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Av HaTumah
In the realm of ''tumah and taharah'' terminology, the term ''Av HaTumah'' ("father of uncleanness," or simply ''Av'') is a rabbinic term for a person or object that is in a state of ''tumah'' (ritual impurity), second in severity only to corpse uncleanness. Anything suffering from ''Av HaTumah'' ("Father of uncleanness"), such as carrion, the blood of a menstruate woman, seminal fluid, etc., can render those persons who touch it defiled at a further remove, known as a "first-grade level of uncleanness." A person or object that is a ''Av HaTumah'' has the ability to transfer its ''tumah'' to another person or object, such as clothing (usually at a downgraded level of ''tumah''), while they, in turn, have the ability to transfer their ''tumah'' to both foods and drink (in the case of foods, at a downgraded level, but in the case of drinks, at the very same level). There are two types of ''Av HaTumah'', the first being one textually listed in the Torah ( D'Oraita), such as the ca ...
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Tumah And Taharah
In Jewish law, ''ṭumah'' (, ) and ''ṭaharah'' (, ) are the state of being ritually "impure" and "pure", respectively. The Hebrew noun ''ṭum'ah'', meaning "impurity", describes a state of ritual impurity. A person or object which contracts ''ṭumah'' is said to be ''ṭamé'' ( Hebrew adjective, "ritually impure"), and thereby unsuited for certain holy activities and uses (''kedushah'', in Hebrew) until undergoing predefined purification actions that usually include the elapse of a specified time-period. The contrasting Hebrew noun ''ṭaharah'' () describes a state of ritual purity that qualifies the ''ṭahor'' (; ritually pure person or object) to be used for ''kedushah''. The most common method of achieving ''ṭaharah'' is by the person or object being immersed in a ''mikveh'' (ritual bath). This concept is connected with ritual washing in Judaism, and both ritually impure and ritually pure states have parallels in ritual purification in other world religions. The la ...
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Keilim
''Keilim ''or ''Kelim'' ( he, כֵּלִים, literally "Vessels") is the first tractate in the Order of Tohorot in the Mishnah. It contains thirty chapters, making it the longest tractate in the entire Mishnah. The Tosefta on Keilim consists of twenty-five chapters,Jewish Encyclopedia bibliography: *Z. Frankel, Hodegetica in Mischnam', p. 263, Leipsic, 1859. divided into ''Bava Kama'' ("First Gate"), ''Bava Metzia'' ("Middle Gate"), and ''Bava Batra'' ("Final Gate") of ''Keilim''. The tractate discusses the laws of ritual purity and impurity pertaining to all types of vessels. * Chapter 1 clarifies the ranking of ritual impurities * Chapters 2–10 discuss earthenware vessels ( clay ovens, ranges, etc.) * Chapters 11–14 discuss metal vessels * Chapters 15–19 discuss vessels made of wood, leather, and bone * Chapters 20–25 discuss laws of purity and impurity pertaining to all vessels * Chapters 26–28 discuss laws pertaining to leather and clothing * Chapter 29 discusses t ...
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Mikveh
Mikveh or mikvah (,  ''mikva'ot'', ''mikvoth'', ''mikvot'', or (Yiddish) ''mikves'', lit., "a collection") is a bath used for the purpose of ritual immersion in Judaism to achieve ritual purity. Most forms of ritual impurity can be purified through immersion in any natural collection of water. However, some impurities, such as a zav, require "living water", such as springs or groundwater wells. Living water has the further advantage of being able to purify even while flowing, as opposed to rainwater which must be stationary to purify. The ''mikveh'' is designed to simplify this requirement, by providing a bathing facility that remains in contact with a natural source of water. In Orthodox Judaism, these regulations are steadfastly adhered to; consequently, the mikveh is central to an Orthodox Jewish community. Conservative Judaism also formally holds to the regulations. The existence of a mikveh is considered so important that a Jewish community is required to construct ...
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Midras
''Midras'' uncleanness ( he, טומאת מדרס) is one of the forms of ritual impurity in Judaism which can be transmitted by either an object or person. The term may be translated as ''pressure uncleanness''. A ''midras'' (lit. "trampled on" object) is an object that can be a carrier of ritual impurity. Common objects that could potentially become unclean, and become a such ''midras'' object, include a chair, sofa, mattress, and rug. A person who becomes unclean is categorized as a " father of uncleanliness". Hebrew Bible The general concept of a ''midras'', an object becoming a carrier for uncleanliness, is brought in the book of Leviticus, though the following verse does not employ the Hebrew term ''midras''; Becoming unclean According to Maimonides on Zavim 4:4, the ''midras'' object becomes unclean by a person who is a " father of uncleanliness" (such as a man with a seminal emission or a woman in the middle of menstruation) putting most of their body weight ...
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Tzaraath
''Tzaraath'' (Hebrew צָרַעַת ''ṣāraʿaṯ''), variously transcribed into English and frequently mistranslated as leprosy, describes various ritually unclean disfigurative conditions of the skin, hair of the beard and head, clothing made of linen or wool, or stones of homes in the Bible. All variations are mainly referred to in chapters 13– 14 of Leviticus. The Torah identifies three manifestations of ''tzaraath'': as an affliction of human skin, of garments, and of houses. The manifestation of ''tzaraath'' is termed a ''negah'' (נגע) "affliction", ''nega'im'' (plural: נגעים). Name The Hebraic root ''tsara'' or ''tsaraath'' (צָרַע, – tsaw-rah' – to be struck with leprosy, to be leprous) and the Greek (λεπρός–lepros), are of broader classification than the more narrow use of the term related to Hansen's Disease. The linguistic root of ''tzaraath'' may mean "smiting", in comparison with Arabic, in reference to a Talmudical explanation that it ...
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Niddah
Niddah (or nidah; he, נִדָּה), in traditional Judaism, describes a woman who has experienced a uterine discharge of blood (most commonly during menstruation), or a woman who has menstruated and not yet completed the associated requirement of immersion in a ''mikveh'' (ritual bath). In the Book of Leviticus, the Torah prohibits sexual intercourse with a ''niddah''. The prohibition has been maintained in traditional Jewish law and by the Samaritans. It has largely been rejected by adherents of Reform Judaism and other liberal branches. In rabbinic Judaism, additional stringencies and prohibitions have accumulated over time, increasing the scope of various aspects of niddah, including: duration (12-day minimum for Ashkenazim, and 11 days for Sephardim); expanding to prohibition against sex to include: sleeping in adjoining beds, any physical contact, and even passing objects to spouse; and requiring a detailed ritual purification process. Since the late 19th century, ...
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Zavah
In Jewish ritual law, a ''zavah'' (Hebrew זבה, lit. "one who e bodyflows") is a woman who has had vaginal blood discharges not during the usually anticipated menstrual cycle, and thus entered a state of ritual impurity. The equivalent impurity that can be contracted by males, by experiencing an abnormal discharge from their genitals, is known as the impurity of a '' zav''. In the realm of tumah and taharah, the ''zavah'', just like a ''niddah'' (menstruant woman) and '' yoledet'' (woman after giving birth), is in a state of major impurity, and creates a midras by sitting and by other activities (, , ). Another aspect of her major impurity, is that a man who conducts sexual intercourse with her becomes unclean for a seven-day period. Additionally, the ''zavah'' and her partner are liable to ''kareth'' (extirpation) for willfully engaging in forbidden sexual intercourse, as is the case for a ''niddah'' and ''yoledet''. Hebrew Bible Torah sources for the ''zavah'' are source ...
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Torah
The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the same as Pentateuch or the Five Books of Moses. It is also known in the Jewish tradition as the Written Torah (, ). If meant for liturgic purposes, it takes the form of a Torah scroll ('' Sefer Torah''). If in bound book form, it is called ''Chumash'', and is usually printed with the rabbinic commentaries (). At times, however, the word ''Torah'' can also be used as a synonym for the whole of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, in which sense it includes not only the first five, but all 24 books of the Hebrew Bible. Finally, Torah can even mean the totality of Jewish teaching, culture, and practice, whether derived from biblical texts or later rabbinic writings. The latter is often known as the Oral Torah. Representing the core of the Jewish spiri ...
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Herbert Danby
Herbert Danby (20 January 1889 – 29 March 1953) was an Anglican priest and writer who played a central role in the change of attitudes toward Judaism in the first half of the twentieth century. Education Danby was educated at Church Middle Class School, Leeds and Keble College, Oxford. He was a Holroyd Musical Scholar, and became a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists in 1907. He retained a lifelong passionate interest in music, and also in golf. Danby had a distinguished career at Oxford, winning the Junior Septuagint Prize, the Pusey and Ellerton Scholarship, the Houghton Syriac Prize and a Senior Kennicott Scholarship. He achieved a first class degree in Oriental Languages, and was awarded an MA in 1914. His studies continued after he started work, and he was made a Doctor of Divinity in 1923, partly for his translation '' Tractate Sanhedrin, Mishna and Tosefta'', published in 1919. Early career Danby became a Deacon in 1913, and worked as Curate of the Parish of W ...
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Yosef Qafih
Yosef Qafiḥ ( he, יוסף קאפח , ), widely known as Rabbi Yosef Kapach (27 November 1917 – 21 July 2000), was a Yemenite-Israeli authority on Jewish religious law (''halakha''), a dayan of the Supreme Rabbinical Court in Israel, and one of the foremost leaders of the Yemenite Jewish community in Israel, where he was sought after by non-Yemenites as well. He is widely known for his editions and translations of the works of Maimonides, Saadia Gaon, and other early rabbinic authorities (''Rishonim''), particularly his restoration of the Mishneh Torah from old Yemenite manuscripts and his accompanying commentary culled from close to 300 additional commentators and with original insights. He was the grandson of Rabbi Yiḥyah Qafiḥ, a prominent Yemenite leader and founder of the Dor Deah movement in Yemen. Qafih was the recipient of many awards, as well as an Honorary Doctorate from Bar-Ilan University. Biography Yosef Qafiḥ was born 27 November 1917 in Sana’a in Y ...
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Corpse Uncleanness
Corpse uncleanness ( Hebrew: ''tum'at met'') is a state of ritual uncleanness described in Jewish halachic law. It is the highest grade of uncleanness, or defilement, and is contracted by having either directly or indirectly touched, carried or shifted a dead human body, or after having entered a roofed house or chamber where the corpse of a Jew is lying (conveyed by overshadowing). Corpse uncleanness is first described in the Books of the Law conveyed by Moses to the nation of Israel, and where (for example, in , among other places) is the requisite to allow for a seven-day purification period after making physical contact with a human corpse. Grades of uncleanness The Mishnah describes several grades of uncleanness. The human corpse itself is the most severe of them all, known as the "Father of fathers of all uncleanness" (prime origin). The person who touches a human corpse contracts a lower grade of uncleanness, known as the " Father of uncleanness" (''Avi HaTum'ah''). O ...
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Mossad Harav Kook
Mossad HaRav Kook ( he, מוסד הרב קוק, "Rabbi Kook Institute") is a religious research foundation and publishing house based in Jerusalem. Mossad Harav Kook is named after Abraham Isaac Kook, the first Ashkenazi chief rabbi of the British Mandatory Palestine, and was founded by Yehuda Leib Maimon in 1937. More than 2000 books have been published by Mossad Harav Kook. Among their significant publications are the Daat Mikra TaNaKh series, authoritative editions of Hidushei Ritva and Rashba, Rambam LeAm (Mishna Torah and other works of Maimonides with nikud and a simple commentary), and the complete writings of Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook. See also *Israeli literature *Jewish literature Jewish literature includes works written by Jews on Jewish themes, literary works written in Jewish languages on various themes, and literary works in any language written by Jewish writers. Ancient Jewish literature includes Biblical literature a ... References External links * {{au ...
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