Tohorot (tractate)
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Tohorot (
Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...
: טָהֳרוֹת, literally "Purities") is a tractate in the
Mishnah The Mishnah or the Mishna (; , from the verb ''šānā'', "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first written collection of the Jewish oral traditions that are known as the Oral Torah. Having been collected in the 3rd century CE, it is ...
and Tosefta, treating especially of the lesser degrees of uncleanness the effects of which last until
sunset Sunset (or sundown) is the disappearance of the Sun at the end of the Sun path, below the horizon of the Earth (or any other astronomical object in the Solar System) due to its Earth's rotation, rotation. As viewed from everywhere on Earth, it ...
only. In most editions of the Mishnah it is the fifth tractate in the order Tohorot. It is divided into ten chapters, comprising ninety-six paragraphs in all.


Contents

*Chapter 1: The thirteen regulations concerning the ''nebelah'' of a bird, i.e., a
fowl Fowl are birds belonging to one of two biological orders, namely the gamefowl or landfowl ( Galliformes) and the waterfowl ( Anseriformes). Anatomical and molecular similarities suggest these two groups are close evolutionary relatives; toget ...
not ritually slaughtered; what quantity of such fowl causes uncleanness as ''nebelah'', and what quantity uncleanness merely as other unclean foods; which parts are not included to make up the minimum required quantity; from which moment a head of
cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are calle ...
not ritually slaughtered acquires a lesser degree of uncleanness, i.e., that of ordinary foods, and when the higher degree of impurity, that of the ''nebelah''; which parts are included in order to make up the minimum quantity for the lesser degree, but not for the higher degree (§§ 1-4); the mixing of different unclean foods to make up the required quantity—the size of an egg; cases in which, when the parts possess different degrees of impurity, the entire quantity becomes unclean either in the lesser or in the higher degree (§§ 5-6); parts of a mass of
dough Dough is a malleable, sometimes elastic paste made from flour (which itself is made from grains or from leguminous or chestnut crops). Dough is typically made by mixing flour with a small amount of water or other liquid and sometimes includes ...
or a loaf of
bread Bread is a baked food product made from water, flour, and often yeast. It is a staple food across the world, particularly in Europe and the Middle East. Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many cu ...
connected with or touching each other; how the uncleanness of one part affects the others (§§ 7-9). *Chapter 2: How foods become impure when touched by an unclean person (§ 1); how a person becomes unclean through partaking of impure food (§ 2); difference between foods not sanctified, those constituting "''
terumah A ''terumah'' (), the priestly dues or heave offering, is a type of offering in Judaism. The word is generally used for offerings to God, but can also refer to gifts to a human. The word ''terumah'' refers to various types of offerings, but mos ...
''", and other sanctified foods, as regards their becoming unclean in the various degrees (§§ 3-8). *Chapter 3: Impurity of beverages when in a liquid state, and when they have solidified; which drinks acquire the same degree of uncleanness in the liquid as in the solid state (§§ 1-3); how unclean foods become clean by a change of the prescribed quantity (§ 4); the degree of uncleanness of a thing is judged from the condition in which it is found (§ 5); doubtful cases of uncleanness, when it is not known whether the unclean parts have been touched by the person in question; the difference between
reasoning Reason is the capacity of consciously applying logic by drawing valid conclusions from new or existing information, with the aim of seeking the truth. It is associated with such characteristically human activities as philosophy, religion, scien ...
and unreasoning beings in such cases; cases in which it is doubtful whether an animal has transferred impurity from unclean drinks to foods (§§ 6-8). *Chapter 4: Doubtful cases of impurity (§§ 1-4); six cases in which ''terumah'' is burned because of suspected impurity (§§ 5-6); doubtful cases of impurity in which the sages declared the object to be clean; other doubtful cases in which the sages declared the object to be permissible (§§ 7-12). *Chapter 5: Regulations concerning various cases of doubtful impurity. *Chapter 6: Difference between private domain ("''reshut ha-yaḥid''") and
public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no Exclusive exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly Waiver, waived, or may be inapplicable. Because no one holds ...
("''reshut harabbim''") with reference to cases of doubtful impurity: in the former in all doubtful cases objects are to be declared unclean; in the latter, clean (§§ 1-5); different localities which are considered private domain with reference to the
Sabbath In Abrahamic religions, the Sabbath () or Shabbat (from Hebrew ) is a day set aside for rest and worship. According to the Book of Exodus, the Sabbath is a day of rest on the seventh day, Ten Commandments, commanded by God to be kept as a Holid ...
, but public domain with regard to cases of doubtful impurity (§§ 6-10). *Chapter 7: Various cases in which a thing is rendered unclean by being touched by a person ignorant of the law ("'' am ha-aretz''"): as such a person does not observe the laws of cleanliness, his touch is necessarily unclean. Cases in which one must suspect an ''am ha-aretz'' of having touched foods and drinks, although he, personally, may have had nothing to do with them. If, for example, the wife of an ''am ha-aretz'' is seen to attend to the fire in a stove on which a pot containing ''terumah'' is standing, it must be assumed that she, although attending to the fire only, has touched the food also; women being generally curious to find out what their neighbors are cooking, she would most likely remove the cover of the pot in order to discover the contents. *Chapter 8: Further regulations concerning precautions to be taken by one conversant with the Law ("'' chaber''") in order to protect himself against uncleanness caused by the touch of an ''am ha-aretz'' (§§ 1-5); what is to be considered fit for
human food Human food is food which is fit for human consumption, and which humans willingly eating, eat. Food is a basic necessity of life, and humans typically seek food out as an instinctual response to hunger (physiology), hunger; however, not all thing ...
, thus forming a basis for the regulations concerning the impurity of foods (§ 6); further regulations concerning the impurity of beverages (§§ 7-9). *Chapters 9-10: Concerning olives and the pressing of oil; how they can be rendered unclean. Other regulations concerning cleanness and uncleanness, with special reference to wine-presses.


Tosefta and Gemara

The Tosefta to this tractate is divided into eleven chapters, and contains many passages elucidating the Mishnaic tractate. There is no
Gemara The Gemara (also transliterated Gemarah, or in Yiddish Gemore) is an essential component of the Talmud, comprising a collection of rabbinical analyses and commentaries on the Mishnah and presented in 63 books. The term is derived from the Aram ...
for ''Tohorot'' in either the
Babylonian Talmud The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the centerpiece of Jewi ...
or Jerusalem Talmud.


References

{{mishnah Jewish ritual purity law