Комментарий к Бамидбар 19:14

Summary: The Tiferes Shlomo discusses a particular kavanah that one may use to enthuse himself towards Torah study and mitzvot. It involves imagining that Gan Even gave a day to you, to come back and do teshuva. How would you conduct yourself during this day? Apply that feeling to fuel your personal avodah.

כל הבא אל האהל ALL THAT COMETH INTO THE TENT, whilst the dead body is within it, shall be unclean seven days.

WHEN A MAN DIETH IN A TENT. The meaning thereof is: “When a man dies, and he is now [lying] in a tent” [even though he may have died outside the tent and was later on brought in]; or it may be that Scripture speaks about the usual circumstances [and people usually die inside a building], but the same law applies if he died outside and they brought him into the tent. All that come into the tent and all that is in the tent — this includes the vessels therein and the tent itself, as He said [further on], and he shall sprinkle upon the tent and upon all the vessels and upon the persons that were there.³⁰Further, Verse 18. Scripture mentions the tent in order to let us know that the tent itself is rendered unclean for seven days, and [in order to become clean again] requires sprinkling [with the waters of purification]. Furthermore, the Israelites were tent-dwellers in the wilderness and Scripture spoke of the usual [circumstances at that time], because the commandment applied [both] immediately and for later generations; but the same law applies to a house and to everything that “covers” [a corpse], namely that they convey uncleanness to all the vessels and persons that are there, except that a house which is [permanently] attached to the ground cannot itself become impure [unlike a tent which is also defiled].
Now Scripture stated [that] a corpse [conveys] impurity by contact³¹Verse 16: And whatsoever toucheth … shall be unclean for seven days. — See Vol. III, p. 129, Note 150, on the interchangeable use of the terms “clean,” and “unclean,” or “pure” and “impure.” and by an ‘ohel,’³²Literally: “a tent.” This refers to the law that anything “spread over” an unclean object has the same effect as “a tent.” Hence if a tree shaded a corpse, the law of a dead body in a house or tent applies. but does not mention [that it also conveys impurity to the person who] carries it. Our Rabbis, however, deduced it by a kal vachomer³³Literally: “a minor and major.” See Vol. II, p. 133, Note 208 for a fuller explanation of this principle. from [the law of] a dead animal,³⁴“If a dead animal, which only renders one impure until [the same] evening, and does not convey impurity by ohel (see Note 32), nonetheless does convey impurity [to one who] carries it — surely a corpse [which conveys impurity for seven days, and also by ohel, conveys impurity to one who carries it]! And just as in the case of a dead animal, touching it conveys impurity until the [same] evening and carrying it [likewise] conveys impurity until the evening, so also in the case of a corpse, where touching conveys impurity for seven days, carrying also conveys impurity for seven days” (Rambam, Mishneh Torah, Hilchoth Tumath Hameith, 1:2). and have included it in [the law of] uncleanness of seven days, just like [one who] touches [a corpse]. This is also in accordance with the plain meaning of Scripture, for He mentioned in the case of one who dies [of his own accord] or was killed that he who touches him becomes unclean for seven days,³¹Verse 16: And whatsoever toucheth … shall be unclean for seven days. — See Vol. III, p. 129, Note 150, on the interchangeable use of the terms “clean,” and “unclean,” or “pure” and “impure.” and [requires] sprinkling [with the waters of purification]; and it is already known that [the word] “touching” in the Torah refers to actual personal contact, and to contact through another object, that is, by carrying it [in which case he is “touching” the object carried by means of the intervening object].