Study Nazir folio 52A with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
אמר רב יהודה מדיסקרתא: תא שמע: ״בהם״, יכול בכולן — תלמוד לומר: ״מהם״. אי ״מהם״, יכול מקצתן — תלמוד לומר: ״בהם״.
Rav Yehuda from Diskarta said: Come and hear the following halakhic midrash concerning the ritual impurity of creeping animals. The verse states: “Whoever touches them when they are dead should be impure” (Leviticus 11:31). One might have thought this halakha applies only to all of them, i.e., to complete creatures. Therefore, the verse states: “And upon whatever any of them, when they are dead, fall, it should be impure” (Leviticus 11:32), which indicates that part of these creatures also imparts impurity. If the halakha were derived solely from the phrase “of them,” one might have thought that it applies even to a small part of them. The verse therefore states: “Them,” which means all of them.
הא כיצד? עד שיגע במקצתן שהוא ככולן. ושיערו חכמים בכעדשה, שכן החומט תחלת ברייתו בכעדשה. שמע מינה שיעורא גמירי לה.
How so? How can one reconcile the two verses? He does not become ritually impure unless he touches at least part of them that is equal in measure to all of them, i.e., a large part. And the rabbis calculated that this is the volume of a lentil-bulk. Why is this? As the start of the formation of a skink, one of the 8 impure creeping animals, is the size of a lentil-bulk. This concludes the halakhic midrash. With regard to the issue at hand, one can learn from here that it is learned as a tradition that the amount for a creature to be considered whole is a lentil-bulk. If so, an ant missing a limb should likewise not have the status of a creature.
אמר רב שמעיה: כי בעינן שיעורא דבדלא הויא כעדשה לא מטמא, דלא נפלה בה נשמה. אבל נפלה בה נשמה — לא. תיבעי לך.
Rav Shemaya said, in refutation of this argument: When we require the above amount, that if it is not the volume of a lentil-bulk it does not impart impurity, the requirement applies only in a case where the creature does not have a living soul before it grows to the size of a lentil. However, if it does have a soul, this volume is not required. If the creature can survive, perhaps it does impart impurity even if it is lacking a limb. Consequently, with regard to an ant that is missing a limb, the dilemma remains unresolved for you.