נפל לתוכו יין או מחל ושנו מקצת מראיו, אם אין בו מראה מים ארבעים סאה, הרי זה לא יטבל בו
Wine or sap [the liquid from pressed olives which is not oil] fell in it, and changed some of its appearance, if it does not have the appearance of water [in the amount of] forty (40) Sa’ah, this one should not immerse in it.[i]
- As quoted in the Gemara[ii], a third liquid is named – vinegar. As quoted in the Shulĉan Aruĉ[iii], neither vinegar nor sap is included.
- The Mishna states “one should not immerse in it” – why not a more definitive phrase such as “the Mikva is rendered [temporarily] invalid” or “immersion in that Mikva is invalid”.
נפל לתוכו יין או מחל
Wine or olive sap fell into it
Water is absolute unity. It represents the pure, undifferentiated essence of the חכמה of the Torah. To render oneself purified from the contaminants of this world, total immersion is required: immersing the entire person including their most sublime aspect – the intellect – equally and together with the most gross and physical aspects of the body. And this is immersed in the ‘waters’ of Torah. For such an immersion to render a person טהור, the waters of Torah must be pure.
Wine is בינה –the human intellect. It analyzes, divides, and views a single concept from a dozen different angles. It can be used to holy purpose, but it is not the unity of חכמה.
Olive oil represents חכמה. The sap is a liquid that comes from the source of חכמה wisdom but is in itself something else. Squeezed from the olive, it has not yet become the pure oil of total nullification. It is processed just enough to hold its own distinct identity.
When wine or sap falls into the Mikva, the intellect colors the unity of the Torah.
…ושנו מקצת מראיו…
…and changed some of its appearance…
The means by which the water becomes colored is through the process of ‘diffusion’. The analytical mind or distinctive wisdom other than the Torah spreads through the waters. The pure essence of Torah is stained by foreign viewpoints. Even if the color is only changed in one corner, the water’s seamless unity is broken.
…אם אין בו מראה מים ארבעים סאה הרי זה לא יטבל בו.
…if it has no appearance of forty (40) Sa’ah of water, this one should not immerse in it.
Notice the precision of the law. The Mishna does not say, “The Mikva is invalid.” It says, he “should not immerse.”
How could the Mikva be inherently ruined? Wine and sap – understanding and wisdom – are elevated, holy concepts. The waters are not impure and the Mikva remains functional. But for the person seeking immersion, this mixture fails. A Mikva demands total ביטול of the self, from the grossest physical body to the highest intellect. You cannot nullify the self in a pool of differentiated ideas.
The Gemara’s Addition: Vinegar
The Gemara introduces a third liquid: Vinegar. The Gemara is discussing whether the problem is the change in the color of the water, or in the presence of foreign materials. Perhaps the problem with wine and sap is because they contain non-liquid materials in minute form. Therefore, the Gemara adds the concept of vinegar to the list or prohibited liquids. The difference between vinegar and wine is not related to the minute grape particles. Rather, vinegar is prohibited because vinegar ferments. It is the active ingredient of חמץ – a leavening agent. Spiritually, fermentation is the swelling of the ego. It is self-expanding, taking up space, refusing to bow. Even the potential for Torah concepts to ferment into ego-driven ideas is completely incompatible with the waters of self-nullification.
The Shulĉan Aruĉ’s Silence
The Shulĉan Aruĉ drops vinegar. It drops sap. It rules only on what changes the color.
The Gemara operates in the higher spiritual worlds of theory בריאה, where abstract boundaries and fermenting egos are heavily debated. But the Shulĉan Aruĉ brings the law down to עשיה – the world of practical action.
In this physical world, vinegar and sap can be entirely colorless. And in the realm of action, the invisible is ignored. The Halaĉa is: if the foreign intellect does not stain the water, the water remains pure.
The Core נ
This Mishna starts with the letter נ and forms the start of the Tetralogy of Mishna with the letters נשמה. The letter נ when spelled out נון means a fish. Like a fish, a soul requires for its survival total submersion in the pure waters of Torah, its natural environment. Its purpose in life is to take the mundane body and plunge it into complete subservience to the Giver of the Torah. However, to properly do so, the waters must remain simple, unclouded by the swelling of the ego or the fragmentation of the mind.
[i] Mishna Mikva’os 7:4
[ii] Gem. Shabbos 144b
[iii] Yoreh Day’uh 201:26