gnosis92

for those familar with the bible, the torah and ot has passages that describe women as unclean during menstruation and those with skin diseases. they are unclean. it says they should not be touched. u can google 4 these passages.


aside from ? about jesus existence, would a first century jew, or today's orthodox jew, would a Torah-observant Jew allow a menstruating woman or leper to touch him? when jesus allowed a menstruating woman or lepers touch him, was he violating torah rabbinic purity laws?

when i read the gospels i read a man who was not very torah observant.

feminists or feminazis like naomi wolfe and gloria steinem and simone de beourivr have written about menstruation and the torah and felt it's sexism plain and simple. i'm just the messenger.

Toto

It is not forbidden to touch a menstruating woman. It is just that touching such a woman produces a state of ritual uncleanliness for a certain period of time, which needs to be ritually removed.

Ritual Purity

gnosis92

Toto, I didn't say "forbidden", only they should not be touched, since touching a menstruating woman "produces a state of ritual uncleanliness for a certain period of time, which needs to be ritually removed" then that would suggest menstruating women should be "avoided".

Toto

If Jesus was the healer that the gospels describe, he would have to touch various people who were ritually unclean - men with discharges were also unclean.

It's not clear what your point is. Is it that the Jesus described in the gospels could not have existed? That he couldn't have been Jewish?

gnosis92

would a Torah-observant Jew allow a menstruating woman to touch him, if being touched by a menstruating woman or leper meant "produces a state of ritual uncleanliness for a certain period of time, which needs to be ritually removed."

If the CDC told you touching corpses of birds that have died of bird flu or SARS meant that "produces a state of ritual uncleanliness for a certain period of time, which needs to be ritually removed" would you touch these dead corpses?


since the gospels describe a dude who allowed lepers and mentruating women touch him, the character as described presumably was not Torah-observant. :devil1:

Christians and even some Jews and secular scholars like Bart Ehrman, believed Jesus was a devote Jew, but when I read the gospels, he doesn't seem all that interested in Torah-observance.

squiz

Where does it say that he allowed menstruating women to touch him?

andrewcriddle

IIUC a Torah-observant Jew would seek, other things being equal, to avoid touching or being touched by someone with major uncleanness. However other considerations would override this. Eg the duty to bury the dead (normally) overrides the major uncleanness incurred in touching a dead body. If touching or being touched by an unclean person was necessary in order to heal them, then healing them would override the issues of purity and impurity.

Andrew Criddle

God Fearing Atheist

gnosis,

Read this little paper by Paula Fredriksen.

gnosis92

ok - the txt is slanted

Merlin

No, healing does not necessitate touch.