The Mikveh, Sunset, and Hashem’s Completion - Horayot and Ki Tabo

In this week’s Daf Yomi (Horayot 5a), the Gemaradiscusses the status of a tevul yom — one who immersed in a mikveh but has notyet waited for sunset. The Torah says explicitly (Vayikra 11:32): וְטָמֵאעַד־הָעָרֶב וְטָהֵר “…he shall be tamei until evening, and then he shall betahor.” The question jumps off the page: If immersion in the mikveh purifies, why is it notenough? Why must the Torah insist on waiting for הֶעֶרֶב שֶׁמֶשׁ? The Gemara • Horayot 5a: discusses a tevul yomwho is still lacking ha‘arev shemesh and cannot yet eat kodashim. He has acted,but his taharah is incomplete until the day itself ends. • The same principle appears in othermasechtot: • Zevachim 22a: “טבול יום חסר הערב שמש”— the tevul yom is still missing sunset. • Chagigah 20b: a tevul yom is in an“in-between” state — not tamei enough to forbid everything, but not tahorenough for kodashim. • Nazir 16b: compares tevul yom toone who has not yet brought his korban; the process is incomplete until allsteps are done. So halachically: tevillah begins the process, but ha‘arevshemesh completes it. Ramban The Ramban (on Vayikra 11:39) writes: “הטבילהמטהרת את הגוף מן הטומאה, אבל הערב שמש הוא טהרת היום.” “The immersion purifies the body from the tumah, but thesetting of the sun purifies the day.” The mikveh removes the person’s impurity. But the dayitself, the time in which tumah occurred, must also be cleansed — and that canonly happen when the sun sets. Rashba The Rashba (Torat HaBayit, Beit 4, Sha’ar 1): “הטבילהמסירה רוב הטומאה, אבל נשאר רשימה עד שיעריב שמשו.” “Immersion removes most of the tumah, but a trace remainsuntil the sun sets.” Like a stain — most is washed away, but a faint marklingers until the cycle of time itself clears it completely. Maharal The Maharal (Tiferet Yisrael, ch. 20): “איןהאדם נחשב חדש עד שיחזור העולם למצבו מחדש, וזהו בהערב שמש.” “A person is not considered truly new until the worlditself renews, and this occurs with the setting of the sun.” The mikveh is rebirth, but a new creation is only sealedwhen the world itself turns the page with nightfall. Zohar and Kabbalah The Zohar (Shemini 41a): “טומאהדבקה ביומא, ובשקיעת שמשא מסתלקא טומאה מיני.” “Tumah clings to the day itself, and with the setting ofthe sun the tumah departs from it.” The Arizal explains: tumah attaches to the dinim (thejudgments) of that day. Only when the sun sets, and the gevurah of that daydissolves, can taharah be complete. Chassidut The Sfat Emet (Emor, 5643): “הטבילההיא אתערותא דלתתא, אבל הערב שמש הוא אתערותא דלעילא.” “Immersion is the awakening from below, but the settingof the sun is the awakening from above.” We begin the work, but Hashem must complete it. The Life Lesson This halachah is a parable for life. Sometimes we must act with all our strength — plunge intothe waters, do the mitzvah, cry the tefillah. But we cannot finish the job alone. Only Hashem can close the day and open a new one. The Tears of a Grandfather I thought about this when we spoke recently of that younggirl on TJJ. She came to our home on Sukkot, curious, holding a lulavand etrog for the very first time. Her great-grandfather was a holy man. Can you imagine his pain in this world? Watching hisdescendants drift, never living to see his great-grandchildren return. But he did his part. He cried, he prayed, he plantedseeds. That was his mikveh. And then he had to wait. Because time is only relative to us. Hashem decides when the ha‘arev shemesh will come — whenthe cycle will turn, and the tumah of that day will pass. And then, a generation or two later, a granddaughterawakens. She steps into a sukkah, curious, ready to return. That is Hashem finishing the work. That is the sunsetting and taharah becoming whole. Takeaway The mikveh is us. The sunset is Hashem. We must immerse, act, and cry. But only Hashem can bring the evening, close the page,and finish what we began. So in our struggles, our hopes for our children, and ourtefillot for Am Yisrael — do your part. Immerse yourself in the work. And trust that in His time, Hashem will bring the eveningand complete the taharah.