Defilement Contracted by Childbirth
GOD spoke to Moses, saying:

“Speak to the Israelites, saying: ‘Returning to the laws of ritual defilement, we will now discuss the ways in which the human body itself can become a source of ritual defilement. If a woman conceives and gives birth to a male child, or miscarries even a dissolved fetus (and, all the more so, a fully formed fetus), she becomes ritually defiled and remains so for seven days. Specifically, she becomes ritually defiled to the same degree as she does during the days of her menstrual flow, as will be explained later, even if she did not bleed during the birth.

On the eighth day after the birth of a viable boy, the flesh of his foreskin must be circumcised.

She must immerse herself in a mikveh after seven full days have passed since she gave birth; this immersion purifies her from the ritual defilement caused by the birth. For the following 33 days, she will remain in a transitional state, during which defilement-by-bleeding is deferred and her uterine blood is therefore not a source of defilement should she bleed. After the 40th day from birth, uterine bleeding will once again ritually defile her, as will be explained later. Normally, once someone has immersed in a mikveh in order to purify himself of ritual defilement, he is permitted to eat terumah after nightfall (if he is a priest or qualifying member of his household), and he is permitted to eat sacrificial meat and enter the Tabernacle precincts the following morning. In the case of a woman who gives birth to a boy, however, these cutoff points are delayed: she may not eat any consecrated food, nor may she enter the Sanctuary, until the 40 days of her purification from this form of ritual defilement have been completed. Thus, she may only eat terumah after nightfall following the 40th day, and she may only eat sacrificial meat and enter the Tabernacle precincts the following morning.

If she gives birth to a female child, she becomes ritually defiled – to the same degree as she does during her menstruation period – and remains so for two weeks instead of one. She must immerse herself in a mikveh after these two weeks have passed; this immersion purifies her from the ritual defilement caused by the birth. Her transitional period, too, is twice that of a woman who gives birth to a boy: she will remain in this state – during which defilement-by-bleeding is deferred, her uterine blood is not a source of defilement, and she is forbidden to eat consecrated food or enter the Sanctuary – for 66 additional days. Similarly, she may only eat terumah after nightfall following the 80th day, and she may only eat sacrificial meat and enter the Tabernacle precincts the following morning.

Purification After Childbirth
When the period of her purification has been completed, whether the 40 days for a son or the 80 days for a daughter, then, the following morning (i.e., of the 41st or 81st day, respectively), she must bring a sheep in its first year as an ascent-offering and a young pigeon or a turtledove as a sin-offering into the Courtyard, outside the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, and give them to the priest. Although the woman has committed no sin by giving birth, she is nevertheless required to bring a sin-offering in order that the birth contribute toward the eventual full atonement for Eve’s sin of having eaten of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil, part of the corrective punishment for which was that childbirth be painful.

The priest must first offer up the sin-offering before GOD and thereby effect atonement for her. Inasmuch as until this point she was forbidden to eat sacrificial meat or enter the Tabernacle precincts, she was considered “defiled” in that regard. Thus – through the sin-offering – she will be purified, not only in fact but also in name, from the ritual defilement that she contracted when she delivered a child from the source of her blood, and from that time on be allowed to eat sacrificial meat and enter the Tabernacle precincts. After offering up her sin-offering, the priest must offer up her ascent-offering. This is the law that applies to a woman who gives birth, whether to a male or a female.

If she cannot afford a sheep for her ascent-offering, she may – instead of bringing a sheep for an ascent-offering and a fowl for a sin-offering – take two turtledoves or two young pigeons and offer up one as an ascent-offering and one as a sin-offering. The priest must first effect atonement for her through the sin-offering, and she will thus be rid of this defilement. He must then offer up the ascent-offering on her behalf.’”

Tzara’at that Develops out of a White Dermal Lesion
GOD spoke to Moses, instructing him to convey His words to Aaron, saying:

“If a person – adult or child – develops (a) a wool-white spot, (b) an egg-membrane-white spot, (c) a snow-white spot, (d) a lime-white spot, or (e) a spot of any of these four degrees of whiteness tinged with red streaks – but not so many red streaks that the spot loses its white appearance – on the skin of his flesh, covering at least an area equivalent to a square the length of each of whose sides is equal to the diameter of a Cilician bean [i.e., 154 mm2 or 0.24 in2], and it seems, according to the symptoms that will be described presently, that it forms a tzara’at-lesion on the skin of his flesh, he must be brought to Aaron the high priest, or to one of his sons, the regular priests, or their successors, for only they are authorized to pronounce someone or something defiled or undefiled on account of tzara’at.

Tzara’at can develop out of any of these four types of white spots. There are three signs that indicate that a white lesion has developed into tzara’at: white hairs, spreading, and healthy flesh. The rules regarding white hairs are as follows: The priest must examine the lesion on the skin of his flesh, and if two or more originally dark hairs within the lesion have turned white since the appearance of the lesion – whether the appearance of the lesion, in the case of a snow-white or lime-white spot, is deeper than that of the unaffected skin of his flesh (due to its shininess), even though the spot is not actually deeper than the skin, or, in the case of the wool-white or egg-membrane-white spot, the appearance of the lesion is not deeper than that of the skin (due to its dullness) – it is a tzara’at-lesion. When the priest sees this, he must pronounce him ritually defiled. The practical ramifications of the ritual defilement contracted on account of tzara’at are the same as those for the ritual defilement contracted by a man who has suffered two or more discrete non-seminal discharges, which will be discussed in detail later.

These are the rules regarding spreading: If the lesion on the skin of his flesh is a snow-white or lime-white spot, whose appearance is deeper than that of the unaffected skin, or a wool-white or egg-membrane-white spot, whose appearance is not deeper than that of the unaffected skin, but no previously dark hairs have turned white since the appearance of the lesion and there is no patch of healthy skin within the lesion (as will be described presently), then the priest must quarantine the person with the lesion in a separate house for seven days, during which the priest must not see him, in order that the priest be able afterward to discern whether the lesion has spread during this time.

On the seventh day, the priest must examine him. If (a) the lesion has remained the same in its appearance, i.e., color, and (b) the lesion has not grown and spread on the skin, and (c) no previously dark hairs within it have turned white, and (d) no patch of healthy flesh has appeared within it (as will be described presently), the priest must quarantine him for seven days a second time.

After Second Quarantine
At the end of his second quarantine-week, the priest must examine him on the seventh (i.e., 13th) day a second time. If the lesion’s color has not become darker; or it has spread, covering more (but not all) of his body; or previously dark hairs within it have turned white; or a patch of healthy flesh has appeared within it; it is tzara’at, and the priest must pronounce him defiled. If, however, no previously dark hairs have turned white, no patch of healthy flesh has appeared, the lesion has become darker than it was before this quarantine – even though it has not darkened to the extent that it no longer exhibits one of the four degrees of whiteness that can develop into tzara’at – and the lesion has not spread on the skin, the priest must pronounce him rid of this defilement, for it is now clear that this lesion is not a case of tzara’at: it has become a different condition, termed mispachat, which does not cause defilement; no third quarantine period is needed. He must immerse himself and his garments in a mikveh, because being quarantined rendered him defiled, and then he will be rid of this defilement.

If the mispachat spreads on the skin sometime after the person was shown to the priest for his purification on the 13th day, he must be shown to the priest again.

The priest must examine the mispachat. If the mispachat has spread on the skin since the previous examination, the priest must pronounce him defiled, for it is no longer a mispachat; it has turned into tzara’at.

Healthy Flesh Within a Lesion
The following rules apply to the third indication of tzara’at, the appearance of healthy flesh within the lesion: As was stated previously, if a person has a white lesion that appears to be tzara’at, due to its falling into one of the four categories of whiteness mentioned above, he must be brought to the priest.

The priest must examine it. If there is on the skin a wool-white spot or any of the other three types of white lesions that can develop into tzara’at, and either (a), as stated previously, it has turned at least two of the formerly dark hairs within it white, or (b) there is in the wool-white spot (or other type of lesion) a contiguous patch of healthy, live flesh at least the size of a lentil bean and enclosed completely within the lesion, then,

in the case of the appearance of healthy flesh, you should not be deceived into thinking that this is a sign that the tzara’at is healing; rather, it is a case of old, purulent tzara’at remaining under the new, healthy skin of his flesh. Both in this case and in the case of newly white hairs, the priest must pronounce him defiled. He need not quarantine him, because he is definitely defiled.

As we have seen, the spreading of a lesion indicates that it is tzara’at. If, however, the tzara’at erupts all over the skin to the extent that the tzara’at covers all the skin of the person with the lesion, from his head to his feet, wherever the eyes of the priest can see it – meaning that the tzara’at need not appear on interior skin (such as that inside the nose or mouth) that is not readily visible during an external examination – then

the priest must examine it. If the tzara’at has indeed covered all his flesh, he must pronounce the person with the lesion rid of this defilement. The fact that he has turned completely white indicates that this lesion is not an anomaly but the natural condition of his body; therefore, he is not defiled.

Returning to the laws regarding healthy flesh that appears within a tzara’at-lesion: It was stated previously that the appearance of such a patch renders the individual defiled. The exception is a patch of healthy flesh that appears on the tip of a finger, toe, ear lobe, the nose, or the male reproductive organ. Such a patch does not render the person defiled, because it is impossible for the priest to see both sides of these body parts at once, and therefore he cannot see the entire lesion at once in order to render a decision on it. If, however, the body part later becomes fat, thereby spreading out the tip of the limb such that it is possible to see the entire lesion (and the entire patch of healthy flesh on it) at once, then, on the day that a patch of live flesh at least the size of a lentil bean appears in it, he will become defiled.

Therefore, he must be shown to the priest, and the priest must examine the healthy, live flesh, and must pronounce him defiled. The appearance of live flesh indicates that the person is defiled; the lesion is tzara’at.

But if the healthy, live flesh once again turns white, he must come to the priest

and the priest must reexamine him. If the lesion has indeed turned totally white again, the priest must pronounce the lesion undefiled. The person will thus be rid of this defilement.

Tzara’at that Develops out of an Inflammation
If tzara’at develops out of a partially healed inflammation, the rules of diagnosis differ slightly from those that apply when it develops out of a white spot, as follows: This type of tzara’at can only develop on a person’s flesh if there is an inflammation (i.e., a localized heating resulting from the infection) of its skin due to a blow or disease, and the inflammation heals enough to form a membrane. (In contrast, a fully healed inflammation is considered normal skin – even if it leaves scar tissue – on which tzara’at can only develop out of a white lesion, as described above.)

If, in the location of the partially healed inflammation, there is left one of the four white spots that can develop into tzara’at, i.e., either a wool-white spot, an egg-membrane-white-spot, a snow-white spot, or a lime-white spot, and the spot is either uniformly white or white with red streaks – but not so many red streaks that the spot loses its white appearance – he must be shown to the priest.

The priest must examine him. If its appearance is, in the case of a snow-white or lime-white spot, lower than that of the skin (due to its shininess), or in the case of a wool-white or egg-membrane-white spot, not any lower than that of the skin (due to its dullness), and at least two of its originally dark hairs have turned white, the priest must pronounce him defiled, for the transmutation of dark hairs into white indicates that this spot is a tzara’at-lesion that has erupted on the inflammation.

But if, when the priest examines it, it does not contain newly white hair, and its appearance is, in the case of a snow-white or lime-white spot, lower than that of the skin, or in the case of a wool-white or egg-membrane-white spot, not any lower than that of the skin because it is darker than a snow-white or lime-white spot, the priest must quarantine him for seven days.

If, when the priest examines him at the end of the quarantine week, he sees that it has spread on the skin – covering more (but not all) of the body – or at least two of its previously dark hairs have turned white, the priest must pronounce him defiled, for it is now clear that this spot is a tzara’at-lesion.

If the snow-white spot or other spot remained the same size, not having spread, and it became darker than it was before (even though it has not darkened to the extent that it no longer exhibits one of the four degrees of whiteness that can develop into tzara’at), it is only the scar tissue of the inflammation, and the priest must pronounce him rid of this defilement. No second week of quarantine is required. Unlike lesions that develop on healthy skin, the appearance of healthy flesh within a lesion that develops on an inflammation does not indicate defilement.

Tzara’at that Develops out of a Burn
If tzara’at develops out of a partially healed burn, the rules of diagnosis are the same as when it develops out of an inflammation: This type of tzara’at can only develop on a person’s flesh if there is a burn on his skin resulting from contact with fire or something hot, and the healed area of the burn has begun to form a membrane. (In contrast, a fully healed burn is considered normal skin – even if it leaves scar tissue – on which tzara’at can only develop out of a white lesion, as described above.) If such a partially healed burn turns into a snow-white spot or one of the three other types of white spots that can develop into tzara’at, and the spot is either white with red streaks – but not so many red streaks that the spot loses its white appearance – or uniformly white,

the priest must examine it. If at least two originally dark hairs in the snow-white or other spot have turned white, and the appearance is, in the case of a snow-white or lime-white spot, deeper than that of the skin (due to its shininess), or in the case of a wool-white or egg-membrane-white spot, not any deeper than that of the skin (due to its dullness), it is tzara’at that has erupted in the burn. The priest must pronounce him defiled, for the transmutation of dark hairs into white indicates that this spot is a tzara’at-lesion.

But if, when the priest examines it, the snow-white spot or other spot does not contain newly white hair, and its appearance is, in the case of a snow-white or lime-white spot, lower than that of the skin, or in the case of a wool-white or egg-membrane-white spot, not any lower than that of the skin because it is darker than a snow-white or lime-white spot, the priest must quarantine him for seven days.

The priest must examine him on the seventh day. If the lesion has spread on the skin – covering more (but not all) of the body – or at least two of its previously dark hairs have turned white, the priest must pronounce him defiled, for it is then clear that this spot is a tzara’at-lesion.

If the snow-white spot or other spot remained the same size, not having spread on the skin, and it became darker than it was before (even though it has not darkened to the extent that it no longer exhibits one of the four degrees of whiteness that can develop into tzara’at) – such that, for example, in the case of an originally snow-white spot, it is now only a wool-white spot on the burn – the priest must pronounce him rid of this defilement, because it is now clear that the lesion is only the scar tissue of the burn. No second week of quarantine is required. Although the same diagnostic procedures apply both to potential tzara’at-lesions that develop out of an inflammation and those that develop out of a burn, they are still considered two distinct types of tzara’at: adjacent appearances of these two types of lesion do not combine to cover the requisite area to be considered problematic.

Tzara’at that Develops on the Head
If a lesion appears on a part of the head that is usually covered with hair, the laws regarding how tzara’at can develop out of such a lesion differ from those governing how it can develop out of lesions elsewhere on the body. If a man or a woman has a lesion of any color or combination of colors, covering at least an area equivalent to a square each of whose sides is equal to the diameter of a Cilician bean [i.e., 154 mm2 or 0.24 in2], on the normally hairy part of the head or on the part of the head where the beard grows,

the priest must examine the lesion. If, however, a lesion occurs on a part of the head where no hair normally grows (e.g., a woman’s chin) or where hair will normally grow but has not yet grown (e.g., a boy’s chin), it is diagnosed according to the rules governing lesions appearing on the rest of the body, which were discussed previously. If, regardless of whether its appearance is deeper or not deeper than that of the skin, there are at least two hairs inside it that are thin – i.e., shorter than the other hairs – and have turned from their natural color into pale gold, the priest must pronounce him defiled, for it is a netek, which is the name of tzara’at of the head or the beard. If there is only one (or no) gold hair within the lesion, or if the gold hair is as long as the rest of the hair, or if within the lesion there are at least two naturally colored hairs remaining from before the lesion appeared (even if there are now also two or more gold hairs within the lesion), the person is not defiled.

But if the priest examines the netek-lesion, and, regardless of whether its appearance is deeper or not deeper than that of the skin, there are not two black hairs – or hairs of any other color, including gold – in it, the priest must quarantine the person with the netek-lesion for seven days.

The priest must examine the lesion on the seventh day. If the netek has shrunk to less than the symptomatic area or naturally colored hair has appeared within it, the person is no longer defiled; the priest must pronounce him rid of this defilement, and he must undergo the purification process that will be detailed later. If the netek has spread and there is no naturally colored hair in its new growth, or if two or more gold hairs have appeared within it, the individual is defiled and the priest must pronounce him so. But if there is no change – i.e., the netek has not spread and no naturally colored or gold hair appeared in it – then, regardless of whether the appearance of the netek is deeper or not deeper than that of the skin,

the person must shave himself in the vicinity of the netek, but he must not shave the netek or two rows of hairs surrounding and adjacent to the netek, in order to enable the priest to easily determine if it has spread when he next examines it. The priest must then quarantine the person with the netek again for seven days. The seventh day of the first quarantine week also counts as the first day of the second quarantine week.

The priest must examine the netek on the seventh (i.e., 13th) day. If the netek has spread, or if gold hair has appeared within it, the individual is defiled and the priest must pronounce him so. If there is again no change – i.e., the netek did not spread on the skin and no gold hair appeared in it – then, regardless of whether its appearance is deeper or not deeper than that of the skin, the priest must pronounce him rid of this defilement, and the individual must immerse himself and his garments in a mikveh and undergo the rest of the purification process that will be described later, and then he and his garments will become rid of this defilement in fact. No third quarantine period is needed.

But if the netek spreads on the skin after he has been declared rid of this defilement,

the priest must examine him, and if the netek has indeed spread on the skin, the priest need not search for a gold hair, for he is defiled on account of the netek having spread. Similarly, if two gold hairs appear on the skin after he has been declared rid of this defilement, this suffices to defile him.

But if the appearance – i.e., color – of the netek has remained the same, or if black hair or hair of any color other than gold has grown in it, the netek has healed. He is therefore not defiled, and the priest must pronounce him rid of this defilement.

Suspicion of Tzara’at Due to a Lack of Pigmentation
If a man or woman has spots on the skin of their flesh that are similar to those that can develop into tzara’at, i.e., white spots,

the priest must examine them. If there are dark-white spots on the skin of their flesh, i.e., darker than any of the previously described four grades of whiteness that can develop into tzara’at, it is nothing more than a lack of pigmentation that has erupted on the skin. He or she is not defiled, even if symptoms characteristic of tzara’at later develop within these spots.

Unnatural Baldness
If a man loses all the hair on the back of his head, he is unnaturally bald. Therefore, if a lesion develops on this area of his head, he cannot become defiled by it according to the diagnostic rules governing normally hairy parts of the head; such a lesion is rather diagnosed according to the rules governing lesions on the rest of the body, which were given previously.

Similarly, if he loses the hair on the side of his head toward his face, including the temples on each side of the head, he is unnaturally bald at the front. Therefore, if a lesion develops on this area of his head, he cannot become defiled by it according to the diagnostic rules governing normally hairy parts of the head; again, such a lesion is rather diagnosed according to the rules governing lesions on the rest of the body, which were given previously.

Thus, if a lesion that is either uniformly white or white with red streaks develops on the back or front bald area of such a person’s head, it is a likely case of tzara’at erupting on his back or front bald area.

The priest must therefore examine it. If there is indeed a lesion on his back or front bald area, and this lesion is either wool-white or another of the four shades of white, and its whiteness is either uniformly white or white with red streaks, like the appearance of tzara’at on the skin of the flesh, the lesion must be subjected to the diagnostic process described previously for a body-lesion.

If the lesion satisfies any of the diagnostic criteria, then he is a man afflicted with tzara’at; he is defiled. The priest must therefore pronounce him defiled on account of his lesion on his head.

As to what must be done with a person afflicted with any type of tzara’at, i.e., a person on whom there is a lesion that has been diagnosed as tzara’at: his garments must be torn, the hair on his head must be allowed to overgrow; he must cover his lower face with a garment up to his mustache (or, if a woman, simply up to the upper lip) and call out loud, “Defiled! Defiled!” so people will know to stay away from him.

He will remain defiled as long as the lesion remains upon him. Since he is defiled on account of tzara’at, he must, unlike a person defiled in any other way, dwell isolated from other people, including other defiled persons. His dwelling must be outside the camp: when we will later be organized into three concentric camps, he must dwell outside all three. This is a just, corrective reciprocal punishment for his having caused a rift between a married couple or among friends through gossip or slander.

Tzara’at on Garments and Leather Articles
As for the laws regarding a garment or other article that has the tzara’at-lesion upon it, these laws apply only to lesions (a) on woolen garments, (b) on linen garments,

(c) on threads prepared to be used as the warp or the woof of linen or wool garments, (d) on unworked leather, or (e) on anything made from leather.

If the lesion on the garment, on the warp- or woof-threads, on the leather garment, or on any leather article, covers at least an area equivalent to a square each of whose sides are equal to the diameter of a Cicilian bean [i.e., 154 mm2 or 0.24 in2] and is pure green or pure red, it is a tzara’at-lesion, and it must therefore be shown to the priest.

The priest must examine the lesion, confirm that it is the required color and size, and quarantine the article with the lesion for seven days.

He must examine the lesion on the seventh day. If the lesion has spread on the garment, the warp- or woof-threads, the leather garment, or any article made from leather, the lesion is an onerous tzara’at-lesion – in that the article’s owner will suffer inconvenience and monetary loss on its account – since it is ritually defiled and may no longer be used.

Rather, he must burn the garment, the warp- or woof-threads of wool or linen, or whatever leather article that has the lesion upon it, since the lesion is an onerous tzara’at-lesion. Nonetheless, only the wool, linen, or leather must be burned and destroyed in fire; if the hems of the garment are made out of a different material, they need not be destroyed. Before it is burned, the afflicted article is ritually defiled to the same degree as a man who has suffered two or more discrete non-seminal discharges, which will be discussed in detail later.

But if the priest examines the lesion and the lesion has not spread on the garment, the warp- or woof-threads, or whatever leather article it is on,

the priest must order that the part of the article on which the lesion is located be washed, and he must quarantine it again for seven days. The entire article need not be washed; only the area containing the lesion and the adjacent part.

Then the priest must examine the article after the lesion has been washed and quarantined for a second week. If the lesion has not changed its color by turning a lighter or darker shade of red or green, and the lesion has either not spread at all, or has spread but not covered the entire article, it is defiled. You must burn it in fire, for it is now clear that the lesion is a deep-looking lesion on the worn or new article. If, however, the discolored lesion spreads over the entire article, it thereby becomes rid of this defilement. If the lesion does not spread but changes in color from pure red to pure green (or vice versa), it must either be treated as a new lesion and quarantined or be pronounced defiled.

But if the priest examines the article after it has been washed and quarantined for a second week, and the lesion has turned a lighter or darker shade of red or green, he must rip it out of the garment, the leather, or the warp- or woof-threads, and burn the part of the article that was ripped out.

If the lesion reappears on the garment, the warp- or woof-threads, or any leather article, it is a recurrent growth. You must burn in fire the entire article upon which the lesion is found.

Regarding any garment, warp- or woof-threads, or leather article that you wash by order of the priest, quarantine for a second week, and from which the lesion then disappears entirely, it must be immersed a second time – this time not to be washed, but to be ritually purified in a mikveh – and then it will be rid of this defilement.

This is the law governing the diagnosis of a tzara’at-lesion on a woolen or linen garment, warp- or woof-threads, or any leather article, according to which it becomes rid of defilement or defiled.”

Purification from Tzara’at
GOD spoke to Moses, saying,

“The following is the law regarding the procedure that must be followed in order to rid the person afflicted with tzara’at of his defilement. The process of his purification must take place during the day. Once the symptoms of tzara’at have disappeared, he must be brought to the priest who is designated to examine him, but only after

the priest has gone outside the camp, since the afflicted person had been banished from the camp and may not reenter it until he is pronounced rid of this defilement. The priest must examine him, and if the tzara’at-lesion has healed in the afflicted person,

the priest must order someone to take for the person who is to be purified two birds that are (a) alive and not suffering from a fatal disease and (b) of a species that does not render one spiritually defiled, plus an unpeeled cedar stick at least a cubit [48 cm or 19 inches] long, a strip of scarlet wool, and some hyssop.

The priest must order someone to slaughter one bird such that its blood drip into an earthenware vessel and onto spring water that has been placed in that vessel.

As for the live bird, the priest must take it, along with the bundle comprising the cedar stick, the strip of scarlet wool, and the hyssop, and dip the bundle, along with the live bird, into the blood of the slaughtered bird that previously dripped onto the spring water.

He must then dash some of the solution of blood and spring water adhering to the bundle and the bird seven times upon the back of the hand of the person being purified from tzara’at, and he will thereby begin to purify him. The priest must then send away the live bird into the open field. This bird is permitted for consumption if it is subsequently caught.

The person being purified must then immerse his garments in a mikveh, shave off all the hair on his body with a razor – even those parts of the head that it is normally forbidden to shave – and immerse himself in the water of a mikveh, and he will thus be purified to an additional degree, although not yet completely. After this, he may enter the camp, but he must remain ‘outside his tent,’ i.e., he must not engage in marital relations, for seven days.

Shaving and Sacrifices for Purification
On the seventh day, he must again shave off all his hair, but this time only that which is similar to the hair on his head, his beard, and his eyebrows – i.e., he must shave off all his hair from the places on the body where there is usually a visible, dense growth of hair. He must then again immerse his garments and immerse his flesh in the water of a mikveh, and thus be purified to an even greater degree, although still not yet completely.

On the eighth day, he must take two unblemished male lambs in their first year and one unblemished female lamb in its first year, in order to sacrifice them – one as a guilt-offering, one as an ascent-offering, and one as a sin-offering, respectively – as will be described presently. All three of these offerings require accompanying grain-offerings and wine-libations, even though, as you will be taught later, guilt-offerings and sin-offerings are not generally accompanied by grain-offerings and wine-libations. Therefore, in addition to the three animals, the person being purified must take three separate tenths of an ephah of fine flour, each mixed with a quarter of a hin of olive oil as a grain-offering to accompany each animal sacrifice, plus three separate quarter-hins of wine for the libations accompanying each animal sacrifice. In addition, he must take one log of olive oil for the purification rites, as will be presently described.

The priest who is performing the purification must position the person being purified, together with these things, before GOD, i.e., in front of the entrance to the Courtyard of the Tent of Meeting. The person cannot yet actually enter the Tabernacle precincts, since he is still not completely purified of his defilement.

The priest must take one of the two male lambs and bring it into the Courtyard in order to sacrifice it as a guilt-offering, along with the log of oil. Before slaughtering the lamb, he must wave them – the lamb and the oil – as a wave-offering before GOD.

Even though this guilt-offering is unique in that it must be positioned at the entrance to the Courtyard before being slaughtered, the priest must still slaughter the lamb in the place where one slaughters the sin-offering and the ascent-offering, just like all guilt offerings, i.e., within the holy place, the Courtyard, north of the Outer Altar. Furthermore, despite the fact that the purification rites require special applications of this offering’s blood, as will be described presently, its blood still must be applied to the Altar and its fat burned up upon the Altar, for regarding these aspects of the priest’s service, the guilt-offering – including this one – is like the sin-offering. Nonetheless, just as the blood of other guilt-offerings is applied to the lower half of the Altar by dashing it at the two diagonally opposite corners – unlike the blood of sin-offerings, which is applied to the protrusions of the Altar – so is the case with this guilt-offering. It is a sacrifice of superior holiness like all other guilt-offerings; its blood is therefore applied to the Altar in the same way as that of all other guilt-offerings.

Applying the Blood and the Oil
After the lamb is slaughtered, the priest must take some of the blood of the guilt-offering, and the priest must apply it with his finger onto the middle of the ridge of the antihelix of the right ear of the person being purified, on the lower section of his right thumb, and on the lower section of his right big toe.

The priest must then take some of the log of oil and pour it onto the priest’s – i.e., his own – left palm.

The priest must then dip his right index finger into some of the oil that is on his left palm, and dash some of the oil with his index finger seven times in the direction of the Holy of Holies, this being considered before GOD.

The priest must then apply some of the remainder of the oil that is in his palm on the middle of the ridge of the antihelix of the right ear of the person being purified, on the lower section of his right thumb, and on the lower section of his right big toe, on the places where he just applied the blood of the guilt-offering. It does not matter if the blood is still there or if it had been wiped off in the meantime.

The priest must then apply what is left over from the oil in the priest’s – i.e., his own – palm onto the head of the person being purified. The priest will thus effect partial atonement for him before GOD.

The priest must then offer up the female lamb as a sin-offering, thereby effecting additional atonement for the person being purified of his defilement. After this, he must slaughter the second male lamb as an ascent-offering.

As opposed to the guilt-offering and the sin-offering, only parts of which are burned up on the Altar, the priest must bring the entire ascent-offering, just like its accompanying grain-offering, up to the top of the Altar in order to burn it up there. The priests must eat their portions of the guilt- and sin-offerings. The priest will thus effect complete atonement for him, and he will be completely purified.

Purification from Tzara’at for a Poor Person
If he is poor and cannot afford these sacrifices, he can use fowl instead of lambs for the sin-offering and ascent-offering. Thus, he must take one male lamb as a guilt-offering, first to be waved as a wave-offering, to effect atonement for him, one-tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil as an accompanying grain-offering for the guilt-offering, a quarter-hin of wine for its accompanying libation, a log of oil for the purification rites,

and two turtledoves, or two young pigeons (which are even less expensive than turtledoves), according to what he can afford, one as a sin-offering and the other as an ascent-offering.

He must bring them to the priest on the eighth day of his purification, to the entrance to the Courtyard of the Tent of Meeting, this being considered before GOD.

The priest must then take the guilt-offering lamb and the log of oil and bring them inside the Courtyard, and the priest must wave them as a wave-offering before GOD.

He must slaughter the guilt-offering lamb. The priest must then take some of the blood of the guilt-offering and apply it on the middle of the ridge of the antihelix of the right ear of the person being purified, on the lower section of his right thumb, and on the lower section of his right big toe.

The priest must then pour some of the oil onto the priest’s – i.e., his own – left palm.

The priest must dash with his right index finger some of the oil that is in his left palm seven times in the direction of the Holy of Holies, this being considered before GOD.

Applying the Blood and the Oil
The priest must then apply some of the remainder of the oil that is in his palm onto the middle of the ridge of the antihelix of the right ear of the person being purified, on the lower section of his right thumb, and on the lower section of his right big toe, on the same place where he just applied the blood of the guilt-offering. It does not matter if the blood is still there or if it had been wiped off in the meantime.

The priest must then apply what is left over from the oil in the priest’s – i.e., his own – palm upon the head of the person being purified, in order to effect partial atonement for him before GOD.

He must then offer up one of the two turtledoves or one of the two young pigeons, whichever the person being purified can afford,

as part of offering up both of whichever of these two types of fowl he can afford, one as a sin-offering and the other as an ascent-offering. The priest must offer up these fowl after having offered up the grain-offering accompanying the guilt-offering. The priest will thus effect atonement for the person being purified before GOD.

This is the law regarding someone suffering from a tzara’at-lesion but who cannot afford the full array of sacrifices when he is to be purified.”

Tzara’at on Houses
GOD spoke to Moses, instructing him to convey His words to Aaron, for him to say in turn to the Israelites in God’s name,

“When you enter Canaan, which I am giving you as a possession, you will dispossess the nations who presently occupy the land and be able to inhabit the homes they inhabit now. Of these nations, the Amorites in particular are fully aware of My promise to Abraham that you will dispossess them. But since, in that very promise, I stated that their dispossession will be a punishment for their sins, they also cherish the hope that I will likewise someday punish you for your sins and exile you from the land, at which time they will be free to repossess it and move back into their homes. Thus, some of them have been stashing their gold in the walls of their houses ever since you left Egypt. Therefore, do not fret when I place a tzara’at-lesion upon a house in the land of your possession, for even if on that account you are forced to demolish your house, you will thereby reveal these hidden treasures and gain considerable wealth.

When a lesion appears on a house, the owner of the house must come and tell the priest about it, saying, ‘Something resembling a lesion has appeared on my house.’ Even if the owner is familiar with the signs of tzara’at and is sure that the lesion is tzara’at, he must not state this fact decisively; rather, he must leave that to the priest.

The priest must order that the house be cleared out before he, the priest, comes inside to examine the lesion, so that nothing in the house become ritually defiled if he indeed pronounces the lesion to be tzara’at, for even if the lesion is tzara’at, nothing in the house becomes defiled until the priest pronounces it to be so. After this, the priest must come to examine the house.

He must examine the lesion. If the lesion on the walls of the house (a) appears on the stones of the walls, (b) covers at least an area equivalent to a rectangle two of whose sides are each equal to the diameter of a Cilician bean and whose two other sides are each equal to twice the diameter of a Cilician bean [308 mm2 or 0.48 in2], and (c) consists of pure-green or pure-red sunken-looking stains (or stains of a mixture of both colors), appearing to be deeper than the wall,

then the priest must go out of the house, to the entrance of the house, and he must quarantine the house for seven days.

Then the priest must return on the seventh day and examine the house. If the lesion has disappeared or turned a lighter or darker shade of red or green, the affected area must be scraped and the priest must then pronounce the house rid of this defilement. If, however, the lesion has spread on the walls of the house, the house must be purged, as follows:

The priest must order that the stones upon which the lesion is found be removed, and those who remove them must dispose of them outside the city, to a designated place that either already is or that will thereby become defiled. As long as defiled stones are in this place, anyone who enters it will become defiled.

In addition to removing the affected stones, the workers must scrape out the house from the inside, but only all around the vicinity of the removed stones. They must pour out the mortar that they removed outside the city – specifically, into a defiled place, as they did with the stones.

They must then take other, unaffected stones and bring them to replace the removed stones. One of the workers must take other mortar and plaster the house.

Quarantine
After this purging process, the house must be quarantined for another week. The seventh day of the first quarantine week also counts as the first day of the second quarantine week. If, after this, the lesion erupts again in the house – after the workers had removed the stones, and after the wall of the house had been scraped around the area of the removed stones, and after the wall had been repaired and re-plastered – the house must be demolished, as will be described presently. If the lesion does not reappear, the priest must declare the house rid of this defilement and purify it by means of the procedure that will be described later.

As stated, the priest must examine the house after the first week of quarantine. If the lesion did not spread during the first week of quarantine, the priest must quarantine the house for a second week, after which he must come and examine it again. If the lesion has disappeared or turned a lighter or darker shade of red or green, the affected area must be scraped and the priest must then pronounce the house rid of this defilement and proceed to purify it according to the process that will be described later. If, however, the lesion in the house spread during the second week, the affected stones must be removed, the area around them scraped, all that was removed deposited in a place designated for defilement outside the city, the wall re-plastered with unaffected stones, and the house quarantined for a third week. The seventh day of the second quarantine week also counts as the first day of the third quarantine week. If the tzara’at returns after this third week, this indicates conclusively that it is an onerous tzara’at-lesion in the house; the house is defiled.

He must demolish the house, its stones, its wood, and all the mortar of the house, and he must take them outside the city, to a defiled place.

Anyone entering the house during any of the days of one of its ‘initial’ quarantines – i.e., a quarantine that is not preceded by purging – will become ritually defiled until nightfall.

The garments that this person is wearing, however, do not become ritually defiled unless he lies down in the house or otherwise tarries there, in which case he must immerse his garments in a mikveh – but only if he tarries in the house for the amount of time usually taken by someone eating half a loaf of bread [approximately 4 minutes]. Only in such a case must he immerse his garments in a mikveh.

If the priest comes and examines the house after the first week of quarantine and finds that the tzara’at-lesion has not spread, and then, after having the house quarantined for a second week, the priest comes again and examines the lesion a second time, and the lesion again did not spread in the house, then the procedure to be followed is the same as that followed when the lesion had spread during the second week of quarantine: the affected stones must be removed, the area around them scraped, all that was removed deposited in a place designated for defilement outside the city, the wall re-plastered with unaffected stones, and the house quarantined for a third week. If the lesion reappears after this, the house is defiled and must be demolished. If the lesion does not reappear after the house had been re-plastered and undergone a third week of quarantine, the priest must pronounce the house rid of this defilement, because the lesion has healed.

To ritually purify the house, he must take the same items as must a person being purified from tzara’at: two birds, a cedar stick, a strip of scarlet wool, and some hyssop. The cedar stick and hyssop must be bound together using the strip of scarlet wool.

He must slaughter one bird such that its blood drip into an earthenware vessel and onto spring water that has been placed in that vessel.

He must take the bundle comprising the cedar stick, the hyssop, and the strip of scarlet wool, plus the live bird, and dip them into the blood of the slaughtered bird and into the spring water. He must then dash some of the solution of blood and spring water adhering to the bundle and fowl toward the house seven times.

He must thus purify the house using the blood of the bird, the spring water, the live bird, the cedar wood, the hyssop, and the strip of scarlet wool.

He must then send away the live bird outside the city, into the open field. He will thus effect atonement for the house, and it will be purified from defilement.

All this is the law for every tzara’at-lesion, for a netek,

for tzara’at of garments and houses,

for a wool-white spot, for an egg-membrane-white or lime-white spot, and for a snow-white spot –

by which the priest is required to render decisions regarding on which day in the process of the sufferer’s diagnosis or purification process he can be pronounced defiled and on which day he can be pronounced rid of this defilement. This is the law of tzara’at.”

Defilement Contracted by Men via Abnormal Discharges
GOD spoke to Moses, instructing him to convey His words to Aaron, saying,

“Speak, the two of you, to the Israelites, and say to them, ‘The following laws are those governing ritual defilement from discharges originating in the reproductive organs. If any man has a discharge of a specific type of non-seminal fluid from the orifice of his reproductive organ – this fluid being similar in consistency to the liquid that exudes from barley dough and similar in color to the white of an egg that was incubated so long that it will no longer hatch – his discharge is itself ritually defiled and renders anyone who touches it ritually defiled.

In addition, the man experiencing the discharge will also become ritually defiled. This is how he will contract ritual defilement due to his discharge: either if his reproductive organ runs freely with his discharge or if his reproductive organ is plugged up by his discharge because the discharge is somewhat more viscous. The law pertaining to a man who has only one discharge will be given below. If a man has two or more discrete discharges, his defilement is sufficient to render him ritually impure to the following degree:

Any object intended for reclining upon that the man with the discharge lies upon will thereby become defiled; and any object intended for sitting upon that he sits upon will thereby become defiled.

Contracting Defilement via a Defiled Object
Anyone who touches an object that the man with the discharge reclined upon, or reclines on such an object even without touching it (for example, by reclining upon any number of ritually undefiled blankets that are spread over a bed upon which the man with the discharge reclined), becomes ritually defiled. In addition, any garments that this person is touching or otherwise wearing while this ritual impurity is being transmitted to him also become ritually defiled. He must therefore immerse his garments and immerse himself in the water of a mikveh, after which he will remain ritually defiled until nightfall, at which time he and his garments will become rid of this defilement.

Similarly, anyone who touches or even sits on an object upon which the man with the discharge sat without touching it, becomes ritually defiled. In addition, any garments that this person is touching or otherwise wearing while this ritual impurity is being transmitted to him also become ritually defiled. He must therefore immerse his garments and immerse himself in the water of a mikveh, after which he will remain ritually defiled until nightfall, at which time he and his garments will become rid of this defilement. In contrast, if the man with the discharge merely touches an object (even one intended for reclining or sitting upon), the touched object transmits defilement only to food and drink, not to people or implements.

Based on this, it goes without saying that anyone who directly touches the flesh of the man with the discharge becomes ritually defiled, and, in addition, any garments he is touching or otherwise wearing while this ritual impurity is being transmitted to him also become ritually defiled. He must therefore immerse his garments and immerse himself in the water of a mikveh, after which he and his garments will remain defiled until nightfall, at which time he and his garments will become rid of this defilement.

If the man with the discharge spits on an undefiled person, and the saliva either touches the person himself or he carries it (not touching it directly), such a person becomes ritually defiled, as do any garments he is touching or otherwise wearing while this ritual impurity is being transmitted to him. He must therefore immerse his garments and immerse himself in the water of a mikveh, after which he and his garments will remain defiled until nightfall, at which time he and his garments will become rid of this defilement.

Defilement Contracted via a Saddle
With regard to any part of a saddle other than the seat (e.g., the pommel or the cantle), if the man with the discharge rides – i.e., leans – upon it, it becomes defiled thereby.

Whoever touches any such part of the saddle that was ‘under’ the man with the discharge – i.e., that he leaned upon but did not sit upon – becomes ritually defiled, but his garments do not become defiled. Thus, he is only required to immerse himself in a mikveh and wait until nightfall in order to become rid of this defilement; he does not have to immerse his garments. The law regarding the saliva of the man with the discharge also applies to the discharge itself, the man’s vital seed, his urine, and objects on which he has reclined, sat, or ridden. Whoever carries them becomes ritually defiled, as do any garments this person is touching or otherwise wearing while this ritual impurity is being transmitted to him. He must therefore immerse his garments and immerse himself in the water of a mikveh, after which he and his garments will remain defiled until nightfall, at which time he and his garments will become rid of this defilement.

Whomever the man with the discharge touches before the latter immerses himself in a mikveh becomes defiled, even if the man with the discharge had already counted seven consecutive days since the discharge ceased. (In order for immersion to be valid, it is only necessary that the parts of the body exposed when the person immersing stands upright and naked, like his hands, be covered with water, but not interior skin, such as that inside the nose or mouth.) In addition, any garments that the touched person is touching or otherwise wearing while this ritual impurity is being transmitted to him also become ritually defiled. The one who was touched under these circumstances must therefore immerse both his garments and immerse himself in the water of a mikveh, after which he and his garments will remain defiled until nightfall, at which time he and his garments will become rid of this defilement.

Earthenware Vessels
As was mentioned previously, earthenware vessels only become ritually defiled when a source of defilement is present inside them, not through contact with their outer surface. This principle is true of the ritual defilement transmitted by a man with a discharge, as well, with the following exception: An earthenware vessel that the man with the discharge moves, either directly – by touching it – or indirectly, becomes ritually defiled. (If he merely touches it from the outside without moving it, however, it does not become defiled.) Like any other defiled earthenware vessel, it must be shattered in order to be rid of this defilement. In contrast, any other – e.g., wooden – vessel also becomes defiled when it is moved by a man with a discharge, but it need not be shattered; it may be covered by water, i.e., immersed in a mikveh, to become rid of its ritual defilement.

When the man with the discharge is rid of his discharge, i.e., the discharge has clearly ceased, he must count for himself seven consecutive days during which he remains free of the discharge. He must then immerse his garments and immerse his flesh in spring water or other flowing natural water, such as a flowing river. A mikveh of not-naturally-flowing water, such as a man-made pool, a lake, a pond, or the ocean, is not valid for the immersion of a man with this type of discharge. After proper immersion, he will become undefiled in that he will no longer defile anyone or anything else, and he may consume terumah if he is entitled to.

If he had only two discharges before his flow ceased, he may, after immersion, consume sacrificial meat and enter the Tabernacle precincts. If, however, he had three or more discharges before his flow ceased, he may neither consume sacrificial meat nor enter the Tabernacle precincts after immersing himself until he performs the following rites: On the eighth day, he must take for himself two turtledoves or two young pigeons and come before GOD, to the entrance to the Courtyard of the Tent of Meeting, and give them to the priest.

The priest must sacrifice them, one as a sin-offering and the other as an ascent-offering, and thus the priest will effect atonement for him from his discharge, before GOD. He may then consume sacrificial meat and enter the Tabernacle precincts.

Defilement Contracted via Seminal Discharges
A man from whom a discharge of semen issues must immerse all his flesh in the water of a mikveh, after which he will remain defiled until nightfall, at which time he will become rid of this defilement. This applies equally to all discharges of semen, whether permitted (i.e., by which a man inseminates his wife through marital relations) or forbidden (all other types), and whether voluntary or involuntary.

Any garment or any leather article that has semen on it must be immersed in the water of a mikveh, after which it will remain defiled until nightfall, at which time it will become rid of this defilement.

A woman with whom a man engages in carnal relations, whereby there was a discharge of semen, becomes defiled just as does the man. They must therefore both immerse themselves in the water of a mikveh, after which they will remain defiled until nightfall, at which time they will become rid of this defilement.

Defilement Contracted via Menstruation
Just as men contract ritual defilement from both normal and abnormal discharges from their reproductive organ (i.e., seminal and non-seminal discharges, respectively), women also contract ritual defilement from both normal and abnormal discharges from their reproductive organ (i.e., menstrual blood and non-menstrual blood, respectively). But whereas for men, normal and abnormal discharges are differentiated by the color and consistency of the discharge, for women, normal and abnormal discharges are distinguished solely by the date on which they occur. If a woman has a uterine discharge, and her discharge, based on the day it begins, is deemed to be menstrual blood, she becomes ritually defiled, as will be described presently. In order not to ritually defile other people or implements, she must refrain from touching them or letting them touch her. She must remain in her state of separation from contact for exactly seven days, regardless of how long her flow actually lasts. If her discharge has ceased by the end of the seventh day of her menstruation period, she may immerse herself after nightfall and thus become rid of this defilement. During her period of separation, whoever touches her will become ritually defiled and must immerse themselves in a mikveh, after which they will remain defiled until nightfall, at which time they will become rid of this defilement.

Contracting Defilement via a Defiled Object
Any object intended for reclining upon that she reclines upon during her period of menstrual separation will thereby become ritually defiled; and any object intended for sitting upon that she sits upon will thereby become defiled.

As is the case with a man with a non-seminal discharge, an object upon which a menstruant has reclined or sat transmits ritual defilement even to people and implements, as follows: Anyone who touches an object that she reclined upon becomes ritually defiled. In addition, any garments that this person is touching or otherwise wearing while this ritual impurity is being transmitted to him also become ritually defiled. He must therefore immerse his garments and immerse himself in the water of a mikveh, after which he and his garments will remain defiled until nightfall, at which time he and his garments will become rid of this defilement.

Similarly, anyone who touches any object upon which she sat becomes ritually defiled. In addition, any garments that this person is touching or otherwise wearing while this ritual impurity is being transmitted to him also become ritually defiled. He must therefore immerse his garments and immerse himself in the water of a mikveh, after which he will remain ritually defiled until nightfall, at which time he and his garments will become rid of this defilement.

Even if he reclines or sits indirectly on an object that she reclined upon or sat upon, he still becomes ritually defiled to the same degree as if he had touched that object. Also, with regard to any part of a saddle other than the seat (e.g., the pommel or the cantle), if she leans on it without sitting on it and then someone touches it, only he himself becomes ritually defiled, not his garments. Thus, he is only required to immerse himself in a mikveh and wait until nightfall in order to become rid of this defilement; he does not have to immerse his garments.

You will be taught later that it is forbidden to engage in carnal relations with a menstruant. If a man nonetheless does engage in carnal relations with her, the ritual defilement caused by her menstruation will be transmitted to him and he will be defiled for seven days, counting from the day on which they conducted relations, regardless of on which day of her seven-day count they occurred. He will become defiled exactly in the same way she is defiled: Any object intended for reclining upon that he reclines upon will thereby become defiled, and so forth, as just stated.

Defilement Contracted by Women via Abnormal Discharges
A woman whose discharge of uterine blood flows for more than two days, i.e., a minimum of three days, and these three or more days occur outside of but immediately following the 7-day span of her menstrual separation; or she has a discharge of blood for three or more days after the 7-day span of her menstrual separation but removed from it by between one and ten intervening days, then, in either such case, she will be ritually defiled all the days of her defiling discharge, in the same manner that she is ritually defiled during the days of her menstrual separation.

Thus, throughout the duration of her discharge, any object intended for reclining upon that she reclines upon will be treated – with regard to becoming defiled and defiling other entities – the same way as an object intended for reclining upon is treated during her period of menstrual separation. Similarly, any object intended for sitting upon that she sits upon will thereby become defiled in the same way such an object becomes defiled during her period of menstrual defilement.

Anyone who touches such objects will become ritually defiled. In addition, any garments that this person is touching or otherwise wearing while this ritual impurity is being transmitted to him also become ritually defiled. He must therefore immerse his garments and immerse himself in the water of a mikveh, after which he and his garments will remain defiled until nightfall, at which time he and his garments will become rid of this defilement.

If she becomes rid of her discharge, i.e., the discharge clearly ceases, she must count for herself seven consecutive days during which she remains free of any discharge. After this, she may immerse herself in a mikveh on the seventh day and thus become undefiled in that she will no longer defile anyone or anything else, and she may consume terumah if she is entitled to, but she may still not consume sacrificial meat or enter the Tabernacle precincts.

On the eighth day, she must take for herself two turtledoves or two young pigeons and bring them to the priest after coming with them to the entrance to the Courtyard of the Tent of Meeting.

The priest must sacrifice them, one as a sin-offering and the other as an ascent-offering, and thus the priest will effect atonement for her, before GOD, from the defilement of her discharge. She may then consume sacrificial meat and enter the Tabernacle precincts.’

Tell the court: ‘You must thus separate the Israelites from their defilement, so that they not die on account of their defilement as part of the punishment of excision for defiling My Sanctuary, which is in their midst, by entering it while ritually defiled.

Conclusion; Defilement Contracted by Men via Abnormal Discharges
The following is a summary of the law pertaining to a man who has an abnormal discharge; this type of ritual defilement includes several cases, which we will now list in order of increasing severity. The first is that of a man who has a single abnormal discharge. The defilement contracted by a man who has a single abnormal discharge is the same as that of a man who has a seminal discharge: This single discharge causes him to become defiled only for the rest of that day, during which he may immerse himself in a mikveh, after which he remains defiled until nightfall, at which time he becomes totally rid of this defilement. (The laws pertaining to a man who has two or more abnormal discharges were given above.)

The other cases of ritual defilement contracted from bodily discharges are, in order of increasing severity: a menstruant; a person who has an abnormal discharge followed by a second or third abnormal discharge, whether male or female; and a man who engages in carnal relations with a ritually defiled woman, all of whose laws were given above.’”