

2.   If there is a qualifying ohel above or below the kever sasum it functions in the same way as an ohel above or below tum’ah retzutza would. It spreads the tum’ah throughout the ohel and blocks it from traveling further. If, however, this ohel has no qualifying opening on its side, some say that it does not block further movement of tum’ah. It does, however, spread the tum’ah within its space. Since it has no actual tum’ah source inside it, it does not defile anything touching it on its sides.

3.   According to some, there is a Rabbinical defilement for four cubits (about seven feet) on all sides of the kever sasum. This was instituted to prevent kohanim from getting too close.

4.   The structure over the grave must protrude from the ground, such as a house that is sealed on all sides built over a grave (like a tomb). Anyone touching it is defiled. If there is a door, even if it is locked, touching the outside does not convey tum’ah. Only the doorway, through which the tum’ah could leave, can convey it.

5.   A mound of stones intentionally placed over a grave, with a cavity within with dimensions of a tefach cubed, becomes a kever sasum. However, it must be a structure that can be considered built. A single very large stone over a grave that has a qualifying cavity is not a built structure. The stone has the status of a golel and can cause tumas maga and ohel directly above the cavity of the grave. However, the tum’ah does not spread to the parts of the stone that are outside the area of the grave. The poskim debate whether a coffin that protrudes from the ground, with a space inside it above the corpse of a tefach cube qualifies as a kever sasum Scripturally or Rabbinically.

6.   If there is a cavity a tefach cubed, but no structure above ground, it does not impart tum’ah to its sides. However, it is a kever sasum inasmuch as the entire grave including empty spaces can impart tum’ah infinitely vertically above and below it.

7.   If the grave has a qualified opening, whether or not there is a structure above ground, it is not a kever sasum. It is like any ohel.

8.   There is another view (Raavad, Tum’as Mais 7:4) as follows: (i) If the cavity is a tefach cubed, but the tum’ah reduces the space to less than this, it has the qualities of both tum’ah retzutza, in that it goes vertically and if it hits an ohel it spreads throughout it, and of kever sasum in that its sides cause tum’ah to the touch. (ii) If there is a tefach cubed of space besides the tum’ah, it is a kever sasum that does not break out upwards. It contains its tum’ah, but it does cause tum’ah to one who touches its sides. (iii) if there is less than a tefach cubed in the cavity, it is regular tum’ah retzutza, and does not impart tum’ah to its sides.

Tum’ah ba’ohel

1.   A canopy that has the minimum dimensions of a tefach in each direction with tum’ah underneath it, whether above or [far] below ground, is considered as though it is full of tum’ah. Even if it is hundreds of feet across, with tum’ah at one end, people and items at the other end become tamei. Items underground beneath it also become tamei. The tum’ah is blocked from going up past the roof of the ohel. Anyone touching the roof does not become tamei. However, for this blockage to work, there must be a posaiach tefach at its side, even if it is locked. If the door is locked, but the doorway is a tefach deep, items under the lintel of the doorway are tamei. If there is an ohel on top of another ohel, the tum’ah does not pass through from one to the other, unless there is a way through a posaiach tefach between them.

2.   If the canopy is less than a tefach either in width or length, there is no rule of ohel. The tum’ah is either tachas avir, in the open air, or retzutza, constrained, and those rules apply.

3.   If the item creating the canopy is a mekabel tum’ah, susceptible to becoming defiled, it can spread the tum’ah throughout the ohel, but cannot block it. Examples include humans or utensils. Therefore, since the ohel is considered as though it is full of tum’ah, this becomes a case of expanded tum’ah retzutza. Anything in the canopy or above or below it becomes tamei. If there is tum’ah retzutza underground and this type of canopy above it, the tum’ah does not spread, but continues vertically. Since there is no qualified ohel around the tum’ah, and above ground there is no blocking ohel, it just behaves as though there is no ohel at all.

4.   If there is tum’ah above the man or utensil, and another item underneath it, the rule is: (i) If the space below the man or utensil is less than a cubed tefach, the tum’ah only goes straight down. (ii) If it is a cubed tefach, the tum’ah goes down, spreads around and comes back up and also goes further down over the entire expanded area. Thus, an item above the man, nearby the tum’ah, is not defiled by the tum’ah directly, but is defiled by way of the canopy below.

5.   A hole in a wall of a house or ohel is considered part of it. If the item in the wall is visible through a crack, it is like a hole. If the item is totally sealed into the wall, it depends on which half of the wall the item is situated. If it is in the inner half, it is part of the house. In the outer half it is considered outside.

6.   This small crack only works to connect a space that is part of a walled ohel. If the ohel is purely a ceiling, such as a tray, with another tray next to it, touching at the corners, the tum’ah cannot pass from one to the other. The connection point less than a tefach is not part of a qualified ohel.

7.   A qualified opening in a wall between two ohalos is a tefach square. A smaller opening cannot convey tum’ah from the ohel on one side of the wall to that on the other side. If it is made for light, the amount is the size of a pundyon coin. If it is a naturally worn out hole, the size is a human fist, which is larger than a tefach. This refers to transferring tum’ah to another ohel.

8.   If the transfer is to the space under the lintel of a closed opening in the same ohel, the rule is: If all openings are closed, the front door to the street saves the items under other doorways or windows from becoming tamei. This is the principle of sof tum’ah latzeis, since the tum’ah will be leaving through this doorway, only it becomes tamei. If the tum’ah is as small as a kezayis, it can be removed through a small opening the size of a tefach. If it is larger than a kezayis, the opening must be four tefachim wide and high. If there is no opening this size, the ohel assumes the status of a kever sasum. If all openings are open, they all become tamei. If no single opening is the obvious choice to remove the tum’ah, all closed openings become tamei Rabbinically.

9.   A captive ohel, such as an inner room that has no exit but through an outer room has the following rules: If the door between them is closed, and there is tum’ah in the inner room, the outer room is tamei. If there is tum’ah in the outer room, the inner room is not tamei. If the door is open, the tum’ah spreads to both rooms. If the tum’ah ois in the inner room, and there is no qualified opening to the inner room, it becomes a kever sasum. It thereby imparts tum’ah to the outer room and the entire house. If each room has its own doorway or opening to the outside, and the door between them is closed, the tum’ah does not pass between them.

Chatztitza bifnei hatum’ah

The next section will discuss the rules of chatzitza bifnei hatum’ah, how a blockage works to stop tum’ah from passing through.

For example, an opening can convey tum’ah through it. If the opening is sealed, it blocks the tum’ah. If the seal is with something that becomes tamei itself, the seal does not work. This can depend on how the item becomes tamei itself.

The rules of how someone or something become tamei are complex. To properly understand the rules of items that become tamei, it would be necessary to study the entire tractate Kailim.  We will once again make use of the summary written by Tiferess Yisroel as his introduction to Ohalos Perek 6, etitled “Kol Mechatzatzim”.

There are three types of chatzitza: (i) To block tum’ah from entering a vessel standing in an ohel, which would protect food or other items inside the vessel; (ii) To prevent tum’ah from passing laterally between two ohalos by blocking an opening on the side; (iii) To block an opening in a ceiling or floor, to prevent vertical penetration of tum’ah.

Chatzitza protecting interior of vessel

Earthenware receptacles

A receptacle made of earthenware, which is basically baked clay, does not become tamei through physical contact. It becomes tamei when tum’ah enters its air space. Thus, if tum’ah should touch its exterior walls, it remains tahor, ritually pure. If it enters the space inside, whether or not it touches the interior walls, it becomes tamei. In an ohel, the entire canopy is considered full of tum’ah. Therefore, if there is an open earthenware receptacle in the ohel, the tum’ah enters its interior space and it becomes tamei. If the receptacle has a tzamid pasil, tightly attached seal over its opening, it is protected from the tum’ah entering it.

A receptacle, or any vessel or utensil, could function in two ways to protect from tum’ah. It could serve as an ohel itself. We know that tum’ah does not pass through an ohel but fills the space below it. It could also serve as a chatzitza, to block the tum’ah, but without becoming a true ohel. It could combine with a larger chatzitza, such as to fill a hole. It could combine with an ohel, such as to fill an opening from one ohel to another. An earthenware receptacle cannot serve as a freestanding ohel. It can serve as a chatzitza in limited situations, such as when there is an entire wall made up of inverted earthenware receptacles. It can also combine with a wall or an ohel.

If the receptacle is upturned on the floor of an ohel, a seal to the floor does not help. [The tum’ah of an ohel goes down below ground indefinitely. It can then surface into the receptacle. There is no actual seal on the receptacle, because it is using the floor as its seal.]

However, if the open side of the receptacle is attached and sealed to a wall, it does protect what is inside it.

If there is a hole in the ceiling a tefach wide, which is filled by the receptacle bottom down, it combines with the ceiling to minimize the hole. The bottom of the receptacle does not become tamei, since it is earthenware. The space is now less than a tefach, so the tum’ah does not pass through it upstairs.

If the receptacle is placed within a tefach of the ceiling, it protects its interior without the need for a seal. The tum’ah cannot pass through the space between it and the ceiling. The ceiling qualifies as an ohel, and therefore, the receptacle can combine with it.

If the roof or ceiling stands alone, with no walls, or if the ohel is a plank a tefach wide, placing the receptacle close to it is not enough. In this case, the receptacle must be sealed to the plank or ceiling to protect its interior.

Other utensils that cannot become tamei

Anything that comes from the sea, such as whale-bone, that is fashioned into a utensil cannot become tamei. Utensils made from solid dung, from stone, and from unbaked earth or clay do not become tamei. Earthenware utesnils that are not receptacles do not become tamei. Very large receptacles, that are not usually moved around do not become tamei.

If such a receptacle is upturned on a smooth floor of an ohel, and it has a space that would qualify as an ohel by itself (tefach cubed), it protects without the need for a tzamid pasil, tightly attached seal.

If there is a hole or pit inside the ohel, the rules are: If the pit is covered by a flat piece of wood, it is protected. If a utensil is covering it, the pit must have sides that protrude from the ground one tefach. [Some say this is because the utensil cannot serve as an ohel but can combine with walls of an ohel.]

If the receptacle is on its side up against a wall or is held up to the ceiling, it protects whatever is inside it if the gap between it and the wall or ceiling is less than a tefach.

There is a view that holds that all types of receptacle, both earthenware and others, cupped over the ground, protect, regardless of their volume. However, this view holds that they all require a tzamid pasil seal. [Raavad, Tum’as Mais 21:3]

A freestanding receptacle

A freestanding receptacle that is not being combined with an ohel can also protect from tum’ah. It cannot be made of metal, but of other materials, such as earthenware or unbaked clay. If its opening or openings are sealed with tzamid pasil, it protects. If the receptacle is meant to hold solids, any hole big enough for an olive to fit through must be sealed. If it holds liquids, any hole that is big enough to allow liquid into it (which is bigger than a hole that leaks liquid out of it) must be sealed. Holes smaller than this need not be sealed.

Openings on a very large receptacle have the following rules: (i) Openings smaller than a tefach need not be sealed. (ii) Openings larger than this must be covered. If they are covered with a board or a door, it need not be sealed. (iii) If they are covered with a smaller receptacle, they must be sealed with tzamid pasil.

A blockage between two ohalos side by side

If there is a window that is a tefach by a tefach between a house that has tum’ah and one that is tahor, it allows the tum’ah to pass through it. However, receptacles can combine with the wall itself to form a seal. An earthenware receptacle can be placed in the window with its back to the tum’ah. Since it does not become tamei itself, it can block the tum’ah from passing through. Other types of utensil that cannot become tamei can serve as a seal as well.

One could also build a wall of earthenware receptacles across a room to divide it. The receptacles form a chatzitza by combining with the adjacent walls and ceiling. If the backs of the jugs face the tum’ah half of the room, they block it from spreading to the other half.

Similarly, a large cabinet that is less than a tefach from a wall, floor or ceiling, blocks the tum’ah from spreading, and also protects the items in those small spaces.

Likewise, one can make a seal out of non-utensils, such as planks. A wall can be built of such planks or of utensils that are not susceptible to tum’ah. This will also divide the house and prevent the spread of the tum’ah. In such cases, this works even if the structure is temporary.

If the receptacle does not fill the space of the window, but reduces its dimensions to less than a tefach, one must have in mind to leave it there indefinitely. If it fills the entire space, in one view, it works even if one does not have in mind to leave it there indefinitely. Rambam, however, (Tumas Mais 15:4) says that even if one fills the entire space with a receptacle, it only works if he means to leave it there indefinitely. For example, it has become soiled and filthy from blood-letting and is now punctured, so that it is useless even for blood-letting. Nonetheless, if one did more than place it there, for example, if he attached it with clay or nailed it there, even metal utensils block the tum’ah. Furthermore, earthenware receptacles facing inwards to the tum’ah but attached to the window and wall lose their tum’ah status and also block the passage of the tum’ah.

Chatzitza between to ohalos one on top of the other

1.       A protrusion from a wall that is a tefach wide and long blocks tum’ah from passing through it. Based on this, if a receptacle is placed against a wall by its opening, and there is less than a tefach space between them, it becomes like a protrusion. Thus, if the space below it has the dimensions of an ohel and has tum’ah in it, it does not pass through to defile above the receptacle. It also protects the items inside it. The receptacle combines with the wall. An earthenware receptacle does not work for this, since it cannot be considered an ohel.

2.       A gap which is a tefach by a tefach between two levels of a house with a roof over the upper level above the gap spreads the tum’ah from the lower level to the upper level. In this case any type of receptacle that is not susceptible to tum’ah in its present state can block the gap. Thus, a stone receptacle can be placed in the gap. An earthenware receptacle can be placed there with its back to the tum’ah.

3.       Furthermore, if an earthenware receptacle is placed below the gap, but it lines up exactly with the gap, the edges of the ceiling can be combined with the receptacle. If there is tum’ah under the receptacle in a space of a tefach cubed, it will spread to the lower level, but will be blocked by the back of the receptacle combined with the ceiling from passing to the upper level. If, however, the tum’ah under the receptacle is retzutza, with no space qualifying as an ohel between them, it spreads through the receptacle, defiling its airspace, and on upwards through the gap, defiling the upper level. However, since it is as though the tum’ah is not in the lower level ohel, because the receptacle spreads it upwards, the lower level does not become tamei.

4.       If a very large receptacle is lined up directly under a gap, it prevents all tum’ah from spreading upwards. If the tum’ah is retzutza under the receptacle, just as it would not enter it if it was sealed, so it does not enter the upper level. The sides of the receptacle are considered joined to the ceiling. The lower level is tamei, because the tum’ah has nowhere else to go. If the tum’ah is elsewhere in the lower level, too, it spreads to that level, but cannot pass through the gap. The same would obviously apply where the tum’ah is in a tefach cubed space under the large receptacle. It spreads under the receptacle to the lower level but cannot pass through to the upper level.

Receptacle as chatzitza between two levels when there are no ohel walls

When there are no side walls to combine with the receptacle, the rules are:

1.       If a receptacle that cannot become tamei is on the ground and is open at the top, and has tum’ah underneath, the tum’ah spreads vertically like any tum’ah retzutza. The receptacle has no effect at all, even to spread it within it to foods or items inside it.

2.       The same is true if it is a very large receptacle, which would otherwise be considered an ohel. Since the lid is not covering it (nor is there a space underneath of a tefach cubed), it is not an ohel.

3.       An earthenware receptacle in the same situation would also not change the status of the tum’ah retzutza. However, since the tum’ah enters its airspace, the receptacle and its airspace become tamei. Items inside it become tamei, while the tum’ah is “there” by way of its shooting through.

4.       If there is a tefach cubed space under the receptacle, this receptacle can spread tum’ah as though it were an ohel. However, unlike a true ohel, it cannot block tum’ah. Therefore, the tum’ah will still shoot through above and below. When it reaches the space under this receptacle, it spreads to the boundaries of the receptacle, and from there, shoots up and down. Thus, the area that becomes tamei is expanded. This applies to earthenware or non-tamei receptacles that are not very large.

5.       Very large receptacles in this situation do become a full ohel. If the tum’ah is underneath in the ohel space, it does not spread upwards through the receptacle. If the tum’ah is inside or above it, the area below it is protected.

6.       If the opening of an earthenware receptacle is covered with a lid, piece of wood etc., or if its opening does not point upwards, but it is on its side, and there is tum’ah retzutza under it or in the air above it, the tum’ah still enters the airspace and spreads accordingly. That is, the area up to and including the boundaries of the receptacle become tamei upwards and downwards infinitely.

7.       If it is made of the materials that do not become tamei, the tum’ah shoots through it up and/or down, but the interior of the receptacle is protected. Since there is a “ceiling”, it acts like a miniature protective ohel for itself.

8.       However, if the tum’ah is inside the receptacle, the tum’ah spreads to the boundaries and then upwards and downwards.

9.       If the receptacle is facing downwards and tum’ah is either inside it or above or below it, it also fills the receptacle and spreads the same way. If it is touching the ground at its opening, and the tum’ah is above it, it does not break through into the receptacle, if it is the type that cannot become tamei itself.

10.   Tum’ah retzutza usually enters a regular ohel and fills it, even though it is constrained underground below it. However, if the ohel in question is a freestanding very large vessel with a floor and ceiling including standing upright with its cover or on its side with the opening sideways, the interior is protected. Since the floor is a separate entity from the ground, the tum’ah can only shoot downwards, but not upwards through the receptacle.

11.   If it is cupped over the ground, upside down, tum’ah above it cannot shoot through downwards. Tum’ah inside or below it cannot shoot through above it and is contained to the receptacle and below it infinitely.

12.   If the top of this very large receptacle is covered by another receptacle that does not become tamei, it cannot protect its interior inside a larger ohel hamais. It would require a tzamid pasil. Therefore, it is possible that in the open air too, if this is the way it is covered, it allows tum’ah retzutza that comes into it to spread and fill it and does not block it from passing further. It would then cause the entire area bounded by its walls to act like retzutza and shoot up and down.

If the receptacle is covered with its cover, door, plank of wood, or is laying on its side with the opening open, and there is a tefach cubed space beneath the receptacle, the rules are:

1.       An earthenware receptacle with tum’ah under it, over it or inside it, spreads the tum’ah throughout the interior and then up and down infinitely.

2.       A non-tamei receptacle under it or over it, spreads the tum’ah to the boundaries of the receptacle and above and below infinitely. However, the interior of the receptacle is protected.

3.       If the non-tamei receptacle has tum’ah inside it, the entire interior is also tamei (as well as the area above and below it infinitely).

4.       A very large receptacle, whether it (i) has a tefach cubed space below it and its opening is not covered, or (ii) it is directly on the ground with tum’ah retzutza under it, but it is covered, or (iii) it is on its side with the opening uncovered opened to the side and with a tefach cubed under it, if the tum’ah is under it, only beneath it within that space is tamei. The receptacle counts as an ohel to block the tum’ah from spreading. The same is true if the tum’ah is above it. Only above it is tamei. If the tum’ah is inside it, only the interior is tamei.

A receptacle with tzamid pasil

Regular receptacles

An earthenware receptacle, or any receptacle that cannot become tamei, with a tzamid pasil on it has the following rules:

1.       If there is no space below the receptacle, the tum’ah shoots up and down, but does not invade the interior of the receptacle.

2.       If there is a tefach cubed space below the receptacle, and the tum’ah is there, the tum’ah is confined to that space.

3.       If the tum’ah is in the air above this receptacle with the space under it, it spreads through the air space above and under the receptacle but does not invade its interior.

4.       Tzamid pasil does not prevent tum’ah from leaving the interior of the receptacle. If there is tum’ah inside it, it spreads throughout it and above and below it infinitely.

A very large receptacle

A receptacle that holds the volume of 40 se’ah of a liquid, or 2 kur (60 se’ah) dry or a receptacle that is not made to be moved around when it is full is not susceptible to become tamei like other receptacles.

If this receptacle would be covered, and there is tum’ah retzutza under it, or tum’ah is in the air space above it, that spot becomes tamei. If it is above the receptacle, the tum’ah only spreads above it. The receptacle blocks the tum’ah from going into or through it. If it is retzutza under it, it goes down infinitely, but not upwards into or through it. The same is true if there is a tefach cubed space beneath it, with tum’ah there. Only that space is tamei.

If the receptacle has tum’ah inside it and has a tzamid pasil one might think to consider it a kever sasum. However, since it has an opening, albeit sealed with tzamid pasil, tightly attached, it is not considered kever sasum.