The 248 Limbs of the (Male) Body

Hebrew

There are 248 limbs in the body. Thirty in the foot—six in each toe, ten in the ankle, two in the shin, five in the knee, one in the thigh, three in the hip. [There are] eleven ribs, thirty [limbs] in the palm—six in each finger, two in the forearm, two in the elbow, one in the upper arm, and four in the shoulder. One hundred and one of this [side of the body], and one hundred and one of that [side]. And [in the center of the body we find] eighteen vertebrae in the spine, nine [limbs] in the head, eight in the neck, six in the openings of the heart, and five in its reproductive organs [lit., cavities]. Each of these conveys [ritual] impurity through touching, carrying, or sharing quarters. When is this true? When the limbs still have an appropriate amount of flesh on them. If, however, they do not have an appropriate amount of flesh on them, they will render impure through touching and through carrying, but not through sharing quarters.

Translated by Markham J. Geller and Lennart Lehmhaus.