Levels of Impurity

There are three levels of impurity that are mentioned in the Torah. There is the impurity that comes from having come in contact with a corpse. There is impurity that comes from unwanted bodily flows, known as “Zav,” and there is the impurity that comes from leprosy.

All three of these types of טומאה, included being separated form the rest of the nation. In the time of the desert and in times of the Temple, there was the equivalent of three camps.

In the desert, there was the camp of the Shechina, Divine Presence, which was the area of the Mishkan. There was the camp of the Levites, and the camp of the rest of the nation.

Leprosy was the most severe, and the quarantine was outside all three camps. The “Zav” had to stay outside of two camps, while the one who came in contact with the dead, had to stay outside of one camp.

Jerusalem also had three boundaries of impurity. There was the inside of the Temple, the outside area that was part of the Temple grounds, and there was the area enclosed by a wall around the city.

None of these rules apply nowadays except for Mikva for menstruation, and the Kohein that does not enter a cemetery.

When Jews lived by these laws, they were on a higher spiritual level. They could sense when this “Tuma” had infiltrated their bodies. They knew that purification was needed in order for them to function at a higher level.

We do not fully recognize the potential of a Jew to reach greater and greater spiritual heights. Learning these laws teaches us that the soul that was placed in our bodies, would like to soar. We must allow this to happen by insulating ourselves with positive and holy stimuli. We may not have the same laws of purity that was once held, but we can do our best to live lives of purity and holiness.