Q&A: A Common Denominator Among the Primary Sources of Ritual Impurity
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This is an English translation (via GPT-5.4). Read the original Hebrew version.
A Common Denominator Among the Primary Sources of Ritual Impurity
Question
Hello Rabbi,
There is a well-known idea that the common denominator among the primary sources of ritual impurity is that they are connected to the absence of life. But recently I thought to suggest a different common denominator: that they are connected to things from which a person's soul recoils in disgust. That also explains why the eight creeping creatures convey impurity (even though they do not involve the absence of life).
What do you think?
Answer
Possibly. All of these are reasons for the verse / underlying rationales of the law. But clearly not everything disgusting is impure (only what is impure is disgusting).
And indeed, in the Persian religion and in Hinduism, excrement also conveys impurity, and from the fact that the Torah did not deem it impure, it seems clear that the absence of life is a better fit.