Shalom uVracha,
I was wondering- What can possibly be pshat in the tzad that hechsher is k'tchilas tumah? is that to say all 7 mashkim carry in them tumah? Harei wine and water go on the mizbeyach! Moreover- the Gemara seemed to conclude that the geder of hechsher is like the g'mar melacha simmilar to that of a tanur's finishing touch- and the Sefer HaChinuch is maarich to be masbir precisely what that means(aliba d'dina)- and yet we posken yesh yad l'hechsher! unless we say like the ee'ba'is eima kra and we ignore the svara l'dina... But it seems to be a stira since if the whole point of the hechsher is to complete its status of an "ochel"- that means it has nothing to do with a haschala of tumah, it is merely a heichi timtza to creating a catigorical davar hamikabel tumah! I must be going wrong somewhere... Thank you very much for taking the time to respond, I appreciate it. Kol tuv and gut Shabbos and gut Chodesh,
Shmuel Belsh
Shmuel Belsh, Lakewood, USA
Dear Shmuel,
Hechsher Techilas Tum'ah does not mean that Tum'ah has begun. It means that its preliminary stage has begun.
You correctly mention two interpretations of Hechsher based on the Chazon Yechezkel. If it is considered Techilas Tum'ah, we can understand that there is Yad for Hechsher just as there is Yad l'Tumah (as the Rambam rules l'Halachah). However, if Hecsher is considered the Gemar Melachah of food, then there is no source for Yad l'Hechsher.
It is true that Rav Huna (118a) learns the second approach, but the Chazon Yechezkel does not consider this a contradiction. Apparently, according to the first method, the question on the Derashah remains, and a different verse must be used, as the Gemara itself mentions.
All the best,
Reuven Weiner