tum'ah

The Hebrew terms tumah and taharah refer to ritual "impurity and purity" under Jewish law. The Hebrew noun tum'ah (טָמְאָה) "impurity" describes a state of ritual impurity. A person or object which contracts tumah is said to be tamei (Hebrew adjective, "ritually impure"), and thereby unsuited for certain holy activities and utilisations (kedusha in Hebrew) until undergoing predefined purification actions that usually include the elapse of a specified time-period.