In Jewish law, ṭumah (, ) and ṭaharah (, ) are the state of being ritually "impure" and "pure", respectively. The Hebrew noun ṭum'ah, meaning "impurity", describes a state of ritual impurity. A person or object which contracts ṭumah is said to be ṭamé ( Hebrew adjective, "ritually impure"), and thereby unsuited for certain holy activities and uses (kedushah, in Hebrew) until undergoing predefined purification actions that usually include the elapse of a specified time-period.
The contrasting Hebrew noun ṭaharah () describes a state of ritual purity that qualifies the ṭahor (; ritually pure person or object) to be used for kedushah. The most common method of achieving ṭaharah is by the person or object being immersed in a mikveh (ritual bath). This concept is connected with ritual washing in Judaism, and both ritually impure and ritually pure states have parallels in ritual purification in other world religions.
The laws of ṭumah and ṭaharah were generally followed by the Israelites, particularly during the First and Second Temple Period, and to a limited extent are a part of applicable halakha in modern times.
Etymology
The Hebrew noun ṭum'ah () derives from the verb ṭamé (), in the qal form of the verb "to become impure"; in the niphal to "defile oneself"; and in the transitive Piel to defile something or pronounce something impure. The verb stem has a corresponding adjective, ṭamé (טָמֵא), "impure".
Likewise the Hebrew noun ṭahara () is also derived from a verb, in this case ṭaher () "to be ritually pure". and in the transitive piel "to purify". The verb and noun have a corresponding adjective, ṭahor (), "ritually pure". The word is a cognate to the Arabic word 'طهارة' ṭahāra(h) (pronounced almost identically, with the elongation of the second 'a') which has the same meaning in Islam.
Some sources, such as Samson Raphael Hirsch on Genesis 7:2, claim that the meaning is "entombed", meaning the person or item that is in the tame state is blocked, and not in a state of receiving holy transmission. Ṭahor, by contrast, is defined as "pure" in the sense that the person or object is in a clear state and can/may potentially serve as a conduit for Divine and Godly manifestation. Although ṭumah and ṭaharah is sometimes translated as unclean and clean, it is more a spiritual state than a physical one. Once initiated (for the physical signs that initiate tzaraath, zav and niddah, see below) it is generally immeasurable and unquantifiable by known mechanical detection methods, there is no measure of filth, unsanitary, or odorous affiliation with the state of ṭumah, nor any mechanically measurable level of cleanliness, clarity, or physical purity for the state of ṭaharah.
In the Bible
Usage
The noun form of ṭumah is used around 40 times in the Masoretic Text of the Hebrew Bible is generally translated as "uncleanness" in English language Bibles such as the KJV, and JPS Tanakh. The majority of uses are in Leviticus. Though uses for national impurity occur in Ezra and Ezekiel, and Zechariah prophesies the removal of the "prophets and spirit of impurity () from the land", the adjective tamei (, "impure") is much more common.
The verb form of ṭaharah (), the verb ṭaher () "be pure", is used first in the Hebrew Bible is in , where Jacob tells his family to "put away strange gods, and be pure".
In general, the term tumah is used in two distinct ways in the Hebrew Bible: Ritual impurity – the opposite of taharah ("purity"), also known as "impurity of the body". Moral impurity – the opposite of kedushah ("sanctity"), also known as "impurity of the soul"; this category also includes activities which are disgusting or abominable.
In general, tumah in the sense of "ritual impurity" is prefixed by the letter lamed or lacks any prefix at all, while tumah in the sense of "moral impurity" is prefixed by the letter bet.