Pesachim 77 - Can we completely dispense with ritual impurity?

In the preceding pages, we have discussed that the Passover offering is brought even when the community is ritually impure. How does this work? Do we say that the impurity is just pushed off, but we should try to observe its laws whenever we can? Or do we say that the impurity is to be completely ignored?

The question is more general: can the community, being impure with corpse impurity, bring communal sacrifices? This depends on the power of the tzitz, a golden plate worn by the High Priest. Since the High Priest wears the tzitz, the sacrifices are valid - this is Rabbi Yehudah's opinion. Rabbi Shimon disagrees: even if the High Priest does not wear the tzitz, it still creates acceptance.

Now Rabbi Shimon proves his point: on Yom Kippur, the High Priest changed into all-white garments and takes off the golden tzitz - and nevertheless, the offerings are accepted! Rabbi Yehudah answers: forget about Yom Kippur! The impurity is anyway ignored when all are impure. We see that Rabbi Yehudah thinks that impurity is completely ignored, and Rabbi Shimon - that it is just pushed off.

Art: The Dead Man by Edouard Manet