Corpse uncleanness

Part of Judaic series of articles on
Ritual purity in Judaism
Tumah and taharah Mikveh
Purification methods Netilat yadayim Mikveh Red heifer Hefsek taharah Hagalah Tevilat Kelim
Hierarchy Av HaTumah Midras
Sources of Impurity Keri Niddah Tzaraath Zav Zavah Corpse uncleanness Tumath eretz Ha'Amim Prohibition of Kohen defilement by the dead
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Corpse uncleanness (Hebrew: tum'at met) is a state of ritual uncleanness described in Jewish halachic law. It is the highest grade of uncleanness, or defilement, known to man and is contracted by having either directly or indirectly touched, carried or shifted a dead human body,^[1] or after having entered a roofed house or chamber where the corpse of a Jew is lying (conveyed by overshadowing).

Corpse uncleanness is first described in the Books of the Law conveyed by Moses to the nation of Israel, and where, for example, in Numbers 31:19,^[2] is the requisite to allow for a seven-day purification period after making physical contact with a human corpse.