Niddah 61: Finding the Source of Ritual Impurity; Gedaliah

Today's Mishna tells us about Rabbi's Meir's statement about tameh, ritual impurity.  He says that when there is a tradition that when ritual impurity is found in a given place, we assume that it is there until it is located and removed.  However, when the area has been searched and no source of impurity is found, we can assume that it isn't there.

The Gemara tells us many stories to describe this statement.  In every example, the impurity is found after the search has been completed.  The Gemara teaches us that in each case the search must have been done incorrectly.  There is one story that stands out relating to an incident at the close of the First Temple period.

Abba Shaul teaches Beit Horon's surrounding areas were thought to be ritually impure. An old man named Rabbi Yehoshua bar Chananya knew how to address this and he found a put full of bones.  The Gemara said that this was a pit that Yishmael ben Nataniah had filled with corpses from the side of Gedaliah.  Who killed them, Gedaliah or Yishmael?  

Steinsaltz teaches the story of Gedaliah's murder at the hands of Yishmael ben Netaniah in Ch.41-42 of Yirmiyahu.  After the first Temple was destroyed and the Israelites were exiled under Judean leadership, the Babylonian king appointed Gedaliah to govern the Jews who stayed in the Land of Israel.  Under the encouragement of King Baalis of Amon, Yishmael ben Netaniah assassinated Gedaliah.

The remaining Jews fled for Egypt.  We now commemorate the emptied land of Israel with the Fast of Gedaliah which falls on the day after Rosh HaShana.