The tumah goes up in a straight line, deviating neither to the left nor the right.

Certain things act as a barrier to the tuma, like certain types of doors or windows. So a Kohen should really not come close to a building in which there may be a dead body in case there is a covering above that might create an ohel [tent].

Yisroel,
Is this straight lines in all directions, as light travels?

B"H
Dear Yisroel,

Whatever the "pesak" was for the Kohanim traveling aboard an air-plane, we would have to see their "pesak" in order to understand the Rabbis' deliberations. However, in this country they try to make gravesites in a graveyard less susceptible in their conveyance of uncleanness (tum'ah). The Talmud speaks a plenty about "chalal tefach", or the "hollowed space of a handbreadth" that would serve as a break-off point for all corpse defilement. Maimonides writes about it in his Code of Jewish Law (Halachoth Tum'ath Meth, 7:4-ff.)

As far as the air-plane is concerned, while it itself contracts uncleanness by flying over the cemetery, the baggage compartment on the plane would serve as a break-off point from conveying further uncleanness to the passengers aboard the plane. For most baggage compartments are built directly beneath the passenger aisles, and they have a sufficient hollow air-space between that part of the plane that was contaminated, and that part which was above it. This is inferred by Maimonides (ibid.), 12:3. Then again, we would have to see their "pesak" in order to know if this was one of their arguing points.

Sincerely,
David Ben-Abraham

I had the privilege of learning with a rabbi in Israel who is a kohein during the time that this flight path matter came up. He had been periodically flying to the US for fundraising trips for his yeshiva, and he stopped flying while this was being worked out.

Dear David:

Why is the air gap between the luggage compartment and the passenger compartment more significant than the thousands of feet of air gap between the grass in the cemetary and the bottom of the airplane?

To add to Rob's question, why aren't 6ft of earth on the grave good enough when 1ft walls of a building are?

B"H
Rob,
Rambam, I believe, explains this in Halachoth Tum'ath Meth, 12:3. There, he writes that the ground connected to the corpse is defiled with the same uncleanness as the corpse, and this uncleanness or defilement rises vertically into the sky. Whenever a person or thing hovers over the corpse, all that which is below him, as well as the person himself, become defiled as though he or it had entered a "tent" wherein laid a corpse. However, whatever lies above or beyond that person who hovered over the grave would remain clean.
It's the same with a hollow space built directly over the corpse. The corpse defilement, in this case, rises as far as the roof of that grave, where the hollow space ends. What is beyond remains clean.

Sincerely,
David

Thanks David,
And I'm assuming this is only pertaining to Jewish dead bodies, not goyim, i.e. this only applies to Jewish cemetaries....?

David, if there were a guarantee that all the graves in Holon cemetary were constructed with the space you describe, then the flight path issue would be a dead issue (pun intended)?

Here is a photo essay of Rav Kadouri's funeral, for those interested.
http://www.arutzsheva.com/news.php3?id=97673

quote:

Yisroel,
Is this straight lines in all directions, as light travels?

No, just the one line, straight upwards.

Reb David,

quote:

As far as the air-plane is concerned, while it itself contracts uncleanness by flying over the cemetery, the baggage compartment on the plane would serve as a break-off point from conveying further uncleanness to the passengers aboard the plane. For most baggage compartments are built directly beneath the passenger aisles, and they have a sufficient hollow air-space between that part of the plane that was contaminated, and that part which was above it. This is inferred by Maimonides (ibid.), 12:3. Then again, we would have to see their "pesak" in order to know if this was one of their arguing points.

It's not so clear cut, although I believe that there are authorities who hold that the method of carrying dead bodies on planes renders it OK for Konanim to travel on them.

But see Igros Moshe YD 2:164. It would seem that the materials used in the construction of the baggage compartment are relevant.

quote:

And I'm assuming this is only pertaining to Jewish dead bodies, not goyim, i.e. this only applies to Jewish cemetaries....?

There are reasons to be lenient with regard to non-Jewish graves (although a Kohen may not touch the body of a deceased non-Jew and should try, if possible, not to walk over a non-Jewish grave).

quote:

Originally posted by MosheYisraeli:
Thanks David,
And I'm assuming this is only pertaining to Jewish dead bodies, not goyim, i.e. this only applies to Jewish cemetaries....?

Indeed, Moshe. The corpse of a non-Jew would not convey uncleanness in a tent, nor for that matter, if someone had hovered over his grave. On the other hand, they would convey uncleanness if touched. For this reason, when Israel came back from making war with the Medianites, they were required to remain outside of the camp until they could be purified.

David

quote:

convey uncleanness if touched.

I think this is another reason why it says that Shimshon used the jawbone of an ox - he didn't actually touch the Plishtim he killed in battle.

quote:

No, just the one line, straight upwards.

If a Kohein were in a space shuttle without baggage compartment, or walking on the surface of the moon, is there any limit to how far upwards the airspace line continues?

I'm not the biggest expert on Tumas Meis, but it would seem that Tosfos in many places (to name one, in Brachos 19b D"H Rov) that even with a Tefach in between, there needs to have a place for the Tumah to leave through an opening, if not, then the whole Kever is M'tameh, even adjacent from where it's empty and is not adjacent to the body)

An airplane would have a HAlacha of an Ohel Zorek (a flying tent) which doesn't separate and protected from the Tumah like a stationary Ohel.

Is it possible that Tumah goes straight up only in Eretz Yisrael?

That perhaps according to the ladder analogy (Yaakov Avinu and Rashi) that the Tumah is directed toward the top of the ladder in Shamayim?

Perhaps outside of Eretz Yisrael the Tumah goes at some angle toward a spot infinitely over that spot in Eretz Yisrael?

And perhaps from halfway around the world from Israel the Tumah doesn't go straight up from the surface at all?

Is there any concern with airplanes flying over Jewish cemetaries in any place other than Israel?

There are surely Jewish cemetaries in NJ quite near to Newark airport flight paths.

Rob,
I was just about to ask the same about Jewish cemetaries in NJ by Newark Airport too.

Is the Tumah anymore significant in Eretz Yisrael? What about in Australia?

quote:

Is it possible that Tumah goes straight up only in Eretz Yisrael?

That perhaps according to the ladder analogy (Yaakov Avinu and Rashi) that the Tumah is directed toward the top of the ladder in Shamayim?

Perhaps outside of Eretz Yisrael the Tumah goes at some angle toward a spot infinitely over that spot in Eretz Yisrael?

And perhaps from halfway around the world from Israel the Tumah doesn't go straight up from the surface at all?

No, on all 4 counts. Tuma is Tuma wherever you are in the world and behaves the same way everywhere.

quote:

Is there any concern with airplanes flying over Jewish cemetaries in any place other than Israel?

There are surely Jewish cemetaries in NJ quite near to Newark airport flight paths.

The answer is that planes proabably are not known to fly over other Jewish cemeteries. If it were known, then a Kohen would not be able to fly that route.

Yisroel,
The reason I asked about Australia was because it's on the other side of the planet. I'm assuming that tumah works both ways. The earth below the body is contaminated just as much as the earth above the corpse. So the tuma would go deep into the earth to the other side unhindered? If the grave is in Australia all the earth under the corpse would convey tumah all the way back to us? Goofy thinking?