But if water has been put on the seed and a carcass falls on it, it is unclean for you. If the seed has been moistened with water before the carcass falls on it, the seed becomes unclean. The water that makes the seed susceptible to impurity is the same water that makes clay pots permanently contaminated: moisture is the vehicle through which impurity is transferred to substances that would otherwise be protected by their dry state. The dry-is-clean, wet-is-susceptible principle communicates the practical wisdom of the impurity regulations: dryness provides a natural protective barrier against the spread of ritual impurity.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

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