The group attendees are Dr.Yehudah Valledaris,
We think Tumah can best be understood in psychological terms. Our hypothesis is that Tumah is a state of cognitive loss; a "death" or "dispirited" state during which one is so deeply depressed, apathetic, and/or guilt-ridden (on some level) that he/she no longer has the capacity to enter into any relationship--not with Hashem and not with other human beings.
Contact with death precipitates a state of Tumah. A corpse is considered the "ultimate father of all Tumah," because contact with death triggers a primordial uneasiness, fear (of one's own mortality? of contagion?) and negativism that can absorb all of the person's emotional energy. (Even medical students report a sense of uneasiness after the first encounter with a cadaver.) Death of a family member can evoke negative emotions including sadness, resentment, anger, feelings of unfairness, and guilt. The person who encounters death is self-absorbed, sad, and depressed. These feelings interfere with one's ability to connect with others.
The Torah's insight into the profound (oft-times unconscious) forces that dominate a human being's emotions and behavior is further evident in the reality that the negativity associated with death becomes diluted the further one is removed from the source. Thus, a person who touches a corpse (called a "Rishon L'tumah") experiences the most intense emotional negativity (i.e.,Tumah). As that person comes into contact (e.g., shakes hands) with others, the emotion of the "death association" by the latter is a step removed and diluted. And so on down the line as each Tameh person comes into contact with another person or object, the transmission (emotional response to the original source of Tumah) weakens. (Please note that the halachos of Tumah are lengthy, complicated and well beyond the scope of this article. It would be interesting at some point to study the details of Tumah and see if they fit the hypothesis we are proposing. For the moment, however, our interest here is in providing a conceptual framework for understanding the psychological meaning and emotional dynamics of the thing that is Tumah.)
A woman who menstruates, a women who has given birth, and people who experience abnormal sexual emissions (zav, zava) are deemed to be in a state of Tumah because blood and fluids associated with the procreative process represent on some level of the human mind the (potential) death of a human life. Bad and sad feelings result (e.g., postpartum depression) and fill the person with negativity...i.e., Tumah.
Guilt can drive a person into a state of Tumah - for example, when a person is in the disease state known as Tsaraas, a dermatological disorder characterized by symptoms of coloring, depth, extent. It is thought that this condition is brought upon a person for having maligned other people (Metzorah =Motze Shem Rah). Deep in the recesses of our soul we are aware that in speaking/behaving badly towards another our behavior is inappropriate and harmful. Our conscience struggles with his behavior and experiences guilt on some level. Struggling with "one's own demons" causes a person to be Tameh because preoccupation with one's own emotions interferes with the ability to relate to others. (Note: Perhaps Tsaraas is the psychosomatic manifestation of guilt.)
The treatment of Tsaraas is also revealing. One is isolated (moves outside the city) and prohibited from socializing with others, presumably to allow for a period of introspection regarding the ramification of one's behavior (a "time out" in current parlance.) Other details of this isolation are remarkably similar to the Shiva regulations,when a person struggles with the emotional aftermath of death. The psychological reverberations of death, loshon harah, tsaraas and guilt seem inextricably linked.
The person engaged in incestuous relationship may be so racked with guilt (on some level) that he/she is unable to function in society and thus, ipso facto, exists in a state of Tumah. The associated blood and emissions further intensify that person's self-absorption, guilt and negativity.
Coming into contact with a dead Sheretz (insect, reptile) also makes a person Tameh. People often react to touching swarming, creeping things with revulsion, disgust, fear and general unease. At that point these emotions prevail and interfere with the ability to relate to others. One is in a state of Tumah.
Over the years it has noted (and, in our generation, said in the name of Rav Solovetchik a"h) that to understand the deeper meaning of a word, look for where that word first appears in the Torah. The first time we encounter the root-word Tumah is in Breishis 34:5 after Shechem's seduction and rape of Yaakov's daughter, Deena. Here the Torah focuses on Yaakov's reaction:
"Yaakov learned that his daughter Deena had been Teemay (defiled)" and "Yaakov remained silent until they (his sons) came home." Tumah is the condition that is characterized by a seething rage, deep mental anguish, and a state of speechlessness all part of a galaxy of negative emotions that prevent inter-personal relationships. Yaakov's internal turmoil presumably mirrored that of his daughter.
By understanding the psychological underpinnings of Tumah, perhaps we can get some measure of insight into the paradox of the Parah Aduma, red heifer, that is "mtahar temaim" and "mtamay tehorim" (changes one who is Tameh into a state of Tahor and, paradoxically, can change one who is Tahor to become Tameh). A person who came into contact with a corpse engages in a seven day rehabilitation that culminates in a ritual involving slaughtering the heifer, burning it and the sprinkling of blood. The outcome is that the individual who heretofore has been in a state of Tumah (as a result of contact with a corpse) now comes back into the original state of non-Tumah. But the priests who perform the rituals and started off being Tahor, become Tameh!
The ritual and symbolism of the Parah Aduma complete the working-through process required for the elimination of the negativity (Tumah) that has enveloped the person since his initial contact with the corpse. The priests, on the other hand, are filled with positive energy and emotion when they start this ceremony, standing ready to pave the way for the individual who is Tameh to return to Society. But the priests, because they now find themselves in contact with death (dead animal, blood sprinkling) experience the negative emotional associations described above, i.e., a state of Tumah.
The Mishkan, the Beis Hamikdash and
To develop a relationship one needs to prepare oneself, much as a farmer needs to plow his fields and plant seed if he is to reap the benefit of rain. The Torah is alerting us to the reality that if we are filled with negativity in a state of emotional self absorption (Tameh) it is pointless to enter the Mishkan, for no relationship can or will happen. This Torah truth is, of course, equally applicable to our human relationships, particularly the most important one of all, the spousal situation. When there is the aura of negativity in one of the partners, there can be no relationship. In our view, this is the deeper message of Tumah for us all in our religious and personal lives.
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