Rambam - 3 Chapters a Day

During all the days when a zav experiences zav discharges, he is ritually impure. When the zav discharges cease, he counts seven clean days, like a zavah must, immerses himself on the seventh day, and waits until nightfall. On the eighth day, he brings his sacrifice if he had experienced three discharges.

If he experienced a zav discharge even at the end of the seventh day after he immersed himself, he negates his entire counting and must begin to count seven clean days from the day of his last discharge.

When a zav has a seminal emission during the seven clean days he counts, he only nullifies that day. From the following day onward, he completes the seven days and then brings his sacrifice.

What is implied? He had a seminal emission on the fifth day, He counts another three clean days afterwards, immerses himself on the third day and brings his sacrifice on the fourth day.

When a zav checks himself on the first day of his counting and finds himself pure and does not check himself for the remainder of the seven days until the seventh day when he checks himself and finds himself pure, he may rely on the presumption that he is pure. Even if he checked on the day when he had an impure discharge and saw that he was pure and that the discharge had ended and he did not check himself throughout the seven days, but did check himself on the seventh day or the eighth day, should he find himself pure, the days of counting are significant and he may rely on the presumption that he is pure.

Any discharge that causes the counting of the days to be nullified does not bring about an obligation for a sacrifice.

What is implied? A man experienced two discharges and then had an interruption for a day or two and thus he began counting his seven clean days. Although he experienced a zav discharge in the midst of the seven days, it is not combined with the previous two. Instead, it nullifies the counting and he must begin to count over again, as we explained.

Moreover, even if he experienced three consecutive discharges in the midst of the counting - even if he experienced them on one day, and even if that was on the conclusion of the seventh day of the seven clean days - he should not bring a sacrifice. For these discharges are considered as nullifying the clean days that were being counted. If he experienced three discharges on the night of the eighth day, he must bring a sacrifice, because these discharges do not nullify the previous counting.

To whom does the above apply? To a zav who has experienced two discharges. A zav who experienced three discharges previously, by contrast, who experiences three discharges on the eighth night after the seven clean days does not bring a second sacrifice because of these three discharges, only one sacrifice for the first three discharges. Although these three discharges do not nullify the clean days that were counted, the man has not entered a time when it is fit for him to bring a sacrifice, since the preceding night is considered as "lacking in time," with regard to all Torah laws, with the exception of a woman after childbirth who miscarried on the night of the eighty-first day. She brings a second sacrifice, as we explained. This concept was communicated by the Oral Tradition.

If a man experienced one discharge on the eighth night and two discharges on the eighth day, they are linked together and he is required to bring a sacrifice because of the two latter discharges. The rationale is that a zav's first discharge is considered as a seminal emission. If he experiences two others afterwards, it is combined together with them to obligate him for a sacrifice. If, however, he experienced two discharges on the eighth night and one on the eighth day, they are not linked together and he is not required to bring a second sacrifice because of the latter zav discharges.

Every male can contract zav impurity, even an infant on the day of his birth, a convert, a servant, a deaf-mute, and an intellectually and/or emotionally unstable person. It appears to me that atonement is brought for them so that it is possible for them to partake of sacrificial food. Their sin-offering should be eaten, for they are like a child who is not intellectually capable.

A person who was castrated or one who is born sexually impotent may contract impurity because of a zav discharge like other men.

The stringencies that apply both to males and females are placed upon a tumtum and an androgynus They contract ritual impurity because of uterine bleeding like a woman or because of clear discharges like a man. Their impurity is of questionable status. Therefore if one such person had three zav discharges or discovered zavah bleeding for three consecutive days, he must bring a sacrifice, but it is not eaten. If he was counting seven clean days to purify himself from a zav discharge and he experienced uterine bleeding or he was counting to purify himself from uterine bleeding and experienced a zav discharge, the counting is not disrupted.

When a person afflicted by tzara'at is healed of his affliction, and he has been purified with a cedar branch, a hyssop, a crimson thread, and two birds, all of his flesh is shaved and he is immersed in a mikveh. After this entire process, he may enter Jerusalem. He then counts seven days and on the seventh day, he shaves a second time like the first shaving. He then immerses himself. His status is then that of a t'vul yom. He waits until the evening. On the morrow, on the eighth day, he immerses a second time and then he brings his sacrifices.

Why must he immerse himself on the eighth day if he immersed himself previously? Because he had become habituated to contracting lesser types of impurity during the days that he was identified as one afflicted by tzara'at and he would not show care not to contract impurity and perhaps he contracted impurity after he immersed. Therefore, he would immerse himself on the eighth day in the Women's Courtyard, in the Chamber for those Afflicted by Tzara'at, even though he did not divert his attention after his immersion.

If he delayed and did not shave on the seventh day, but instead, shaved on the eighth day or after several days, on the day that he shaves, he should immerse and wait until the evening. On the following day, he brings his sacrifices after immersing himself a second time, as we explained.

What are the rites performed for him? The person who had been afflicted with tzara'at stands outside the Courtyard of the Israelites, in front of the eastern entrance, at the lintel of the Gate of Nicanor, facing west. There all those who require atonement stand at the time they are being purified and a sotah is forced to drink the bitter waters there.

The priest takes the sheep to be offered as the guilt-offering of the afflicted person while it is alive and performs tenufah with it together with the log of oil in the eastern portion of the Temple Courtyard where all tenufot are performed. If tenufah was performed with the sheep and the oil each separately, the person fulfills his obligation.

Afterwards, the guilt-offering of the afflicted person is brought to the entrance to the Temple Courtyard. The afflicted person inserts his two hands into the Courtyard and places them on his sheep. It is then slaughtered immediately. Two priests receive its blood. One receives it in a receptacle and casts it on the altar and one receives it in his right hand. He pours it into his left hand and sprinkles it with the index finger of his right hand. If he deviated and received it in his left hand first, it is disqualified.

The priest who received a portion of the blood in a receptacle should carry it and cast it on the altar first. Afterwards, the priest who received the blood in his palm should approach the afflicted person at the entrance. The priest stands inside and the afflicted person outside. The afflicted person inserts his head and the priests applies some of the blood in his hand on the middle lobe of his right ear. Afterwards, the afflicted person inserts his right hand and the priest applies the blood to his thumb. Afterwards, he inserts his right foot and the priest applies the blood to his large toe. If he applies it the left organs, the afflicted person does not fulfill his obligation. Afterwards, his sin-offerings and burnt-offering are sacrificed.

After he applied the blood to his thumb and toe, the priest takes the log of oil and pours it into the left palm of a colleague. If he pours it into his own palm, the person fulfills his obligation. He dips his right index finger in the oil in his palm and sprinkles seven times toward the Holy of Holies. Each time he sprinkles the oil, he dips his finger into it. If he sprinkled it, but did not direct it toward the Holy of Holies, it is acceptable.

Afterwards, he approaches the afflicted person and applies the oil to the place where he applied the blood on the middle lobe of his ear, his thumb, and his large toe. He then applies the remainder of the oil to the head of the person seeking purification. If he did not apply it, he does not achieve atonement. The remainder of the log is divided among the priests.

The remainder of the log of oil may be eaten only in the Temple Courtyard by males of the priestly family like other sacrifices of the most holy order, for an association was established between it and the guilt-offering. It is forbidden to partake of the log of oil until after the seven sprinklings and the application of blood to the thumbs and toes were performed. If one partakes of it, he is liable for lashes, like one who partook of the meat of sacrifices of the most holy order before their blood was cast upon the altar.

What is meant by the term "the tinuch of the ear"? The middle lobe.

If the priest applied the oil to the sides of the thumb and the large toe, it is acceptable. If he applied it to their lower surface, it is invalid. Whether the priest applies the oil to the blood of the guilt-offering directly above it or he applied it at the side of the blood, even if the blood was cleaned off before he placed the oil on the thumb and the toe, he fulfills his obligation, as implied by Leviticus 14:28 which states that the oil must be applied "on the place of the blood of the guilt-offering."

If an afflicted person does not have a right hand, a right foot, or a right ear, he can never regain ritual purity.

When a guilt offering of an afflicted person was slaughtered without the proper intent or its blood was not applied to the person's thumb and toe, it should be brought to the altar and it requires additional offerings like those offered for a guilt-offering of one afflicted with tzara'at. The afflicted person must bring another guilt-offering for his purificiation.

If the afflicted person's sin-offering was offered before his guilt-offering, we do not say that one should stir the blood of the sin-offering until the guilt-offering was offered. Instead, it should be left overnight and then taken to the place where sacrifices are burnt.

A person may bring his guilt-offering one day and his log of oil even after ten days. If he desires to alter the designation of the log and designate it for the guilt-offering of another afflicted person, he may although he has already had it consecrated in a sacred utensil. If the amount of oil decreased before it was poured into the priest's hand and was less than a log, the measure should be refilled. If it decreased after it was poured, another log should be brought instead.

The following laws apply if the oil was poured into the priest's hand, his colleague began to sprinkle it and then the log spilled. If it spilled before he completed the seven sprinklings, he should bring another log of oil and begin the seven sprinklings. If he completed the seven sprinklings and then the log of oil spilled, he should bring another log and begin applying the oil to the thumb and toe. If he already began applying the oil to the thumb and toe and the log spilled before he could complete it, he should bring another log and begin applying the oil to the thumb and toe. If he completed applying the oil to the thumb and toe and the log spilled before he placed the remainder of the oil on the head of the person being purified, he does not have to bring another log, for the application of the oil to his head is not an indispensable requirement, as implied by Leviticus 14:17, 18 which mentions "the remainder of the oil," and "the additional oil."

If the priest applied the oil before he applied the blood, he should fill the log container with additional oil and apply the oil after the blood. If the oil was applied to the thumb and toe before the seven sprinklings were made, the log container should be filled with additional oil which should be applied to the thumb and toe after the seven sprinklings. These laws are derived from Leviticus 14:2 which states: "This is the law applying to one afflicted with tzara'at." Implied is that the entire law should be carried out according to the prescribed sequence.

If the seven sprinklings were made without the proper intent, the offering does not find favor Above, but the afflicted person regains his status of purity.

When a person who had been afflicted with tzara'at becomes afflicted again after bringing his guilt-offering, he must bring another set of sacrifices for the second affliction. Similarly, if he brings his guilt-offering for the second affliction and becomes afflicted again, he must bring a sacrifice for every time he became afflicted. If, however, he became afflicted and was healed and brought the birds and then became afflicted again, when he was healed a second time and brings his birds, it is sufficient to bring one set of sacrifices for all the times he was afflicted.

The following laws apply when an afflicted person brings the sacrifices required of a poor person and then he becomes rich, or he brought the sacrifices required of a rich person and he became poor. Everything depends on his status at the time he brings his guilt-offering. If he was wealthy at the time the guilt-offering was slaughtered, he should complete the offering of a wealthy person. If he was poor at that time, he should complete the offering of a poor person.

There were two afflicted persons whose sacrifices became intermingled and the blood of one of the sin-offerings was sprinkled on the altar and then one of the afflicted persons died. What should the afflicted person who is alive do? He may not bring an animal as a sin-offering, for perhaps the sin-offering whose blood was cast on the altar was his and we follow the principle: an animal is not brought as a sin-offering when there is a doubt whether one is liable. He may not bring a sin-offering of fowl, because a rich man who brings a poor man's offering does not fulfill his obligation.

What then should he do? He should sign all his property over to another person. Thus he will be poor. Hence he may bring a sin-offering of fowl, because of the doubt. It is not eaten, as we explained. He may then partake of sacrificial foods.

When a rich man says: "I take responsibility for the sacrifices of this afflicted person," and the afflicted person was poor, he must bring the sacrifices of a wealthy man, for the person who took the vow has the financial capacity. If a poor person said: "I take responsibility for the sacrifices of this afflicted person," and the afflicted person was wealthy, he must bring the sacrifices of a wealthy man, for the person who took the vow obligated himself to bring the sacrifices of a wealthy man.

Blessed be God who grants assistance.