Komentarz do Powtórzonego Prawa 14:8

ובנבלתם לא תגעו YE SHALL NOT TOUCH THEIR CARRION — Our Rabbis explained that this refers only to the festive seasons when every male Israelite was obliged to appear in the Sanctuary and should therefore be in a state of cleanness. One might think that they (the Israelites, i.e. non-priests) are prohibited from touching a carcass during the whole year! It, however, states, (Leviticus 21:1) in reference to the uncleanness of a corpse: “Say unto the priests … [there shall none be defiled by the dead] etc.”. Now you may draw a conclusion a fortiori: How is it in the case of uncleanness caused by a corpse which is a stringent kind of uncleanness? Priests only are prohibited regarding it but ordinary Israelites are not prohibited! Surely in the case of uncleanness caused by a carcass which is less stringent this is all the more so! (Sifra, Shemini, Chapter 4 8-9; cf. Rashi on Leviticus 11:8 and Note thereon).

ובנבלתם לא תגעו, “and do not touch their carcasses.” If they had died of natural causes you must not touch their carcasses. According to the Talmud in tractate Makkot folio 14, the words לא תגעו must be understood as a prohibition to touch them in order to eat their flesh. The reason why the Torah uses this unusual way of making this point was to treat its status as equivalent to Leviticus 12,4 where we read a prohibition for the recent mother בכל קודש לא תגע, not to touch anything that is holy. If you were to ask why the Torah had to repeat something that had already been forbidden in the same verse? It is to teach us that the measurements for culpability are the same for eating as for touching. If one touched less than the size of an olive or egg, while it is forbidden, it is not punishable by a court. It still leaves the question that if even touching a carcass is forbidden it follows logically that eating of it must certainly be forbidden! This may be the reason why there is an opinion in the Talmud, tractate Z’vachim folio 32 that our verse has to be understood literally as not touching. It would be a warning to the ordinary Israelite when making the pilgrimage to Jerusalem on the festivals when he, like the priest, must not be in a state of ritual impurity so that he can offer the sacrifices that are mandatory for him to offer while there.

ובנבלתם לא תגעו "you are not to touch their carcasses" with a view to preparing them as food, just as the Torah forbade touching holy things in Leviticus 12,4 for people in a state of bodily ritual impurity. Touching such carcasses and eating them is considered pas part of the same prohibition. If touching these carcasses by itself were the prohibition, why would the Torah have to bother forbidding eating them?