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Tumas Mes impurity

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Rabbi Ari Shvat

Av 5, 5775
Question
Am I correct to say that, 1. Jews who have been made impure by tumas mes have been so for the last 2000 years? 2.There are pure Cohens who have avoided this impurity now? 3. In order for the levitical sacrifices to begin again, both the Cohen, levites and Jews will have to be made biblically pure? When the 2nd Temple was standing, were gentiles ever allowed to go there? Did they have a place where they could go?
Answer
1. Being that there has been no red heifer ashes for 2,000 years, most Jews except Kohanim are probably "tme'eh met", having come in contact with dead, most commonly coming within 2 meters (4 cubits) of a grave in cemetaries. 2. Not only are there Kohanim who are careful not to become tamei (defiled), but almost all Kohanim that I know do so, careful not to enter cemetaries, and in Israel, the hospitals have special signs and some have special construction enabling Kohanim to observe their tahara (pure) status, even if someone dies in the hospital. 3. Untrue. The is a rule regarding purity that if most of the people are tamei, than defilement does not prevent sacrifice. 4. Yes, there was a special area on the Temple Mount where gentiles would stand (mentioned by the historian Josephus, as well), and in fact,I personally saw on display in the Israel Museum the rock found there by archeologists with the inscription (I forgot in which foreign language, but it wasn't Hebrew) informing until where they can proceed.
את המידע הדפסתי באמצעות אתר yeshiva.org.il