Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ramban · Torah

Ramban on Leviticus 22:8/רמב"ן על ויקרא כ״ב:ח׳

אנְבֵלָה וּטְרֵפָה לֹא יֹאכַל לְטָמְאָה בָהּ יֹאמַר שֶׁיִּזָּהֵר מֵאֲכִילַת נְבֵלָה וּטְרֵפָה, שֶׁלֹּא יִטְמָא בָהּ וְיִצְטָרֵךְ לְהִנָּזֵר מִן הַקֳּדָשִׁים, וְלֹא יֹאכַל בָּהֶם עַד שֶׁיִּרְחַץ בְּשָׂרוֹ בַּמָּיִם וּבָא הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ וְטָהֵר. וְהַטַּעַם בַּעֲבוּר שֶׁהִזְכִּיר טֻמְאַת הָאָדָם לְכָל טֻמְאוֹתָיו, כִּי הִזְכִּיר הַצָּרַעַת וְהַזּוֹב שֶׁיִּכְלֹל הַזָּכָר וְהַנְּקֵבָה, וְטֻמְאַת הַמֵּת וְשִׁכְבַת הַזֶּרַע וְהַשֶּׁרֶץ, חָזַר לְהַזְהִיר מִן הַקֳּדָשִׁים בְּטֻמְאַת הַנְּבֵלוֹת, וְהִזְהִיר בָּהֶם דֶּרֶךְ הַתְרָאָה בַּאֲכִילָתָן. וְהַטַּעַם כִּי בַּעֲבוּר שֶׁנֶּפֶשׁ הָאָדָם קָצָה בַּאֲכִילַת הַשְּׁרָצִים וְלֹא תָּקֹץ בִּנְבֵלָה וּטְרֵפָה, הִזְהִיר עַל הַטֻּמְאָה בַּהוֹוֶה. וְהַטְּרֵפָה הַנִּזְכֶּרֶת כָּאן טְרֵפַת הָאֲרִי וְהַדֹּב שֶׁהֵמִית אוֹתָהּ בַּשָּׂדֶה, כִּי מֵחַיִּים לֹא תְּטַמֵּא, כִּי מֵעֵת שֶׁתִּטָּרֵף הַבְּהֵמָה מִן הָאֲרִי תִּקָּרֵא טְרֵפָה, בֵּין מֵחַיִּים בֵּין לְאַחַר מִיתָה. וְהִנֵּה הִזְכִּיר כָּאן כָּל הַטֻּמְאוֹת כֻּלָּן, כִּי הַבְּהֵמָה הַטְּמֵאָה אַחַר שֶׁאָמַר שֶׁאֵין לָהּ שְׁחִיטָה, כַּאֲשֶׁר פֵּרַשְׁתִּי בְּסֵדֶר וַיְהִי בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁמִינִי (רמב"ן על ויקרא י"א:כ"ד), הִנֵּה הִיא בִּכְלַל נְבֵלָה, וְזֶה דֶּרֶךְ פְּשׁוּטוֹ. וּמִדְרָשׁוֹ (ת"כ פרק ד יב יג) גַּם כֵּן לְעִנְיַן הַקֳּדָשִׁים בְּטֻמְאָה הִזְהִיר כָּאן, וּבְנִבְלַת עוֹף טָהוֹר הַכָּתוּב מְדַבֵּר, שֶׁאֵין לָהּ טֻמְאַת מַגָּע וּמַשָּׂא אֶלָּא טֻמְאַת בֵּית הַבְּלִיעָה, וַאֲסָרוֹ לֶאֱכֹל בַּקֳּדָשִׁים. וְצָרִיךְ לוֹמַר "וּטְרֵפָה", מִי שֶׁיֵּשׁ בְּמִינוֹ טְרֵפָה, יָצָא נִבְלַת עוֹף טָמֵא שֶׁאֵין בְּמִינוֹ טְרֵפָה, כִּלְשׁוֹן רַשִׁ"י (רש"י על ויקרא כ"ב:ח'), וְטֻמְאַת שְׁאָר נְבֵלוֹת רִבּוּ אוֹתָהּ בְּת"כ (פרק ד ד) "אֲשֶׁר יִגַּע בְּשֶׁרֶץ" (ויקרא כ"ב:ה'), אֵין לִי אֶלָּא הַשֶּׁרֶץ, מִנַּיִן לְרַבּוֹת אֶת הַנְּבֵלָה, תַּלְמוּד לוֹמַר "בְּכָל":

1N’VEILAH’ (THAT WHICH DIETH OF ITSELF) ‘U’TREIFAH’ (OR IS TORN OF BEASTS) HE SHALL NOT EAT TO DEFILE HIMSELF THEREWITH. Scripture is stating that [the priest] should be careful not to eat n’veilah or treifah so that he should not become defiled therewith, and then it will be necessary for him to be separated from the holy things,⁹⁰ and treifah, since the law applies to all Israelites (See Exodus 22:30 on treifah, and Deuteronomy 14:21 on n’veilah). Ramban’s explanation is that since the main theme of this section is to warn the priests to separate themselves from holy things when they are in a state of impurity, therefore the Torah mentions here the admonition against their eating n’veilah and treifah, since by so doing they will not only have transgressed a law which applies to all Israel, but they will also have to separate themselves from the Sanctuary and its holy things, as they will have been rendered impure. and he will not be able to eat of them until he bathes his flesh in water, and when the sun is down, he shall be clean.⁹¹ And the reason [why He mentioned here the prohibition against eating n’veilah and treifah], is that since He had referred to every sort of impurity which can occur to a person, seeing that He mentioned leprosy and an issue,⁹² which includes male and female, and the impurity of the dead,⁹³ (Verse 5), this refers to the dead.” (Torath Kohanim, Emor 4:4). of semen,⁹² and of a swarming thing,⁹⁴ therefore He goes back [in the verse before us] to warn [the priests to separate themselves] from the holy things when they are impure because of n’veiloth, and He warned them about this by way of an admonition against eating them. And the reason [why He singled out n’veilah and treifah in warning the priests not to eat them, and He did not mention those creeping things which also render the eater impure], is because a man’s soul finds it loathsome to eat creeping things, but it does not find n’veilah and treifah loathsome. Therefore He mentioned here [the prohibition against eating food which conveys] impurity in the case of [that food] which it is common [to eat]. Now the word treifah mentioned here [which renders the eater impure, must perforce] mean an animal that was torn by a lion or bear which killed it in the field, for when it is still alive [and is then slaughtered ritually] it does not convey impurity [although it may not be eaten. The term treifah which the Torah mentions here as conveying impurity to one who eats it, is applicable, however, even to an animal that was not killed when torn by beasts], for from the moment when it is torn by the lion [or any beast] it is called treifah (“torn”), whether it is alive or after its death.⁹⁵ since it was not ritually slaughtered, the Torah still calls it here treifah, for from the moment when it is torn by the beast it is called treifah, whether it is alive or after its death. Thus He mentioned here all sources of impurity, for having stated that animals of the forbidden species [which are not mentioned here, although they do convey impurity to one who eats them], cannot be [made permissible by] ritual slaughtering,⁹⁶ be eaten, even if ritually slaughtered, conveys impurity to the one who eats of it [in addition of course to having violated the prohibition against eating it], because there is no law of ritual slaughter regarding it, and it is therefore included under the term n’veilah. An animal of the permitted species, which, when ritually slaughtered, is found to have an organic disease which renders it forbidden for eating, does not convey impurity to the person who eats it, although he has transgressed the law which prohibits the eating of treifah. as I have explained in the section of ‘Vay’hi Bayom Ha’shemini’ (And it came to pass on the eighth day),⁹⁷, 11:24. it is [automatically] included under the term of n’veilah [which is mentioned here]. This is by way of the plain meaning of Scripture. The [Rabbinical] explanation⁹⁸ likewise interprets [this verse as an admonition] about holy things with reference to impurity, namely that the verse speaks of the carrion of a bird of a permissible species⁹⁹ 3:14). If there is, however, an intention to eat it, and it has been rendered susceptible to impurity [by having come into contact with liquid], it is like any other food and may itself contract a first grade impurity, but only if it itself comes into contact with an object that conveys impurity. It is not, however, capable of rendering the eater impure, as human beings cannot become impure through contact with food. The case of the carrion of a bird of a permitted species is a special exception, because in that case the Torah declared that it conveys impurity automatically if eaten [but not if merely touched], although it itself has not received impurity from another object. In short, it is, if eaten, a primary source of impurity which renders the eater impure. [i.e., which died by itself, or has not been slaughtered properly], which has no defiling effect by means of contact or carrying, but [conveys] impurity only when in the [eater’s] gullet, and thus it forbids him to eat [subsequently] of the holy things. And we must then explain [that when Scripture states here] ‘u’treifah’ (or is torn of beasts),¹⁰⁰ of a permitted species of bird, which is n’veilah, why then did Scripture here mention treifah altogether? The answer is: it was necessary for Scripture to state here also u’treifah etc. [it is in order to define the term n’veilah, and to explain that this law of impurity of n’veilah refers only] to those kinds [of birds] that can have a treifah [i.e., to those species which may usually be eaten if slaughtered properly, but which are nonetheless treifah if found to be suffering from certain organic diseases, and consequently forbidden to be eaten], thus excluding the carrion of a bird of one of the forbidden species, for in its class no treifah is ever possible [for such a bird, even if ritually slaughtered, is still n’veilah, since the law of treifah only applies to such birds which, if they were healthy, would be permitted as food by means of ritual slaughter, which does not apply to these forbidden species], as is stated in the language of Rashi [here]. And as far as the impurity of other n’veiloth is concerned, [so that the priest must be careful not to be defiled by them as this will make it necessary for him to be separated from the holy things, although they are not expressly mentioned in Scripture], they have been included in the Torath Kohanim on the basis of the following interpretation:¹⁰¹ 4:4. “Or whosoever toucheth ‘b’chol’ (any) swarming thing.¹⁰² I would only know the swarming thing. How do I know to include n’veilah? From the expression b’chol (any).”