Topics covered:
Chapter 9, Mishna 5, 6
Ritual impurity of graves does not apply to gentile graves because their impurity is not imparted via a tent (applies to one walking over a grave). Three corpses buried in one spot or discovered for first time establishes a graveyard. If there are signs that they were killed, then area might not be graveyard, maybe they just died there. A corpse that is lacking a part of his body that is indispensable to life has no halacha of surrounding earth (don’t need to remove earth along with corpse.) Partial corpse doesn’t join with two other corpses to establish site as graveyard. Buried in non-standard way (sitting, bent over) implies it was a gentile. Jacob says to Joseph, you shall carry me out of Egypt. Indicates that you take some earth with the body, probably to make sure that you get entire corpse. If someone examined two corpses and moved them and then finds a third, he doesn’t move third corpse because he knows it’s a cemetery and was buried intentionally. He doesn’t need to bring back the two that were buried. Even though we’re all impure now, we still have to be punctilious about what happens to a body after death. Any case of uncertainty with regard to sores that could be tzaraas, person is initially deemed pure. Until it is established that this is a case of tzaraas, then he is tamei – impure. Once it’s established, then uncertainty concerning it is deemed impure. When we’re uncertain we retain previous status.
nazir #nazirite #wine #vow
Opening song: rainforest sounds