The Gemara determines the shiur mikvah to be "water that one fits his entire body into" which chazal determine to be 40 seah. Tosafos seems to be bothered with how one can fit his head into the mikvah since a height of 3 amos for the mikvah will not include the head. Tosafos answers that one can tilt their head to squeeze it in. Another solution found in Tosafos Yoma 31 d.h. amah is that the gemara is giving the shiur of water, but the actual pit is larger and the water level will rise as he enters so it will cover his head.
The Turei Even explains that we really have 2 sources in the torah. 1. We learn from "ub'a hashemesh v'taher" that just like the sun setting is all at once, so too tevillah can't be lechatzain (half and half), rather one's entire body at once. 2. We learn from the drasha of "mayim shekol gufo oleh bahen" that even a short person who can fit into less than 40 seah, needs a minimum of 40 seah. In other words, there is a practical din that one's entire body must be immersed, but the din taught in our gemara is not a practical din rather a din in shiur that a "mikvah" must have 40 seah. Based on this, perhaps the gemara understood that the "kol gufo oleh bahen" is his body without his head and therefore determines the height of a mikvah to be 3 amos which is the shiur of the mikvah (even though it will not cover his head), but there is another din (that is learned from the torah kohanim brought in Turei Even) that the entire person including the head must be immersed at once.
7 comments:
i thought 40 seah is rabbinic as we saw that even a reviis is a kosher mikva for needles. (don't remember where the gemara was) no?
answer: found in rashi pesachim 17b that mikve for dishes and humans have different shiur.
right. the mishna at the beginning of mikvaos have 6 levels of mikvah. the shiur of rivi'is the level of "mei gabaim" - see sefer mayim rabim page 21 :)
but for a person there must be 40 seah. also for keilim chadashim there must be 40 seah midioraysa see biur hagra in y.d. 120 s.k. 4.
i should have know better....
he Chasam Sofer comments: Every person has his individual measurement of an amah (from his elbow to the tip of his middle finger). The height of each and every person (excluding his head) is equivalent to three of his personal amos and not the size of the average amah. The Chasam Sofer said that he can attest to this for he personally investigated this and confirmed it many times.
The measurement of a mikvah follows the average amah (three cubic amos) and not the amah of each unique individual.
The Bach (Y”D 120) states that Biblically, one can immerse himself in a mikvah that contains water sufficient for his entire body to enter at one time even if there isn’t forty se’ah; the Chachamim decreed that the mikvah must contain forty se’ah.
The Chasam Sofer asks: Even if the Bach is correct regarding the measurement of water required for a person to immerse himself in; he is also referring to the immersion of new utensils, where the Torah requires its immersion in a mikvah fit for a niddah to immerse in. It is evident that the Biblical amount of water needed for a valid mikvah is measured according to the average person (niddah) and not according to each individual, for otherwise, to whom is the Torah referring to when it states that the water needed for the immersion of utensils should be water sufficient for a niddah. He concludes that the words of the Bach are extremely perplexing.
shkoyach. the bach is an extremely difficult shitah. i am pasting an excerpt from my sefer on mikvaos page 100.
שוב מצאתי בחזו"א (מקואות תנינא ס' ט' אות ב') דפשיטא ליה דלדעת הסוברים דבעינן מ' סאה לאדם במעין ע"כ הוא דין דאורייתא, ונתקשה החזו"א בלשון הרא"ש בהל' מקואות. והביא החזו"א מהב"ח (ס' ק"כ גבי טבילת כלים) דקים ליה בפשיטות דלדעת הר"י ור"ת דבעינן מ' סאה לטבילת אדם במעין הוא רק מדרבנן. [גם השיג השמלה (ס' ר"א ס"ק א' בד"ה וראיתי), עמש"כ הב"ח דכל שיעור מ' סאה אף במקוה הוא רק מדרבנן, דאיך יפרש הסוגיא בסוף פ"ק דחגיגה דטומאות וטהרות יש להן על מה שיסמוכו, וטהרות הוי שיעור מקוה, וטומאות הוי כעדשה מן השרץ, דכמו שעדשה מן השרץ מדאורייתא כך שיעור מקוה הוא מדאורייתא). גם הגר"א (ס' ק"כ ס"ק ד') כתב בהדיא דלדעת הר"י דמעין צריך מ' סאה לטבילת אדם, הוא דין דאורייתא. עיין בשמלה (ס"ק א' בד"ה ואם הך מילתא) שג"כ כתב דמדברי הרא"ש משמע קצת דדוקא מ' סאה במקוה הוי מדאורייתא אבל מ' סאה במעין הוא רק מדרבנן וכ"כ הפרישה (אות ג') וגם הביא כן מהריטב"א במכות שכתב שיש מחלקין בטבילה בכלי בין טבילת כלים לטבילת אדם, דבאדם החמירו כמו שהחמירו לענין מעין פחות ממ' סאה. והגם שכתב הריטב"א דלא מתחוור ליה פירוש זה, היינו דאינו מחוור הדמיון אבל כתב כביעתא בכותחא דמ' סאה דמעין הוא רק מדרבנן. אבל דייק השמלה מדברי התוס' בנזיר להיפך דבאדם בעינן מ' סאה במעין מדאורייתא.
Thank you - very interesting - is the sefer for sale in lakewood? thanks
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