Wednesday, January 20, 2021

Pesachim 67 - Pesach sheni and community that is not pure

If one is not pure with the dead's impurity and does not have the time to purify himself - since this requires seven days - he will be celebrating a repeat, called Pesach Sheni, a month later. However, if the whole community is not pure, then the Passover offering is brought nevertheless. Where is this in the Torah?

It said, "Any person who would be impure from a corpse...celebrates it a month later". This tells us that any individual is barred from bringing the sacrifice, but the community is not. That was the suggestion of Rabbi Yochanan. However, his student, colleague, and constant opponent Resh Lakish suggested that it could mean the following: an individual has a way out by celebrating Pesach Sheni, but a community has no way out at all. The Talmud goes through a string of proofs and confirms our rule.

Art:  The Death of Marat by Jacques-Louis David

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