tohorot

Tohorot (often anglicized Tahorot) is a tractate of the Mishnah in the sixth order, Taharot, and its name means “purities.” It deals with the laws of ritual purity and impurity (tuma’ and taharah) as they were understood in Rabbinic Judaism, particularly in relation to the Temple service and to everyday life under impurity rules. The tractate surveys how objects, spaces, and people can become impure, with discussion of sources of impurity, transmission, and the procedures for purification.

The material in Tohorot covers topics such as purity from contact with the dead (tum’at met), impurity of vessels (tumat keilim), and the concept of shared impurity within a dwelling (tumat ohel). It also outlines the means of purification, most notably immersion in a mikveh and the appropriate waiting periods before purification is complete. The tractate is known for its systematic and technical detail, with extensive classifications of different cases and scenarios.

Tohorot is part of the Mishnah’s formal law code and is studied alongside later rabbinic commentaries and analyses that explore its legal logic and methodology. In historical context, the tractate reflects the purity and impurity system that governed Temple-era rituals as well as daily life in communities observing these laws. Today, Tohorot informs scholarly understanding of these practices and continues to influence discussions on ritual purity, mikveh usage, and related rabbinic law, even though the Temple service itself no longer operates.