A History of the Mishnaic Law of Purities, Part 18: Zabim (Studies in Judaism in Late Antiquity) [Reprint ed.] 1597529427, 9781597529426

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A HISTORY OF THE MISHNAIC LAW OF PURITIES PART EIGHTEEN

STUDIES IN JUDAISM IN LATE ANTIQUITY EDITED BY

JACOB NEUSNER

VOLUME SIX

A HISTORY OF THE MISHNAIC LAW OF PURITIES PART EIGHTEEN

A HISTORY OF THE MISHNAIC LAW OF PURITIES BY

JACOB NEUSNER University Professor Professor of Religious Studies and The Ungerleider Distinguished Scholar of Judaic Studies Brown University

PART EIGHTEEN

ZABIM

Wipf&Stock PUBLISHERS Eugene, Oregon

Wipf and Stock Publishers 199 W 8th Ave, Suite 3 Eugene, OR 97401 A History of the Mishnaic Law of Purities, Part 18 Zabim By Neusner, Jacob Copyright©1977 by Neusner, Jacob ISBN 13: 978-1-59752-942-6 ISBN 10: 1-59752-942-7 Publication date 3/19/2007 Previously published by E. J. Brill, 1977

For E. ]. Bickerman

TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface

. . . .

IX

Abbreviations and Bibliography Transliterations

XIII . XVIII

. . , , . .

1

I. Zabim Chapter One

10

Introduction

II. Zabim Chapter Two .

30

III. Zabim Chapter Three

44

IV. Zabim Chapter Four

54

V. Zabim Chapter Five . VI. Sifra to Zabim VII. Mishnah-Tosefta Zabim. Translation VIII. Literary Problems . . . i. Introduction ii. Mishnah and Tosefta 1. The Relationship between Mishnah and Tosefta 2. The Organization and Redaction ofTosefta . 3. Tosefta as Commentary to Mishnah . . . . 4. Tosefta as a Corpus of Autonomous Materials 5. The Two Sources of Tosefta . . . . . . . 6. The Two Sources of Tosefta: Literary Traits . 7. The Two Sources of Tosefta: Attributional Traits 8. Cumulative Summary . . . 9. Conclusion . . . . . . . . iii. Forms and Formulary Patterns 1. Forms: Lists . . . . . . . 2. Stories, Narratives, and Precedents 3. Disputes and Debates . . . . . . 4. Formulary Patterns: Apocopation . 5. The Declarative Sentence: Formally Disciplined and Balanced Sentences in a Major Unit of Tradition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

70 95

116 143 143 143 143 143 145 146 146 148 150 151 151 153 153 154 154 155

156

VIII

TABLE OF CONTENTS

6. The Declarative Sentence: Mishnah's and Tosefta's Glosses of Mishnah . . . . . . . . . 7. The Declarative Sentence: Miscellaneous 8. Conclusion .

IX. Historical Problems i. Introduction ii. Attributions . 1. Unattributed Pericopae . 2. Attributions. iii. The Weaving of the Law 1. Becoming a Zab 2. Transferring the Zab's Uncleanness: Sc1ipture 3. Transferring the Zab's Uncleanness: Unassigned Pericopae Based on Conceptions Clearly Generated by Scripture 4. Transferring the Zab's Uncleanness: Mishnah iv. The Stages of the Law v. The Two Torahs: Scripture and the Sources of Uncleanness of Mishnah Negaim, Niddah, and Zabim Index to Biblical and Talmudic References General Index

157 158 158

161 161 161 161 163 165 166 175 184 192 201 204 211 217

PREFACE This brief tractate is rich and dense in exegetical problems. Its legal principles are complex and difficult. In the space of five chapters, of which Chapters Three and Four really form one unit, Rabbi manages to cover extraordinarily subtle and deep conceptions. With his predecessors and coworkers, Rabbi never runs out of ideas. Indeed, here he gives us not one but three small tractates, a kind of miniature along the lines of the large construction of tractate Tohorot: (1) a proem, (2) a set of miscellanies (Chapter Two) leading into the shank of the tractate, Chapters Three and Four, then (3) an essay of surpassing formal beauty and conceptual sophistication, Chapter Five, which manages to encompass three distinct and very complicated problems and shape them into a single coherent unit. In all, Zabim is a fine example of Mishnah at its best, in no way second to the splendid and more imposing tractates which come before. Not only so, but our tractate carries forward established themes, e.g., the difference between one's uncleanness when in touch with a source of uncleanness and the uncleanness left after one no longer is in touch with a source of uncleanness, familiar from :M. 'I'oh. 1: 5-9, not to mention M. Kelim Chapters Eighteen, Nineteen, Twenty-Six, Twenty-Seven; and problems of doubt in connection with the Zabah, now applied to the Zab, M. Nid. 10: 8 continued---explicitly---at i\L 1 : 1-2, which form a single unit \•:ith M. Nid. 10: 8. Accordingly, the tractate is carefully woven into the fabric of the order as a whole, and could as well follow Niddah or tractate Tohorot. Our tractate is devoted to the Zah, the man who has a discharge from his body (Lev. 15: 1-15). Its specific interest in the matter is in three parts, as I said. First comes discussion of the status of one who has not had the requisite discharge, along with the definition of the discharge, or flux, which confirms the man as unclean as a Zah (Chapter One). Second is the elaboration of the way in which the Zah's pressure imparts uncleanness (Chapters Three and Four). This matter is based upon the Scriptural conception, Lev. 1:i :4: Ever)' hed on which he who has the dischargelies shall be unclean; and everyThe rule is elaborated into the thinP,on 2vhichhe sits shall he 1111clean. notion that any object normally used for sitting or lying on which the Zab exerts pressure, or any person on whom he presses down,

X

PREFACE

is unclean and furthermore imparts uncleanness to utensils, along the lines of Lev. 15: 5-6: And any one 1JJhotouches his bed shall JJJashhis clothes and bathe himself in water and be unclean until the evening. And whoever sits on anything on which he 1JJhohas the discharge has sat shall 1vash his clothes and bathe himself in iJJaterand he tmclean ttntil the evening. The

point understood in our tractate is that if the man has to wash his clothes, it is because he has made his clothes unclean. He therefore not only has become unclean himself, because of his being subject to the pressure of the Zah or touching that which has been made unclean thereby, but he also transmits uncleanness to his clothing (utensils). The third major interest (Chapter Five) is in the diverse modes and degrees by which the Zah imparts uncleanness, not only by exerting pressure, but also by contact, carrying, and shifting. Like Niddah, therefore, our tractate constitutes a vast elaboration of Scriptural rules. What sets it apart is its remarkably acute investigation of the language and implications of Scripture. \Vhether or not that means the tractate essentially is little more than an elaboration of Scripture remains to be discussed in the light of the hypotheticallogical exegesis undertaken here as in Niddah. It remains to express my abiding gratitude to Brown University for paying the costs of typing and other research expenses; to my dear colleagues at Brown, who bear up under my peculiar interests in the status of an apple above, or a glass of beer below, a man exhibiting traits associated with gonorrhea (or some such venereal disease, though, given the definitions of our tractate, no known disease can be under discussion); and to my students and former students. My colleague Professor Richard S. Sarason kindly read and criticized the manuscript. The dedication is to one of the truly great scholarly rnasters of our time, Elias J. Bickerman. I had the privilege of attending his courses at Columbia University when 1 was a graduate student. Since I do not labor in his vineyard, the primary result was to learn to enjoy the taste of his pure and delicate wine. A prodigious scholar, Bickerman's contributions to the study of ancient times, including of ancient Judaism, exhibit in an exemplary way the virtues of surpassing erudition, compelling critical judgment, and mordant wit. The learning and wit of one example, among many, Frmr Strange Books ~f the Bible, border upon a tow de force, and that is not to detract from the excellence of them all. 1 am proud, too, that he has consented to include in this series, under my editorship, his Der Gott der A1ak-

PREFACE

XI

kabiier, in the English translation of Professor Horst R. Moehring. Thus still another generation will enjoy the results of his extraordinary intellect. I am thankful, also, for Bickerman's personal advice to me, given over a period of years, and glad to enjoy his counsel and encouragement. Bickerman exemplifies all that is of human worth in humanistic learning. He is a model for us all.

J. N.

ABBREVIATIONS AND BIBLIOGRAPHY Ah. Albeck Ar. Auerbach A.Z.

B. B.B. B.M. B.Q. Ber. Bes. Bik. Blackman C

Cohn Dan. Danby Dem. Deut. Dinkeles Ed.

EG EK Eruv. Epstein, Nussa!; Epstein, Tan. Geniza Git. GRA

lIA Hag. Hai Hal. HN Hoffmann

Ahilot l;I. Albeck. Seder fohorol (Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, 1958). 'Arakhin See Hoffmann. ,~ 'i\ vodah Zarah Bavli, Babylonian Talmud Bava' Batra' Bava' Me~i 'a' Bava' Qamma' Berakhot Be~ah Bikkurim Philip Blackman, 1vlishnayoth. VI. Order Taharoth (London, 1955). H. Loewe, The Mishnah of the Palestinian Talmud (Hammishnah 'al pi ketav-yad CaJJJhridpe)(Jerusalem, 1967). Sec Hoffmann. Daniel Herbert Danby, The Mis/mah (London, 1933) Dema'i Deuteronomy I;[ayyim Yosef Dinkcles, Sefer Da'at Yosef ... Parah (Jerusalem, 1976). 'Eduyyot f:liddushe EliY.Yah11MiGreiditz. From Mishnah, ed. Romm (Vilna, 1887). 'Ezrat Kohanim. See Rappaport. 'Eru1,in Sec ~\Tussap. Sec Tan. Sec Yeivin. ~- Gittin Elijah hen Solomon Zalman ("Elijah Gaon" or "Vilna Gaon"), 1720-1797. From Mishnah, Ed. Romm (Vilna, 1887), for M., and from standard text of Tosefta Seder Tohorot in Babylonian Talmud, for T. Hon 'ashir. Emanuel Hai b. Abraham Riqi. In Qev111at meforshtf hammishnah (Jerusalem, 1962, Vol. VI). I;[agigah Hai Gaon, Perush 'al seder jo!JOrot(Berlin, 1857, reprint 1970). I:lallah l~azon Nal;mm. Eleazar Nal:rnm. l'rom reprint of Mishnah, ed. Romm. David Hoffmann, Mischnajot. VI. Ordnung Toharat. P1mktiert, ins Deutsche iibersetzt, under/dart (Third edition: Basel, 1969). From rvi. Negaim 3:7: John Cohn. From Niddah: Moses Auerbach.

XIV

ABBREVIATIONS AND BIBLIOGRAPHY

Hor.

Horayot I;Iullin Imre Da 'at. Nathan Lieberman. In Qevu1at m~forshe hammishnah (Jerusalem, 1962) Vol. VI. Marcus Jastrow, A Dictionary of the Targumim, etc. (Reprint N.Y. 1950). Georg Beer, Faksimile-Ausgabe des Mischnacodex Kaufmann A 50 (Reprint: Jerusalem, 1968). Abraham I. Katsh, Ginze Mishnah. One Hundred and FiftyNine Fragments from the Cairo Geniza in the SaltykovSchedrin Library in Leningrad (Jerusalem, 1970), Plates 155-159. Kelim Keritot Kila'yim Kesef Mishneh. Joseph Karo. Commentary to Maimonides, Mishneh Torah. Published in Venice, 1574-5. Text used: Standard (Romm) version of Maimonides, Mishneh Torah. P. Jacob Kohn, O1ar Habbe'urim vehapperushim(London, 1952). S. M. Lehrman, Zabim. Translated into English with Notes. In I. Epstein, ed. The Babylonian Talmud. Seder Tohoroth (London, 1948) pp. 499-522. Leviticus Saul Lieberman, Tosefeth Rishonim. A Commentary. Based on Manuscripts of the Tosefta and Works of the Rishonim and Midrashim and Rare Editions. III. Kelim-Niddah. IV. Mikwaoth-Uktzin(Jerusalem, 1939). Used, IV, pp. 119-139. See Tos. Reng. = BabylonianTalmud Codex Munich (95). (Reprint: Jerusalem, 1971). Mishnah Mishnah Aparonah. Ephraim Isaac of Przemysl. Published in 1882. From reprint of Mishnah, ed. Romm. Ma'aserot Mishnayot Ma'aseh 'eregpene zaqqen. By Yi~l;i.aqYehudah Yel;i.iel Safrin (Levov-Lemberg, 1862) Vol. VI. Also: From reprint of Mishnah, ed. Romm. Meir ben Barukh of Rothenberg (1215-1293). See Sens. The Code of Mai?nonides.Book Nine. The Book of Offerings, trans. by Herbert Danby (New Haven, 1950), Those Whose Atonement Is Not Complete, pp. 153-172. Mishnah 'im perush Rabbenu Moshe ben Maiman, trans. by Joseph David Qappal;i.. VI. Seder Tohorot (Jerusalem, 1967). Mishneh torah leharambam. Defus Qufta [A.M.] 269 [ = A.D. 1509] (Repr. Jerusalem, n.d.). The Code of Maimonides. Book Ten. The Book of Cleanness, trans. by Herbert Danby (New Haven, 1954). Those Who Render Couch and Seat Unclean, pp. 205-252. Checked against Mishneh Torah, (1) ed. Romm, (2) ed. Constantinople, and (3) ed. MbS.

I:Iul.

ID Jastrow

K Katsh

Ke!. Ker.Kil. KM

Kohn Lehrman Lev. Lieberman, TR

Lisowsky M M. MA

Ma. Ma. Er. Maharam Maimonides, Atonement Maimonides, Comm. Maimonides, Constantinople Maimonides, Couch

ABBREVIATIONS

Maimonides, Ed. MbS Mak. Makh. Mayer Me. Melamed Men. Miq. ML M.Q. M.S. MS MT

N Naz. Nid. Num. Nu.rsap Oh. p Pa Par. PB Pes. PZ QA

=

Qid. QS

= =

QZ

=

Rabad Rabad, Sifra Rappaport R.H. Rosh

AND BIBLIOGRAPHY

xv

Mishne Torah of Maimonides. Moses ben Shea/tie/ edition. Spain or Portugal before 1492 or 1497. Facsimile Edition of the Copy in The Jewish Theological Seminary of America. Introduction by S. Z. Havlin (Jerusalem, 1975). Makkot Makhshirin See Tos. Reng. Me'ilah E. Z. Melamed, Hayyapas sheben midrashi ha/akhah !ammishnah velattosefta (] erusalem, 1967). MenaJ:iot Miqva'ot MishnehLamma!ekh. Commentary to Maimonides, Mishneh Torah. Judah Rosannes 1657-1727. For source, see KM. Mo"ed Qatan Ma 'aser Sheni Mele'khet Shelomo. Shelomo bar Joshua Adeni, 15671625. From reprint of Mishnah, ed. Romm. Mayyim Tahorim. Judah Leb Edel Halevi of Bialystok, 5577 [ = 1817]. From reprint of Mishnah in Babylonian Talmud. Mishnah 'im perush HaRambam. Dejus rishon Napoli [5]252 [1492] (Jerusalem, 1970). Nazir Niddah Numbers Y. N. Epstein, Mavo !enussaphammishnah (Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, 19542). 'Ohalot Shishah sidre mishnah. Ketav _yad Parma De Rossi 13 8 (Jerusalem, 1970). Mishnah ketav yad Paris. Paris 328-329 (Jerusalem, 1973). Parah Mishnah Codex Parma "B" De Rossi 497. Seder Teharoth. Introduction by M. Bar Asher (Jerusalem, 1971). Pesal;iim Peni Zaqqen. For source, see Ma. Er. Qorban Aharon. Aaron Ibn I;Iayyim (d. 1632), Qorban Aharon. Perush !assefer Sifra (Dessau, 1749). Qiddushin Qol Sofer. I;Iaim Sofer. From Qevurat mejorshe hammishnah (Jerusalem, 1962) Vol. VI. Qol Haramaz. Moshe Zakhuta. From Qevtqat mejorshi hammishnah (Jerusalem, 1962) Vol. VI. Abraham ben David. Supercommentary to Maimonides, Mishneh Torah. Abraham ben David. Commentary to Sifra. From ed. Weiss. Sevi Hirsch Hakkohen Rappaport, Torat Kohanim, with the commentaries 'Ezrat Kohanim and Tosefot Ha'Ezrah (Jerusalem, 1972). Rosh Hashshanah Asher b. YeJ:iiel,Commentaryto Zabim. For source, see Sens.

XVI

RSS San. Sens Shab. Shav. Shev. Sifra Fink. Sifra Hillel Sifra ed. Weiss Sot. Strashun Suk. T T. Ta. Tan. Tern. Ter. Toh. Tos. Reng.

Tos. Zuck. TR T.Y. TYT

TYY

Uqs. V

ABBREVIATIONS

AND BIBLIOGRAPHY

See Strashun. Sanhedrin Samson ben Abraham of Sens, ca. 1150-1230. From reprint of Mishnah Seder Tohorot in Babylonian Talmud, ed., Romm (Vilna, 1887). Shabbat Shavu'ot Shevi'it Sifra or Torat Kohanim. According to Codex Assemani LXVI. With a Hebrew Introduction by Louis Finkelstein (N.Y. 1956). Sifra. With the commentary of Hillel b. R. Eliaqim. Ed. by Shakhna Koleditzky (Jerusalem, 1961). Vol. II. Sifra, ed. Isaac Hirsch Weiss (Repr. N.Y. 1947). Sotah Samuel ben Joseph Strashun, 1794-1872. From reprint of Mishnah, ed. Romm. Sukkah Sidre Mishnah. Neziqin, Qodoshim, Tohorot. Ketav yad Y erusha!ayim, 133 6. Ketav yad beniqud left massoret Teman. (Reprint, Jerusalem 1970). Introduction by S. Morag. Tosefta Ta'anit Y. N. Epstein, Mevo'ot lesifrut hattanna'im. Mishnah, tosefta ummidrashehalakhah. Edited by E. Z. Melamed (Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, 1957). Temurah Terumot Tohorot Karl Heinrich Rengstorf, ed., Rabbinische Texte. Erste Reihe. Die Tosejta. Text, Obersetzung, Erkliirung. Herausgegehenvon Gerhard Kittel und Karl Heinrich Rengstorf. Band 6. Seder Toharot. Text, Obersetzung, Erkliirung. 3. Toharot-Uksin, edited by Gerhard Lisowsky, Gunter Mayer, Karl Heinrich Rengstorf, and Emanuel Schereschewsky. (Stuttgart, 1953-1967). T. Zabim is the work of Gunter Mayer. T. + page and line references are to his edition, followed throughout: Hehrew section, VI, 3, pp. 336-349. Tosephta.Based on the Erfurt and Vienna Codices,with parallels andvariants,by M. S. Zuckermandel (Repr. Jerusalem 1963). See Lieberman, TR. Tevul Yom Tosafot Yom Tov. Yorn Tov Lipmann Heller 1579-1654. From reprint of Mishnah, ed. Romm. Tif'eret Yisra 'el, Yakhin. Israel hen Gedaliah Lipschutz, 1782-1860. (Lacking for Makh., Zab., and T.Y.: Supercommentary of Baruch Isaac Lipschutz = TYB), from reprint of Mishnah, ed. Romm. 'Uq~in Seder tohorot 'im perush ... Moshe bar Maimon. Nidpas 'al yede Daniel Bomberg bishenat 5282 [ = 1522). Venezia. (Venice, 1522. Reprint: Jerusalem, 1971).

ABBREVIATIONS

Y. Y.T. Yad Yeivin Yev. ZA

Zab. Zeb.

AND BIBLIOGRAPHY

XVII

Yerushalmi. Palestinian Talmud Yorn Tov Yadayim Israel Y eivin, A Collection of Mishnaic Geniza Fragments with Babylonian Vocalization. With Description of the Manuscripts and Indices (Jerusalem, 1974), Plates 53-57. Yevamot Zera' Avraham. Seder Tohorot. Ya 'aqov Binyamin Ze'ev Kahana Yakimovsky (Vilna, 1913). Zabim Zebal;iim

I

TRANSLITERATIONS

"'I

- B - G - D

li

-

~

::i l

)

H

- w - z

1:1 7;)=

N

l=

0 'l,;

M

- s (

~ El=

p

r

~

,i'

:g =

- Q - R - s

n

-

t,

- T

tJj

-

y

iV

- s

=>=

K

l"1

- T

-

L

,

•

i,

I:I

INTRODUCTION While each tractate in succession is subjected to the same procedures and inquiries, each also presents its distinctive problematic. That of Zabim, a small but difficult set of five chapters, is the relationship between Scripture and Mishnah. Like Negaim and Niddah, Zabim contains no important idea which Scripture either does not explicitly state or implicitly contain for explication through the exegesis of Scripture's distinct and clear conceptions. As at Negaim (Part VIII, pp. 226-244) and Niddah (Part XVI, pp. 195-201), here too (pp. 175-192, 204-210), we have to devote much attention to the conceptions of the Priestly Code on the subject of the Zab. In particular I undertake a hypothetical-logical exercise. Here I state, first, what Scripture says, then in more general language restate exactly what Scripture says in its particular language, and further offer a few distinctions and inferences based upon those generalizations. What we discover is that at the second and third levels of hypotheticallogical reconstruction, we already find ourselves stating propositions found in the Yavnean and even Ushan strata of Mishnah. What implications are to be drawn from that hypothetical-logical system for the history of Mishnaic law, in particular as to the commencement of its development and the time at which that development was undertaken, are not matters subjected to considerable speculation. The implications for the phenomenology of the law of purity, by contrast, are very rich and result not from speculation but from mere description. The three tractates, Negaim, Niddah, and Zabim, which to begin with draw out and spell out Scripture's rules and principles for the merora