אֲמַר לֵיהּ: לָאו כֹּהֵן הוּא מָר? מַאי טַעְמָא קָאֵי מָר בְּבֵית
הַקְּבָרוֹת! אֲמַר לֵיהּ: לָא מַתְנֵי מָר טְהָרוֹת? דְּתַנְיָא, רַבִּי
שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן יוֹחַי אוֹמֵר: קִבְרֵיהֶן שֶׁל נׇכְרִים אֵין מְטַמְּאִין,
שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״וְאַתֵּן צֹאנִי צֹאן מַרְעִיתִי אָדָם אַתֶּם״. אַתֶּם קְרוּיִין
״אָדָם״, וְאֵין נׇכְרִים קְרוּיִין ״אָדָם״.
The amora proceeded to ask Elijah a different question and said
to him: Is not the Master a priest? What is the reason that the Master
is standing in a cemetery? Elijah said to him: Has the Master not
studied the mishnaic order of Teharot? As it is taught in a baraita:
Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai says that the graves of gentiles do not render
one impure, as it is stated: “And you, My sheep, the sheep of My pasture,
are man” (Ezekiel 34:31), which teaches that you, i.e., the Jewish
people, are called “man,” but gentiles are not called “man.” Since the
Torah states with regard to ritual impurity imparted in a tent: “If a man dies
in a tent” (Numbers 19:14), evidently impurity imparted by a tent does not
apply to gentiles. (Babylonian Talmud, Bava Metzia 114b)
