[Avodah] Tum'at Yadayim

[Gershon Dubin]

From: Galsaba at aol.com

<<Takanat Chachamim that Sefer Torah makes hands to be secondary Tumeah.Sefer Metamei Yadaim Lihyot Sheniyot.
 
What about the Seffer Torah itself.
Is it Tamei? or just Metamei?>>

The difference being....?
 
<<The Gemara (Berachos 22a) where R. Yehudah ben Beseira said, "The words of Torah do not receive Tum'ah". This is learned from Yirmiyahu 23:29 - "are not all my words like fire, said Hashem?". Just as fire does not receive Tum'ah, so too the words of Torah cannot become impure - also, the Beis Yosef OC 88 DH v'Aha.>>

This is intended, both in the Gemara and in the Shulchan Aruch, to say that when a PERSON is tamei, he may still learn Torah.  Nothing at all to do with touching KISVEI HAKODESH, whose tum'ah (one of the 18 gezeros in the 1st perek of Shabbos) is for a completely unrelated reason.
 
Gershon
gershon.dubin at juno.com