- The principle of floating tumah
A Mishnah presents a machlokes about “floating” tumah, meaning tumah which is suspended in water etc ., which is ruled tahor in a case of safek if the tumah was touched. The Tanna Kamma says this applies whether the water is in a container or on the ground, but Rebbe Shimon holds that if the water is in a container, the safek is ruled tamei. The Gemara on our Daf provides the source of each opinion . A Baraisa discusses other applications: כל הניטלין והנגררין ספיקן טמא – Any [tumah] which is being carried or dragged, its safek is ruled tamei, מפני שהן כמונחין – because they are considered at rest and not subject to the exemption of “floating tumah,” because they are being held by a person. והנזרקין ספיקן טהור – But [tumah] which is thrown, its safek is ruled tahor (since it is not held by anyone).The Baraisa adds that this applies only to tumah of touching, but floating tumah of ohel, or the special transmissions of tumah of a zav, are ruled tamei in a case of safek.
- Various questions of floating tumah on top of something in the water
Rami bar Chama posed a series of seven questions about floating tumah which is on top of something in the water. The first : מת בכלי וכלי צף על פני המים מהו – If a corpse is in a container, which is floating on the water, what is the halachah? Do we view the tumah as floating in the water, or do we consider it at rest in the container? He then posed three questions, assuming the above case is considered at rest, of cases where floating tumah is resting atop another tumah in the water. In each case, the top tumah is progressively more similar to the one beneath it, and the question is if the two items are viewed as one mass of floating tumah: A corpse on top of tumah (they are both metamei, but for different lengths of time), sheretz atop a neveilah (both are metamei for a day, but have different minimum shiurim), and one sheretz atop another. Assuming the above cases are all deemed separate, he posed three more questions about a tumah atop a tumah substance that may be considered a liquid, and thus not separate from the water: A sheretz on top of neveilah that disintegrated into a mush , on top of semen, or on top of mei chatas.
- טומאת התהום on the seventh day of purification
Rav Hamnuna said: נזיר ועושה פסח שהלכו בקבר התהום בשביעי שלהן טהורים – A nazir and one performing a pesach, who walked over unknown tumah on the seventh day of their purification, are tahor. He explains: דלא אלימא טומאת התהום למיסתר – Unknown tumah is not strong enough to cause forfeiture at this stage of the taharah process. Rava challenged him from the Mishnah: ירד ליטהר מטומאת המת טמא – If he went down to become tahor from corpse-tumah and encountered tumas hatehom, he is ruled tamei, שחזקת טמא טמא – because one who is tamei is assumed to still be tamei, שחזקת טהור טהור – whereas one who is tahor is assumed to still be tahor . He answered: מודינא לך בנזיר שמחוסר תגלחת – I agree with you regarding a nazir [tamei] who was lacking the shaving at the time he encountered tumas hatehom that he is tamei, because he had not yet reached taharah status. Only after tevilah and shaving does Rav Hamnuna consider him tahor after encountering tumas hatehom on the seventh day. Abaye pointed out that even after tevilah and shaving, he is not tahor until sundown, so perhaps he should become tamei from the tumas hatehom. Rava responded: שימשא ממילא ערבא – The sun sets on its own and is not considered lacking. The Gemara proves that Abaye later conceded this point.