Tumah and taharah

In Jewish religious law, there is a category of specific Jewish purity laws, defining what is ritually impure or pure: ṭum'ah (Hebrew: טומאה, pronounced [tumʔa]) and ṭaharah (Hebrew: טהרה, pronounced [taharɔ]) are the state of being ritually "impure" and "pure", respectively.^[1]^[2] The Hebrew noun ṭum'ah, meaning "impurity", describes a state of ritual impurity. A person or object which contracts ṭum'ah is said to be ṭamé (טמא‎ Hebrew adjective, "ritually impure"), and thereby unsuited for certain holy activities and uses (kedushah, קְדֻשָּׁה‎‎ in Hebrew) until undergoing predefined purification actions that usually include the elapse of a specified time-period.

The contrasting Hebrew noun ṭaharah (טָהֳרָה‎) describes a state of ritual purity that qualifies the ṭahor (טָהוֹר‎; ritually pure person or object) to be used for kedushah. The most common method of achieving ṭaharah is by the person or object being immersed in a mikveh (ritual bath). This concept is connected with ritual washing in Judaism, and both ritually impure and ritually pure states have parallels in ritual purification in other world religions.

The laws of ṭum'ah and ṭaharah were generally followed by the Israelites and post-exilic Jews, particularly during the First and Second Temple periods,^{[citation needed]} and to a limited extent are a part of applicable halakha in modern times.

^ Martin S. Jaffee Early Judaism: religious worlds of the first Judaic millennium 2006 - 277 "For the conceptual background of rabbinic conceptions of cleanliness and uncleanliness, including the relation of these concepts to moral conditions"
^ The Talmud of Babylonia: An American Translation IV: Pesahim ed. Jacob Neusner - 1993 "P. If the Israelites were half clean and half unclean, these prepare the offering by themselves, ... Kahuna's ruling: R. Lo, if half of the Israelites were clean and half unclean, the clean ones observe the first Passover and the"

[1] Martin S. Jaffee Early Judaism: religious worlds of the first Judaic millennium 2006 - 277 "For the conceptual background of rabbinic conceptions of cleanliness and uncleanliness, including the relation of these concepts to moral conditions"

[2] The Talmud of Babylonia: An American Translation IV: Pesahim ed. Jacob Neusner - 1993 "P. If the Israelites were half clean and half unclean, these prepare the offering by themselves, ... Kahuna's ruling: R. Lo, if half of the Israelites were clean and half unclean, the clean ones observe the first Passover and the"

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