Daf Yomi, Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, Torah and Psychology, Marriage Counseling, Psychotherapy
Our Gemara discusses the ritual impurity incurred by those who burn certain sacrifices outside Jerusalem, including Yom Kippur offerings whose blood is sprinkled inside the sanctuary, as well as communal chattas and the chattas of a Cohen Gadol (Mishna Zevachim 12:5–6).
Typically, impurity is associated with loss of life: exposure to a corpse, the Red Heifer ceremony, niddah and zavah, which represent loss of reproductive potential or disorder. A metzora experiences necrotic flesh and symbolic social death. Even impurity after childbirth can be seen as a form of loss, as the mother begins the painful process of separation from the life force growing within her.
But where is the loss of life here?
Meshech Chochma (Chukkas) explains that impurity at its root is not merely loss of life force, but subjective degradation—a loss of prior attachment to God. These sacrifices began in the sanctuary and ended outside Jerusalem, representing a fall in spiritual status. By contrast, the birds of the metzora and the eglah arufah are also performed outside the Temple yet do not incur impurity, because they never had a higher prior status.
This parallels a psychological truth: falling from a level, even when merely returning to a prior state, is often more painful than having always been at the lower level. Sefer Daf al Daf explains that this is why it was more difficult—and more humble—for Moshe to admit that he learned and forgot, rather than saying, “I never learned,” as discussed earlier in Zevachim 102. Subjective loss hurts, even when the final balance sheet is neutral.
Translations Courtesy of Sefaria, except when, sometimes, I disagree with the translation
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Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, LCSW-R, LMFT, DHL is a psychotherapist who works with high conflict couples and families. He can be reached via email at simchafeuerman@gmail.com