[Avodah] Tum'ah in a Reshus haYachid

[Micha Berger]

As many of you know from prior iterations, one of my pet theories is an
extension of an idea from Shu"T R' Aqiva Eiger (#136). RAE distinguished
between kol kavu'ah kemechtzah al mechtzah dami and kol deparish meiruba
parish by distringuishing between ways of being mevareir the din, and
those of being mevareir the metzi'us.

In a case where the object is qavuah, the din was once established, and
so our safeiq is what the din is. In such a case, we cannot utilize
rov -- the risk of cheit is too great.

In the case of kol deparish, the goal is to create a din for an unknown
metzius. In which case, something that is probably not the assur thing
gets a definite din of mutar. There is no risk of cheit, because the
din itself is not in doubt.

And I used this distinction between safeiq in the din and safeiq in
the metzius as a theory that would explain trei kemeia, migo, the differences
in authority between chazaqah demei'iqara vs chazaqah disvara, etc...
See <http://www.aishdas.org/asp/2009/04/halakhah-phenomenology-2.shtml>,
<http://www.aishdas.org/asp/2009/04/halakhah-and-phenomenology-3.shtml>
and <http://www.aishdas.org/asp/2009/04/halakhah-and-phenomenology-4.shtml>
if it interests you.

So why the revisit? Y-mi Yomi. This time, Nazir 9:1 (vilna ed 40a).

As the subject line suggests, the discussion is a nazir who became safeiq
tum'ah brh"y.

R' Hosheiah Rabbah: the nazer cuts his hair
R' Yochanan: he does not

A person who becomes safeiq tamei brh"h -- does he bring a qorban pesach
on Pesach or on Pesach Sheini?

RH: pesach sheini
RY: send him away derekh rechoqah, and then he makes pesach sheini.

The Rambam, Qorban Pesach 7:7. holds like R' Hosheiah.
I couldn't find a parallel in the Bavli. Anyone?

As the Penei Mosheh and Qorban ha'Eidah (the acharonim on the sides
of the daf) both explain, this is the underlying machloqes:

RH: safeiq tum'ah bereshus hayachid makes someone tamei vadai. So, the
    nazir is definitely a nazir tamei and must shear his hair and restart
    nezirus. And the person definitely is disqualified from his qorban
    pesach on Pesach, and eligable for Pesach Sheini.

RY: safeiq tum'ah brh"y is a rule for how to deal with a safeiq. It is
    insufficent to permit the nazir to cut his hair because he might be
    tahor and a haircut would be assur. (So, he outwaits his nezirus,
    cuts his hair then, and then, in case he was tamei, starts over.)
    And he needs another reason to force the qorban to Pesach Sheini.

I found this to be the same chiluq as the one I generalized from RAE:

RH: safeiq tum'ah brh"h is a rule in determining metzius. In a case of
    encountering maybe tum'ah, the din established is vadei tum'ah. 

RY: it's a rule in determining the how to act when the din is
    unknown. When the tumah' is in safeiq, if the safeiq was created in
    a rh"y, ACT AS THOUGH it's tamei. But the tum'ah is still besafeiq,
    and it can't override issurim.

:-)BBii!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             I long to accomplish a great and noble task,
micha at aishdas.org        but it is my chief duty to accomplish small
http://www.aishdas.org   tasks as if they were great and noble.
Fax: (270) 514-1507                              - Helen Keller