ṬEBUL YOM:

Name of a treatise in the Mishnah and in the Tosefta; in most editions of the Mishnah it is tenth in the order Ṭohorot. According to Lev. xv. 5 et seq., one who takes the prescribed bath still remains unclean until sunset. The degree of uncleanness in such a case is slight, and according to rabbinical interpretation neither the "ḥallah" nor sanctified flesh is rendered unclean by being touched by such a person, even before sunset; it is merely rendered unfit ("pasul"). Profane or unsanctified things may be touched by him without fear. The treatise Ṭebul Yom more closely defines the degree of uncleanness attaching to such a person, and stipulates also how far the purity of anything is affected by his touch. The treatise comprises four chapters, containing twenty-six paragraphs in all.

  • Ch. i.: Regulations concerning bread and other things which are of such a form that if a ṭebul yom or any other uncleanness touches part of them the whole is rendered unclean.
  • Ch. ii.: Concerning liquids touched by a ṭebul yom; when such contact renders the whole unfit, and when it affects only the part touched.
  • Ch. iii.: Continuation of ch. ii.: regulations concerning liquids easily rendered unclean.
  • Ch. iv.: Regulations concerning utensils touched by a ṭebul yom; enumeration of halakic rules which have undergone changes in the course of time; of the halakic regulations which R. Joshua declared were introduced by the sages ("soferim"), and which he was unable to explain.

In the Tosefta the treatise is divided into two chapters.

W. B. J. Z. L.
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