The Mishnah states that during the seven days before Yom Kipur, the Kohen
Gadol performs the Avodah in the Beis ha'Mikdash. The Gemara asks why is the
Kohen Gadol permitted to do the Avodah during those seven days? We have
learned that the Kohen Gadol is required to have Haza'ah done to him each of
the seven days out of a doubt that he might have become Tamei with Tum'as
Mes prior to his seclusion. However, if he is actually Tahor, then the
Haza'ah will make him Tamei! Since he might have been Tahor before the
Haza'ah, he should not be allowed to do the Avodah after the Haza'ah,
because he might be Tamei now as a result of it! (Without Haza'ah, the Kohen
Gadol may perform the Avodah because he has a Chezkas Taharah and we assume
he is not Tamei with Tum'as Mes. The Haza'ah, though, makes him Tamei from
that state of having a Chezkas Taharah!)
The Gemara gives two answers. First, perhaps the Mishnah follows the opinion
of the Rabanan who argue with Rebbi Akiva. The Rabanan hold that when
Haza'ah of Mei Chatas is done on someone who is Tahor, he does *not* become
Tamei. Alternatively, the Mishnah does follow the opinion of Rebbi Akiva,
but the Haza'ah is done only in the evening right before nightfall, after
the Kohen Gadol has finished doing the Avodah for the day. He becomes Tamei
only until the end of the day, for with nightfall he becomes Tahor.
The AUSTROVTZER GA'ON, Rav Yechiel Michal of Austrovtze, zt'l, suggests an
alternate reconciliation to explain how the Kohen Gadol is permitted to do
the Avodah after the Haza'ah is done to him, without having the problem of
being Tamei as a result of the Tum'ah.
The Mishnah (Mikva'os 6:2, cited in Chagigah 22a) says that if one immerses
a utensil inside of another utensil into a Mikvah, the inner utensil becomes
Tahor, since the water seeping in to the outer utensil is considered part of
the Mikvah. This applies only if the opening of the outer utensil is larger
than "k'Shefoferes ha'Nod" (the mouth of a flask). If the opening in the
outer utensil is smaller than that, the water inside the outer utensil is
not considered connected to the Mikvah and the Tevilah is ineffective for
the inner utensil, because it was not immersed into the waters of the
Mikvah. However, even in such a case the Tevilah will work if one condition
is met. If the outer utensil was Tamei, the Tevilah works to be Metaher it,
and since the outer utensil becomes Tahor through the Tevilah, the inner one
also becomes Tahor (by way of a "Migu"). If the outer utensil is Tahor, then
the inner utensil does not become Tahor from the Tevilah, because it is not
considered to be in the waters of the Mikvah.
According to this, the Austrovtzer Ga'on suggests the following. Before
doing the Haza'ah each day, the Kohen Gadol should touch a utensil which has
a very small opening. Then, a small utensil that is Tamei should be placed
inside the utensil that he touched, and they should be immersed in the
Mikvah.
If the Kohen Gadol was Tamei, then when he touched the larger utensil, he
made it Tamei, and thus the Tevilah works to make the inner utensil Tahor.
But if the Kohen Gadol was Tahor, then the utensil which he touched is Tahor
and thus the Tevilah does not work for the inner utensil and it remains
Tamei. In short, the status of the inner utensil is the opposite of the
status of the Kohen Gadol; if he is Tamei, then the inner utensil becomes
Tahor, and if he is Tahor, then the inner utensil remains Tamei.
Next, the Mei Chatas (the spring water and the ashes of the Parah Adumah)
should be placed into the inner utensil. If the Kohen Gadol was Tamei until
now, then the utensil is Tahor and the Mei Chatas is Kosher and serves to be
Metaher him.
On the other hand, if the Kohen Gadol was Tahor, then the inner utensil is
still Tamei, and the Mei Chatas that was placed in it becomes Tamei as well,
and Mei Chatas which is Tamei is invalid for Haza'ah. Since it is invalid
for Haza'ah, it cannot be Metamei someone who is Tahor! Consequently, we can
safely do Haza'ah with this Mei Chatas on the Kohen Gadol and permit him to
do the Avodah without having any worry that the Haza'ah is making him Tamei,
even according to Rebbi Akiva!
QUESTION: Rebbi Akiva and the Chachamim argue whether doing Haza'ah on
someone who is Tahor makes that person Tamei. In our case, Haza'ah is done
to the Kohen Gadol out of doubt that he might be Tamei with Tum'as Mes. If
he is actually Tahor, though, according to Rebbi Akiva the Haza'ah will make
him Tamei, and according to the Chachamim he remains Tahor.
The Gemara later says that everyone agrees that if someone *touches* or
*carries* Mei Chatas he becomes Tamei. (Carrying Mei Chatas will only make
someone Tamei if there is an amount of water sufficient enough to dip the
Ezov wood into and perform another Haza'ah. Touching Mei Chatas will make
someone Tamei even if there is not enough water left to perform another
Haza'ah.)
If the Chachamim agree to that Halachah, then why do they say that Haza'ah
on someone who is Tahor does not make him Tamei? The Mei Chatas is touching
him, and the Chachamim agree that Mei Chatas is Metamei someone who touches
it! Although the Chachamim hold that the *act* of Haza'ah does not make him
Tamei, they agree that touching the Mei Chatas after it has been sprinkled
on him should make him Tamei!
ANSWERS:
(a) The ME'IRI explains that this is not called "Maga" (touching).
Apparently, he learns that the water that was sprinkled on the Kohen Gadol
was not sufficient enough to perform another Haza'ah with it (and thus the
fact that he is carrying it on his body does not make him Tamei).
It is not clear why the Me'iri says that it is not called Maga. We know that
at the moment of the actual Haza'ah, the Mei Chatas cannot be Metamei him,
because the Mei Chatas is not Metamei during the process of sprinkling it;
it is only Metamei if one touches it *not* during the process of sprinkling
(TOSFOS YESHANIM, DH Rashi Gores). Even though it turns out that he did not
need Haza'ah, it is still not Metamei him because it was done for the sake
of Haza'ah. However, why is the Mei Chatas not Metamei him after the process
of Haza'ah is over and the water is touching his body?
(b) The RAMBAM (Hilchos Parah Adumah 15:1) writes that as soon as the person
immerses the Ezov for the Haza'ah, the Mei Chatas becomes "Mei Chatas
she'Na'aseh Mitzvasan" -- Mei Chatas which has already been used to perform
the Mitzvah -- and it is no longer able to be Metamei. The Rambam implies
that in our case, too, even though the Kohen Gadol was actually Tahor, since
the Haza'ah was already done the Mei Chatas will not make him Tamei through
Maga, because it is Mei Chatas which has already been used to perform the
Mitzvah.