For the source text click/tap here: Yoma 23
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Our Daf (Yoma 23) cites a braisa: It once happened that two Kohanim were even as they ran and ascended the ramp, and when one of them came first within four amos of the altar, the other took a knife and thrust it into his heart. The father of the boy, i.e., the young priest who was stabbed, came, and found that he was still convulsing. He said: May my son's death be an atonement for you. But my son is still convulsing and has not yet died, and as such, the knife, which is in his body, has not become ritually impure through contact with a corpse. If you remove it promptly, it will still be pure for future use. The Tosefta comments: This incident comes to teach you that the ritual purity of utensils was of more concern to them than the shedding of blood. Even the boy's father voiced more concern over the purity of the knife than over the death of his child.
We explore this horrific tale from the perspective of the Tosefta as well as modern feminist literary perspectives.