Talmud Bavli
Talmud Bavli

Commentary for Kiddushin 49:16

רבנן סברי וחטאו ביום השביעי וכבס בגדיו ורחץ במים

it is as hidden.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' In tebillah, the whole of the exposed part of a person must come into contact with the water; but not the tongue, for it is regarded as concealed.');"><sup>25</sup></span> What is the reason? Scripture saith, then he shall bathe his flesh in water:<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Ibid.13.');"><sup>26</sup></span>

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.
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