Permitted or overridden? TB Yoma 6

To avoid becoming ritually unready (טמא) and being unable to perform the Yom Kippur ritual is one opinion why the high priest is secluded seven days before Yom Kippur. This leads a discussion on Saturday’s daf TB Yoma 6 about ritual unreadiness that does have practical implications for us today.

“There is an amoraic dispute with regard to the effect of impurity imparted by a corpse on the conduct of the Temple service. It was stated with regard to impurity imparted by a corpse that Rav Naḥman said: It is permitted (הוּתְּרָה ) in cases involving the public; e.g., when a majority of the Jewish people is impure, the service of a ritually pure priest is not preferable to that of an impure priest. The Temple service proceeds as though there was no impurity at all. And Rav Sheshet said: Impurity imparted by a corpse is merely overridden (דְּחוּיָה ) in cases involving the public, and service performed by a ritually pure priest is preferable.

"The Gemara restricts the scope of the dispute. In a case where there are both ritually impure and pure priests in that patrilineal family tasked with serving in the Temple on that day, everyone, even Rav Naḥman, agrees that the pure priests serve and the impure priests do not serve. When they disagree, it is with regard to a case where the entire patrilineal family is impure. Is it necessary to seek out and bring pure priests from a different patrilineal family belonging to the same priestly watch, who are tasked with serving in the Temple on a different day that week?

"Rav Naḥman said: The prohibition against performing the Temple service in a state of impurity imparted by a corpse is permitted in cases involving the public, and we do not need to seek out other priests. Since the Torah permitted the performance of the Temple service by priests impure with impurity imparted by a corpse, it is completely permitted and it is as though the service is performed in purity. Rav Sheshet said: The prohibition of impurity imparted by a corpse is overridden in cases involving the public, and wherever possible we seek out ritually pure priests.” (Sefaria.org translation)

The underlying essence of the debate is whether the prohibition is uprooted completely by the permission (היתר) or is just superseded i.e. if the action can be done without violating the prohibition is the appropriate course of action. Shabbat is a good example where Joseph Karo poskin’s according to Rav Sheshet. (Bet Yosef, Orekh Hayyim, 328). Everybody knows that saving a life takes precedence over observance of the Sabbath. However, saving a life without violating the Sabbath is the better choice. For example, at a summer camp if a camper needs to be rushed to the hospital on the Sabbath and both a Jew and a Gentile are available to drive him there, the Gentile would be the more appropriate choice according to Jewish law.