- The principle and source of טומאת התהום
The next Mishnah states: נזיר שגילח ונודע לו שהוא טמא – A nazir who shaved and discovered he was tamei, אם טומאה ידועה סותר – if it was a known tumah source, he forfeits his nezirus, ואם טומאת תהום אינו סותר – and if it is an unknown tumah source, he does not forfeit his nezirus. This principle is known as טומאת התהום – tumah of the deep. Rebbe Elazar suggested a source: וכי ימות מת עליו בפתע פתאום – ”If someone dies suddenly, near him,” "עליו" במחוורת לו – “near him” means apparent to him, excluding unknown tumah from causing forfeiture. Reish Lakish suggested another source (concerning korban pesach): כי יהיה טמא לנפש או בדרך רחוקה – “if he is tamei from a dead man or is on a distant road,” כי דרך – indicating that tumah should be like a road. מה דרך בגלוי אף כל בגלוי – Just as a road is exposed, so too all cases of the passuk, including tumah, only apply if they are exposed. The Gemara proves that these cannot be the source for the halachah, and concludes: אלא, טומאת התהום גמרא גמירי לה – Rather, tumas hatehom was learned as a halachah leMoshe miSinai.
- Whether forfeiture is determined by the moment of tumah or by knowledge of it
Rami bar Chama asked: נטמא בתוך מלאת– If he became tamei during the term, ונודע לו לאחר מלאת מהו – and was informed of it after completing his term, what is the halachah? בתר ידיעה אזלינן וידיעה אחר מלאת היא או לא – Do we follow the time of his knowledge of the tumah, and the knowledge was after the completion of his term, or not? The Gemara further explains that the nafka minah emerges according to Rebbe Eliezer, who holds that tumah after completing the term forfeits only seven days instead of thirty: Is this true only when he became tamei after completion, but not before, or is it sufficient that he only became aware of his tumah after completion of his term? Rava resolves this question from our Mishnah, which states: אם עד שלא גילח בין כך ובין כך סותר – If he was informed of the tumah before he shaved, either with this [known tumah] or with that tumas hatehom], he forfeits . This must be speaking where he was informed after completing his term (otherwise it would be obvious), yet the Mishnah does not distinguish between tumah which occurred before or after the completion, implying that in either case, he forfeits only seven days, proving that forfeiture is determined by his knowledge of the tumah.
- The qualifications for טומאת התהום
A Baraisa defines the parameters of טומאת התהום: כל שאין מכירה אחד בסוף העולם – Any [tumah] that no one, even at the end of the earth, is aware of. מכירה אחד בסוף העולם אין זו טומאת התהום – But if one person, even at the end of the earth is aware of it, it is not tumas hatehom. The Baraisa then defines the necessary concealment: היה טמון בתבן או בצרורות הרי זו טומאת התהום – If it was hidden by straw or rocks, that is tumas hatehom. בימים ובאפילה ובנקיקי הסלעים אין זו טומאת התהום – But if it was hidden in the sea, in darkness, or in crevices in the boulders, it is not tumas hatehom (since it is not actually concealed). The Baraisa concludes: ולא אמרו טומאת התהום אלא למת בלבד – And they only said the law of tumas hatehom regarding [tumah of] a corpse, but not for other sources of tumah.