Commentary for Kiddushin 49:14
לא נחלקו אלא לענין הזאה רבי מדמי לה לטומאה ורבנן מדמו לה לטבילה
[in the teaching]; then he learnt Ben 'Azzai's view and inserted it, while the teaching remained unchanged.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Lit., 'it did not move from its place', i.e., it was not altered so as to give Ben 'Azzai's statement the precedence it logically requires.');"><sup>22</sup></span> 'Ulla said: All agree in the matter of uncleanliness that the tongue is [considered] exposed as far as reptiles are concerned. What is the reason?
Daf Shevui to Kiddushin
The dispute between Rabbi and the sages is only about a person who is sprinkled on his tongue. According to Rabbi sprinkling on the tongue purifies, just as being touched on the tongue by a sheretz defiles. Rabbi reads the verse as connecting sprinkling with the source of impurity—if the water lands on a part of the body that can be defiled, the person is pure.
The other sages say that sprinkling on the tongue is compared with immersing. Just as a tongue need not be immersed for it is not considered an external organ, so too if the person is sprinkled on the tongue, he is not pure.
The other sages say that sprinkling on the tongue is compared with immersing. Just as a tongue need not be immersed for it is not considered an external organ, so too if the person is sprinkled on the tongue, he is not pure.
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