2,895. Being Liable for Impurity Twice

Hilchos Nezirus 5:17

The previous halacha, about being rendered ritually unclean multiple times, applies when a nazir was rendered unclean and then he went back and touched, carried or stood over the corpse. However, if he was already touching one corpse and then he simultaneously touched a second corpse, then he is only liable to one set of lashes. This is so even if he was warned against touching the second body because he had already been “contaminated” (ritually speaking).

Hilchos Nezirus 5:18

Let’s say that a nazir enters a house and stays there until someone dies, or he enters a tent in which there’s a corpse but he’s enclosed in a box or chest and a friend opens that box or chest with his consent. In cases such as these, the nazir is liable to two sets of lashes – one for violating the prohibition against approaching a corpse (Numbers 6:6) and a second for allowing himself to be rendered unclean (6:7). He’s liable to both because in cases like this, the approaching and the impurity happen simultaneously. However, if he entered the tent in the normal way, then his being rendered unclean precedes his approaching the body. This is because as soon as his nose or his toes enter the tent, he is rendered unclean; he’s not liable for approaching until his whole body is inside.