Niddah 32: Kutim and Ritual Purity

Today we begin the fourth perek of Massechet Niddah.  It is called Benot Kutim, Samaritans, beginning with a description of how ritual purity affects these people.  Because the Kutim were considered to be extremely careful about their practice of halacha (or, at least, the mitzvot that they accepted as given by G-d), they could be trusted to be as ritually pure as the Sages would demand.  

Regarding niddah, the Kutim women were considered ritually impure after any discharge, even if it is green, which does not generally affect the status of a woman.  If she menstruated after this, the Kutim would begin her counting of days too early and then would conclude it too early.  This is why the Sages decided that the Kutim were called ritually impure permanently.  However, there is a story shared about a man whose spittle landed on the robe of a High Priest when they were speaking.  The women of the community had gone to the Sages with questions about ritual purity when they were unsure about discharge, and so ritual impurity had not touched the High Priest.

Steinsaltz teaches about the relationship between the Kutim and those who followed the rabbinical tradition.  After many years of conflict, it was decided that Kutim were not to be called Jewish; their traditions were distinctly different from Jewish traditions, mostly because of some forms of idol worship.  The Kutim may have been thought of as idol worshippers, even if they wished to convert to Judaism, and so such a conversion would not be accepted (Yevamot).  Now, Kutim do not worship idols and many people even accept them as part of the larger Jewish community.