2030 —הערות על המאירי בנוגע לשיעורי מקוה וטבילה

B"H, 1 Adar, 5713.

Brooklyn.

Haraha"g Haraha"ch iy"a nu"n tzm"s chov"b etc. Dovberish Zuckerman

Shalom u'Vrachah!

I received your galley notes on the Meiri (apparently on tractate Mikvaot), and although time does not permit me to review them thoroughly—especially as I do not have Meiri's works on Mikvaot and Niddah at hand—out of affection for the matter and respect for you, I went through them at least as much as time allowed and will suffice with two comments:

a) At the beginning, regarding your remark on Meiri chapter 2 mishnah 1: To me, your comment requires further analysis. There are generally two aspects in mikveh: how immersion must be performed so that one's entire body is immersed at once (in which all agree this is a Torah requirement), and the issue of whether the mikveh's measure is fixed at forty se'ah or varies by size—small, large, or average. There is debate among early and later authorities whether less than forty se'ah suffices for a small person or more is needed for a large one. Clearly, those who permit immersion for a large person in forty se'ah only do so if his whole body can be immersed at once. The measure pertains to the mikveh; covering the whole body at once pertains to immersion. Thus, when Meiri writes regarding Niddah: "If he is so large that his whole body cannot fit in it or its waters are shallow, it is invalid," he certainly means that even if his whole body could be covered at once, it is still invalid—not as you wrote.

In fact, one could say this is precisely what our sages meant by "kol gufo oleh bahem" (his whole body fits in them), not "mitkaseh bahem" (is covered by them). The requirement to immerse all at once comes from another verse (Torat Kohanim Vayikra 22:6-7), while here the emphasis is "oleh"—whether as Chasam Sofer explains that it nullifies division into two immersions or otherwise; but in any case, it does not mean "covered." Also, obviously for one's body to be covered at once does not require a specific measure; if the mikveh were shaped exactly to fit the bather's body with just a bit more width and length than his body, theoretically one drop of water could cover him entirely.

Note also how later authorities are precise about changes in language between Torat Kohanim, Talmud, and poskim: In Torat Kohanim it says "kol besaro oleh bahem," which is defined as one cubit by one cubit by three cubits high (Torat Kohanim Vayikra 15:16), leading to forty se'ah as the measure. In Talmud Eruvin 4b: "one cubit by one cubit by three cubits high," and sages measured mikveh waters as forty se'ah; in Shulchan Aruch Yoreh Deah start of siman 201: first gives forty se'ah then defines its dimensions. This was already noted in Golel Aliyot on Mikvaot chapter 1 mishnah 7 paragraph 1. See also all opinions gathered in Sefer Shiur Mikveh by Rabbi Naeh from Jerusalem page 3 onward.

Additionally, according to those who say that even for a large person forty se'ah suffice, seemingly "kol gufo oleh bahem" (his whole body fits in them) is an identifying sign rather than an actual law. There is much more to discuss here but this suffices for now.

b) Regarding your other point: According to Meiri it seems difficult why he did not count mikveh among those cases listed in Keilim chapter where there are no minimum or maximum measures even rabbinically. Perhaps because in that mishnah only those cases are listed where there truly are no measures either way even rabbinically; whereas with mikveh they required forty se'ah even for very small children so as not to differentiate.

Final note: Regarding your attempt to answer Shu”t Yehuda Yaaleh’s question—that Shulchan Aruch Yoreh Deah siman 120:12 states that one must immerse just up to where he plans to cut off part of a vessel’s handle; but at end of Hilchot Tevilah distinguishes between long handles—suggesting Shulchan Aruch holds that all of the handle must be immersed but chatzitzah only disqualifies up to where it will be cut off—I do not think this fits with Shulchan Aruch’s wording; clearly he writes “immerse up to where you plan to cut off—and that suffices.”

As you requested I am returning herewith the proofsheets and again thank you for sending them so I could read them as time permitted. Enclosed is a booklet recently published which will surely interest you.

Blessings for chassidic nachas from your daughter.

Summary

The Rebbe clarifies distinctions between immersion requirements and mikveh measurements based on various sources and addresses specific questions raised about halachic rulings regarding mikveh use.