Commentary for Avodah Zarah 74:6
דאורייתא דיקרב טמא דיקרב בדיקרב טהור ואתו אינהו וגזור אפילו דיקרב בדיקרב ואתא איהו ואוקמה אדאורייתא
According to the Torah he who comes in contact with a corpse is defiled, but anybody who comes in contact with this person is pure; and [the rabbis] proceeded to decree that even one who has contact with one who had contact [with a dead body] is defiled. And then [Yose b. Yo'ezer] came an established the law according to the Torah.
Daf Shevui to Avodah Zarah
This is the first attempt to resolve the difficulty. According to the Torah only one who comes into contact with a dead body is defiled. One who comes into contact with such a person is not defiled. The rabbis added that he too is defiled, but then Yose b. Yoezer came and restored the law to the more lenient, biblical law. That is why they called him a “permitter.”
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