"If someone contracted corpse impurity or he was far away from the Temple" are the two reasons given by the Torah. While corpse impurity is well-defined: one touches a corpse or happens to be under the same roof with a corpse, other impurity types lead to discussions; for example, we discussed one who will become pure by the Seder time. But what does it mean to be far away? The simple understanding is that it is the distance one can travel on foot on Passover's eve, starting out in the morning and arriving at the Temple in the afternoon.
But what if he has a fast horse or a car? Rabbi Nachman says that if he asked someone to bring a sacrifice for him, it is definitely valid. Not only that, he deserves a special blessing for his desire to do a mitzvah. Rav Sheshet, however, says that being too far away is similar to being ritually impure: both are barred from the Passover sacrifice this time, and both will have to make up for it thirty days later.
Art: Galloping Horse by Edvard Munch
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