Rambam - 3 Chapters a Day

Introduction to Hilchos Tum'at Okhalin

Included in this text is one positive commandment: The laws of the impurity that affects liquids and foods and what makes them fit to contract it.

This mitzvah is explained in the ensuing chapters.

All foods that are designated for human consumption, e.g., bread, meat, grapes, olives, and the like, are susceptible to ritual impurity. All foods that are not designated for human consumption are pure and are not susceptible to ritual impurity unless one had a specific intent and set them aside for human consumption. No foods are susceptible to ritual impurity unless it was first dampened with one of the seven liquids. This dampening is referred to as hechsher. These concepts are derived from Leviticus 11:38 which states: "When water will be placed on a seed...."

These are the seven liquids that make foods susceptible to impurity: water, dew, oil, wine, milk, blood, and honey.

They do not make foods susceptible to impurity unless they fall upon them as desired by the owner. Nor may they be squalid, for squalid liquids do not make food fit to contract impurity.

Once food has been made susceptible to ritual impurity, it retains that status after it is dry, with no liquid on it.

When food has been dampened with fruit juice, e.g., berry juice or pomegranate juice, even though it is wet and was touched by a zav or the flesh of a corpse, it is pure, because it was not made susceptible to impurity by one of the seven liquids.

Only the seven liquids that we mentioned are considered liquids that are susceptible to ritual impurity. Other fruit juices, by contrast, neither make foods susceptible to ritual impurity, nor do they contract ritual impurity themselves at all.

When grapes and olives have not reached a third of their maturity, the liquids they produce do not make foods susceptible to ritual impurity, nor are these liquids themselves susceptible to ritual impurity. Instead, they are like other fruit juices and they are pure forever.

The following herbs are not susceptible to ritual impurity even though people eat them. The rationale is that they are not eaten to receive benefit from them as independent entities, but because they impart flavor, aroma, or appearance to other foods. They include: ginger, aldartzini, the primary spices, asafetida root, asafetida, pepper, or safflower. Similar laws apply with regard to all analogous substances.

Dill can be assumed to be used to be eaten itself like other vegetables of the field. If it is intended to flavor a cooked dish, it does not contract the impurity of foods. Once dill has imparted flavor to a cooked dish, it is considered as a waste product and it does not contract the impurity of foods.

Dates and dried figs that were placed in a cooked dish as spices still contract the impurity associated with foods until they become spoiled to the point that they are not fit for human consumption.

If vetch was designated for human consumption, it contracts the impurity associated with foods.

Hearts of palm are considered as wood in every way. If they were cooked and fried, they contract the impurity associated with foods.

Grape seeds and grape pomace, even though they were collected to serve as food, do not contract the impurity associated with foods.

Hard olives and grapes that slip out and emerge from under the beam of the press while the produce is being pressed are not susceptible to ritual impurity.

To what degree is this leniency granted? For four kabbin for every kor. If more than that amount emerge, they are susceptible to ritual impurity. If they were set aside to be eaten, even if there are less than four kabbin, they are susceptible to ritual impurity.

Budding dates, budding fruit, underdeveloped fruit, and black cumin are all considered as foods and they are susceptible to ritual impurity.

Budding leaves from branches, carob trees, pepperweed and wild onions are not susceptible to impurity until they are sweetened.

Mustard seeds, lupine beans, and other foods that are pickled are susceptible to the impurity associated with foods both after they have been sweetened and before they have been sweetened.

When olives have been pickled together with their leaves, the leaves are not susceptible to ritual impurity, for they have not been pickled to be eaten, only for the sake of their appearance.

The hairs of zucchini and its flower are not susceptible to ritual impurity, because they are not food.

When honey is in its beehive, it is susceptible to the ritual impurity associated with foods, even if one does not designate it as food in his mind. When one begins removing the honey, when the honey combs are broken, the honey is susceptible to impurity as a liquid. When honey flows out of a beehive, it is susceptible to impurity as a liquid. If one considers it as a food, it is susceptible to impurity as a food.

Oil that has congealed is neither considered as food, nor a liquid in this context. Even if one thinks of it while it is congealed as a food or a liquid, his thought is of no consequence. Similarly, when blood has congealed, it is neither considered as food, nor a liquid. If one thinks of it as a food, it is susceptible to the ritual impurity associated with foods. If one thinks of it as a liquid, his thought is of no consequence.

When milk has congealed, it is neither considered as food, nor a liquid. If one thinks of it as a food, it is susceptible to the ritual impurity associated with foods. If one thinks of it as a liquid, his thought is of no consequence.

Date honey is neither considered as food, nor a liquid. If one thinks of it as a food, it is susceptible to the ritual impurity associated with foods. If one thinks of it as a liquid, his thought is of no consequence. All other fruit juices are neither considered as foods, nor liquids with regard to ritual impurity. If one thinks of one as a food or a liquid, his thought is of no consequence.

Snow is neither considered as food, nor a liquid. If one thinks of it as a food, his thought is of no consequence. If one thinks of it as a liquid, it is susceptible to the ritual impurity associated with liquids. If a portion of it contracted impurity, the entire quantity is not considered as impure. If the snow was passed over an impure earthenware container, all of it becomes impure.

When one had in mind to use milk that is in the teats of a slaughtered animal, his thought is of no consequence and it is pure. If he had the intent to use congealed milk that is in the stomach of a slaughtered nursing animal, it is susceptible to the ritual impurity associated with foods.

When grapes have been trodden upon, once one has crisscrossed over them, they are susceptible to the ritual impurity associated with liquids. If whole grapes remain, those grapes are susceptible to the ritual impurity associated with foods.

Similarly, when olives are loaded in an olive press, they are susceptible to the ritual impurity associated with liquids. If whole olives remain, those olives are susceptible to the ritual impurity associated with foods.

Although it is forbidden to benefit from any of the following: produce that is orlah, mixed species that grew in a vineyard, the meat of an ox sentenced to be stoned that was slaughtered, the meat of a calf designated to have its neck broken, whether it was slaughtered beforehand or whether its neck was broken, the birds used to purify a person afflicted with tzara'at, a firstling donkey, a mixture of milk and meat, the meat of the red heifer, and meat from a sacrifice that is piggul or notar are all susceptible to the ritual impurity associated with foods.

All foods that grow from the earth are not susceptible to ritual impurity until they are uprooted from the ground. As long as they are connected to the earth - even by a small root, as long as they can sustain themselves from it - they are not susceptible to impurity.

When a branch of a fig tree was broken off, yet it is still connected by its bark, but it cannot sustain itself from it, all the fruit on it are susceptible to ritual impurity. There is an unresolved doubt with regard to this matter: Is the remainder of the tree considered as a handle to this broken branch or not?

When vegetables become dried out while budding, e.g., cabbage or squash that becomes dried out while budding, they are not susceptible to the impurity associated with foods. If produce was harvested with the intent of it being dried, it is considered as food until it becomes totally dry and hard like wood.

When the branches of a tree that contained fruit were broken off, the fruit is considered as having been harvested. Similarly, if a tree containing fruit dried out, the fruit is considered as having been harvested.

When figs dry out when budding, they contract impurity in their place.

All foods that come from living animals are not susceptible to ritual impurity until the animals die. If one slaughtered a domesticated animal, wild animal, or fowl, even though it is still in its death throes, it is susceptible to ritual impurity.

When do fish contract impurity? When they die. If a factor arose that caused a fish to be considered as tereifah and it contracted impurity when it is in its death throes, there is an unresolved question: Is it considered as if it had died, because it already became tereifah? Or is it not susceptible to ritual impurity until it becomes inanimate like stone and does not move?

If a limb or meat that was loosely hanging from a domesticated or wild animal and could not rejuvenate itself was made fit to contract impurity, it is susceptible to impurity even when in its place attached to the animal, because it is already considered as food that has been separated. If the animal was slaughtered, the slaughter makes it fit to contract impurity, because the entire animal is considered as a "handle," to this limb. And when a "handle" is made susceptible to ritual impurity, the entire organ becomes susceptible, as will be explained. There is an unresolved question if an animal can become a "handle" to a loosely hanging limb or flesh in the animal's lifetime.

When one slaughters a domesticated animal, wild animal, or fowl, all of its meat becomes susceptible to ritual impurity because of the blood that emerges at the time of ritual slaughter. Therefore, if no blood emerges at the time of ritual slaughter, all of the meat must be made susceptible to ritual impurity like all other foods that were not yet made susceptible to impurity.

When foods are made susceptible to impurity while they are attached to the earth or they were made susceptible with water that was attached to the ground, they are not susceptible to impurity. They receive this status only after coming in contact with water that is not in contact with the earth or with other liquids after the produce has been detached from the earth, as implied by Leviticus 11:34: "in any container." It can be inferred that a liquid does not make food susceptible to impurity unless it was lifted from the ground, like water in a container. If one drew water with a container and then poured it on the ground, it does not make food susceptible to impurity.

When a zucchini was planted in a flowerpot and it grew, even though portions of it emerged outside the flowerpot, it is not susceptible to ritual impurity. The rationale is that when a flowerpot has a hole through which a small root can protrude, produce growing in it is considered as attached to the earth and anything planted in it is not susceptible to ritual impurity. Similarly, if there was water in it, the water does not make produce susceptible to impurity.

When a flowerpot does not have a hole, anything growing in it is susceptible to ritual impurity. If there is water in it, that water makes produce susceptible to impurity.

Vessels made from animal turds or earth from which roots can break through and protrude do not cause plants to become susceptible to impurity. Even though they do not have a hole, they are considered as if they have a hole.

When a flowerpot was filled with earth until its edge, it is no longer considered as a container. Instead, it is considered as a flat surface that does not have an edge, for it is no longer a receptacle.

When impure liquids fall on foods, the foods become impure even though they fell contrary to the desire of the owner. The rationale is that the food's contraction of impurity occurs at the same time as it became susceptible to impurity. This applies provided the liquids are not on the earth.

Whenever food has spoiled and rotted to the point that it is no longer fit for human consumption, it is not susceptible to ritual impurity. Similarly, a liquid that has spoiled and become foul to the point that it is no longer fit for human consumption is not susceptible to ritual impurity, just as it does not make foods susceptible to ritual impurity, as implied by Leviticus 11:34: "which he shall drink."

When one cooked an animal's hide or thought of partaking of a placenta, they contract ritual impurity as an independent entity.

When one cooks the hide of a donkey, there is an unresolved question whether it contracts ritual impurity as an independent entity, because it was cooked or it does not contract impurity, because it is very disgusting.

Kernels of wheat that are found in cattle turds or barley that is found in animal turds that were collected are not susceptible to ritual impurity. If one thought of partaking of them, they contract the ritual impurity associated with foods.

When food became impure and after it became impure, it spoiled and rotted, if it became unfit for a dog to eat or it became dry like a shard, it is pure. If it became unfit for human consumption, but it is still fit for a dog, it remains impure as it was beforehand.

Whenever food becomes impure, it cannot regain purity by being immersed in a mikveh.

When one sows impure seeds, the plant that grows from them is pure, even if it is an entity whose seed does not decompose. The above applies provided the seeds sprout roots. If, however, they do not sprout roots, they remain impure even if the seed decomposes.

When food is attached to a utensil, it is no longer considered as food. If the utensil becomes impure, it contracts the impurity of the utensil. Since the food serves as wood, it is considered as wood.

Whenever a liquid contracts impurity and afterwards spoils and becomes foul, it remains impure forever. For the impurity of a liquid never departs, even if it becomes unfit for a dog to drink. Liquid that becomes impure can never regain purity. The only exception is water, i.e., if one immersed impure water in a mikveh, when the water of the mikveh covers the impure water, it regains purity.

Hot impure water can be immersed in a cold mikveh. Similarly, cold water can be immersed in hot water, foul water can be immersed in pleasant water, and pleasant water in foul water.

When a staff was thoroughly wet with impure liquids, if a portion of it was immersed, the water on the other portion is not purified until it is immersed in its entirety.

When snow becomes impure and a portion of it is joined to the waters of a mikveh, since a portion became pure, it becomes pure in its entirety.

Temed that became impure - whether it became impure after the water was mixed with the grape dregs or whether the grape dregs were mixed with impure water - until it becomes vinegary, it can be brought into contact with a mikveh and purified, for it is like water. Once it becomes vinegary, it's like wine and it cannot be purified in a mikveh.

When a pot was filled with liquids, e.g., honey, wine, or the like, and placed in a mikveh and then a person who was a primary derivative of impurity extended his hand outward and touched the liquids, the liquids become impure even though they are in the mikveh. And the pot contracts impurity from the liquids in it, even though it is in the mikveh.

If, by contrast, the pot contained water, the pot is pure, because a derivative of impurity never imparts impurity to an earthenware container. Nor does the water it contains contract impurity, for it is mixed with the water of the mikveh. If, however, a person who is considered a source of impurity extended his hand and touched it, the pot becomes impure, for a mikveh does not impart purity to an earthenware container.

Drainage water can be assumed to be impure. If rain water descended upon it to the extent that it became the majority, the mixture is pure. If they are of equal quantities, everything is impure, whether the water is found in a container or on the earth.

When does this apply? When the drainage water came first. If, however, the rain water came first and then even the slightest amount of drainage water fell upon them, everything is impure, for when impure liquids descend into pure liquids, even the slightest amount imparts impurity.

When a person spreads mud on the roof of his house or if he washes his clothes and water is dripping from them and then it rained and the dripping increased, we conclude that the majority is rain water and the water that drips is pure.

The following rules apply when a person applied ritually pure oil to his body and afterwards contracted impurity. If he immersed himself while the oil is still on his body, if merely the amount of oil to rub on a small finger was applied, the oil is pure as it was originally.

If a person applies impure oil to his body and immerses himself, the oil on his body does not regain purity. Instead, if there is moist oil on his body, the oil remains impure. If there is not enough that feels moist, it is nullified because of the small amount that is there.

We have already explained that food does not contract impurity until it is made fit to do so and that all food that is not designated for human consumption does not contract ritual impurity until it is designated for human consumption.

The following rules apply when food is designated for human consumption in one locale, but is not designated for human consumption in another place. In a place where it is so designated, special intent is not necessary to designate it for human consumption. In a place where it is not so designated, one must have a special intent to designate it for human consumption and then it will be susceptible to ritual impurity. Any food that will ultimately impart impurity to a person or to keilim need not be exposed to liquids to become susceptible to ritual impurity.

There are foods that require exposure to liquids, but do not require a special intent. There are foods that require a special intent, but do not require exposure to liquids, foods that require special intent and exposure to liquids, and foods that require neither special intent, nor exposure to liquids.

What is implied? All foods that are designated for human consumption in any place require exposure to liquids, but do not require special intent. Kosher fish and kosher locusts in all places and non-kosher locusts and fish in rural areas are considered as designated for human consumption and require exposure to liquids, but do not require a special intent. Similarly, in all places, the fat of a kosher animal that died requires exposure to liquids, but does not require special intent.

The following require special intent and exposure to liquids: Meat that was separated from a living being, whether a human, animal, or fowl, the carcass of a non-kosher fowl, in rural areas, the fat of a kosher domesticated animal that was ritually slaughtered - even though it was exposed to liquids when slaughtered, it requires a second exposure after one had the intent to partake of it, and all wild vegetables, e.g., very pungent onions and mushrooms. Similarly, in rural areas, small locusts and fish require a special intent. When endives were sown for animal fodder and then the owner changed his mind and thought of using them for human consumption, they are not subject to ritual impurity unless he had such intent after they were picked. For an intent that one had while produce is connected to the earth is not significant. When one collected endives for an animal, washed them, and then thought to serve them to a human being, they must be exposed to liquids again after the change of mind. Similar laws apply in all analogous situations.

If one thought of partaking of the the allal, it can contract the impurity associated with foods. If not, it is considered as wood and it is not susceptible to ritual impurity. Similarly, bones that are joined to meat, the giddim, the soft portions of the horns and the hoofs, the thin feathers and the wooly hairs of a fowl, the soft portion of its nails and its beak that are embedded in its flesh require special intent and exposure to liquids.

The following require neither special intent, nor exposure to liquids: the carcass of an animal from a kosher species, the carcass of a fowl from a kosher species, and the fat of a domesticated animal in large cities. None of these require either special intent, or exposure to liquids. The rationale is that since they are designated for human consumption, there is no need for special intent. They do not require exposure to liquids for ultimately, an olive-sized portion of them can impart impurity to a person or to a k'li and any substance that imparts impurity of a more severe type does not require exposure to liquids.

The following require special intent, but not exposure to liquids: The carcass of a fowl from a kosher species in rural areas and the carcass of an animal from a non-kosher species in all places. The above applies when one has in mind to partake of less than an olive-sized portion. An olive-sized portion, by contrast, is a primary source of impurity.

When a Jew slaughters a non-kosher animal for a gentile and slits the two - or the majority of the two - signs of ritual slaughter, it becomes susceptible to the impurity associated with food as long as it is in its death-throes. It does not require a specific intent, for when a Jew slaughters an animal for a gentile to eat, there is no greater special intent. It does not require exposure to liquids, for ultimately, it will impart impurity of a more severe type.

If he only slit one of the signs of ritual slaughter or stabbed it in the throat, it does not contract the impurity associated with foods. Similarly, if a gentile slaughtered a kosher animal for a Jew, slitting the two - or the majority of the two - signs of ritual slaughter, it imparts the impurity associated with food as long as it is in its death-throes and it does not need to be exposed to liquids. If he only slit one of the signs of ritual slaughter or stabbed it in the throat, it does not contract the impurity associated with foods and is considered like other animal carcasses.

When a person cuts meat from a limb severed from a living animal and, afterwards, considered using it as food, it requires exposure to liquids to become susceptible to impurity. If he thought of using it as food and then severed it, it does not require exposure to liquids, because it imparts the severe impurity associated with an animal carcass. And whenever a substance imparts severe impurity, it need not be exposed to liquids.

When a person has in mind to partake of less than an olive-sized portion of the carcass of a non-kosher animal and combined it with other foods to complete the egg-sized portion of impure foods required to impart impurity, the entire amount need not be exposed to water. The rationale is that were one to increase the portion that is less than an olive-sized portion in the egg-sized portion until it was the size of an olive, it would impart severe impurity.

Similarly, when there is an olive-sized portion of meat from an animal that one had in mind to eat that was covered with dough until it reached the size of an egg, since it does not impart impurity when touched because of the dough, it is necessary that one have in mind to use it as food. The dough need not be exposed to liquids to contract impurity. The rationale is that the entire measure can impart impurity when carried, because of the olive-sized portion of the animal carcass it contains. Even though it does not impart impurity when touched, it is considered as if it is ultimately capable of imparting more severe impurity. Therefore it need not be exposed to liquids.

When there is less than an olive-sized portion of a human corpse to which other foods were added so that an egg-sized portion of food would be reached, one must have in mind partaking of the entire amount for it to become susceptible to impurity, since generally, the entire amount is considered of no importance by all people. The entire amount does not require to be exposed to water, because of the meat from the corpse that it contains.

When an olive-sized portion of a human corpse is covered with dough, the entire amount imparts the severe impurity associated with a human corpse.

When a person cuts flesh from a living human being to feed to an animal, if afterwards, he thinks of using it as food for humans, for it to impart the impurity associated with foods, he must have such an intent, but it need not be exposed to water.

When a chick falls into a vat of wine and dies, even though the vat is located in a city, it becomes repulsive in the vat. Therefore to become susceptible to ritual impurity, one must have a specific intent to partake of it.

If, when one lifted it out of the vat, he thought of feeding it to a gentile, it imparts impurity, for he thought of using it for human consumption. If he thought of feeding it to a dog, it does not contract the impurity associated with foods. If the person who thought of feeding it to a person was a deafmute, a mentally or emotionally compromised person, or a minor, it is pure. If such individuals lifted it out of the vat to feed it to a person, it is impure, for their deeds are significant, but not their intent.