Purity in Jewish Mythology

33 myths · Page 2 of 2

Ritual purity and impurity in Jewish law: the mikveh, the red heifer, and the boundary between the sacred and the profane.
Myth 6 min

Rabbi Yossi Haglili Asked to Return to an Argument He Had Lost

A cow drank the water made from red heifer ashes, and thirty-two elders ruled on its flesh. Rabbi Yossi Haglili lost that room, then came back.

PurityDeathPriestsRed HeiferTemple
Myth 6 min

Elazar Led the Red Heifer East Without Help

While Aaron still lived, Elazar led a flawless red cow east alone. One glance away from the slaughter, and the whole statute of purity collapsed.

ElazarRed HeiferAaronPuritySifrei BamidbarPriests
Parshat Chukat 6 min

Moses Asked About the Corpse and God Did Not Answer

God taught every law with its cleansing until the corpse, where the answer stopped and Moses walked out of the Tent with a gray face.

MosesRed HeiferPurityPriestsImpurityMidrash Tanchuma