Tahara Atzmit


There are two kinds of tahara - purity. The first is after cleansing from tumah - impurity. 
An example of this is the pasuk "Im rachatz Hashem Tzo'at be'not Tzion" - If Hashem will wash the excrement off the daughters of Tzion."
(this is like Yom Kippur)

The second kind of purity is Tahara Atzmit - an essential purity that is not for the purpuse of cleansing anything. Rather, it is simply a pure state.
This is the level of Shmini Atzeret.
-Mittler Rebbe

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