Commentary for Kiddushin 49:9
והתניא על לשונו ועוד תניא ושניטל רוב הלשון רבי אומר רוב המדבר שבלשונו
and the sprinkling[-water] spurts on to his [the unclean man's] mouth, - Rabbi said: He has [validly] besprinkled him;<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' I.e., he is clean, though the sprinkling must be upon the revealed parts of his body.');"><sup>13</sup></span> but the Sages maintain: He has not [validly] besprinkled him. Surely that means upon his tongue?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Shewing that Rabbi regards the tongue as an exposed limb, and thus contradicting his exclusion of the tongue in the case of a slave.');"><sup>14</sup></span>
Daf Shevui to Kiddushin
The problem with the above resolution is that there is an explicit baraita in which Rabbi teaches that if the water falls on his tongue he is pure. And there is another baraita about blemishes that disqualify a priest from serving on the altar in which Rabbi agrees that even if only part of his tongue was removed, he cannot serve. Clearly, Rabbi considers the tongue an external part of the body.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy