B”S”D

Shiur 1 –Mikvaos, Siman 201

הלכות מקואות  יורה דעה רא

1- We began with the first סעיף.

אין האשה עולה מטומאתה ברחיצה במרחץ – A woman does not leave her status of [ritual]  impurity through washing in a bath,    ואפילו עלו עליה כל מימות שבעולם – even if all of the waters in the world went over her,   עדיין היא בטומאתה – she nonetheless remains in her status of impurity.    – וחייבים עליה כרת and one would be liable for Karet for [cohabiting with] her.   עד שתטבול כל גופה בבת אחת במי מקוה או מעיין שיש בהם ארבעים סאה – until she immerses her entire body at once in the waters of a mikvah or a spring which contains 40 seah. (About 100 gallons) of water.

100 gallon tank

We read the TAZ that says that for טבילת כלים in a מעין  even a drop of water is sufficient. Provided of course that the water covers the entire utensil.

2- We read the ש”ך who writes that the consensus is that the only time only a מעין will work is for a זב.

There are other opinion that a woman זבה also needs a מעין. But the Halachah is as the ש”ך writes.

3- We mentioned the Pupa Mikvah in Williamsburg as one that is actually connected to a מעין.

 

4- Surprisingly, the Alter Rebbe in Likutei Torah Bamidbar 42b writes:

וכן  לנדה וזבה טהרתן במים חיים דוקא וכן אמרו רז”ל מעין מטהר בכל שהוא

The Rebbe, in his notes published at the end of the LT,  points out that the AR’s explanation ,עפ”י חסידות , follows the opinion of the Zohar, many of the Geonim,  Rashi’s teachers and many others. 

5- We learned the Gra (6) and the interesting take about fish being able to swim underground into a river.

This is from 1750 +- meaning that they had scientists tagging fish with ‘silver rings’ and finding them miles away!

IY”H more on all the above in the following weeks.