Tumah

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Tum'ah is a state of ritual impurity in Halakha (Jewish law). A person or item which contracts tum'ah is said to be tamei, or "impure."

Tum'ah can be received in the following manners:

1. By contact with dead body i.e. "Tum'at met"
2. By contact with impure bodily fluids i.e. niddah, zav/zavah
3. By coming in contact with certain animals, including some insects and lizards.

Typically, one can remove oneself or one's items from being tamei by waiting a certain period of time and then immersing the tamei item in a mikvah. The tractates of Tohorot and book of Leviticus talk about Tumah and Taharah.

Tumah is to be contrasted with Taharah, purity.

See also Taharah (Judaism), Tevilah, Mikvah