69 — Holy Hardware,  Stoneware and Halachic Hacks

Our Gemara on Amud Beis notes that certain vessels made out of dung, earth, and stone are not susceptible to ritual impurity.

Impurity equals death and traumatic lack of connection to the Godly life force, and therefore chaos. This is why, in general, the more complex or functional a vessel is, the more it is susceptible to impurity. Disposable or simple vessels such as the ones above are not receptors of impurity because they do not have enough representation of order and life within them to begin with. Certain kinds of unfinished vessels also are not susceptible to impurity for the same reason (Chulin 25a).

What is most fascinating about the laws of purity is how extensive and invasive they must have been when they were observed properly in the times of our Sages. In the times of the Temple, any object that a Niddah woman sat or lay upon became an Av Hatumah (a primary source of Tumah, Mishna Zavim 5:6). This must have necessitated extreme and difficult measures, especially for families of cohanim that subsisted on Terumah bread and sacred food, which had to be eaten in a state of ritual purity. Also, even a non-Kohen sage (who was part of the chaver society) would voluntarily take upon himself to treat his chulin food as if it were Terumah (for example, see Mishna Chagigah 2:7). Can you imagine dunking your beds, linen, couch, eating utensils, and dining room furniture in a mikvah every month?

The fact that there is no record of ancient observant Jews having their niddah wives live in separate dwellings, even with all these complications—unlike many other ancient cultures who observed this taboo—is a testament to a strong and specific will to NOT distance or reject a Niddah woman and a testament to the unique Jewish respect for intimate life between husband and wife.

The Israeli archeologist Yonatan Adler wrote a book whose purpose was to look for objective evidence of what Torah laws were observed and when (“The Origins of Judaism: An Archaeological-Historical Reappraisal”, New Haven, CT 2022, pp. 66–71). In this book he notes a fascinating anomaly that lends credence to the widespread observance of these purity laws despite what must have been the incredible practical hurdles we discussed. He found an exclusive preponderance of chalk vessels in Jewish........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)