I am sorry that I am asking a question not on the Daf, but I was hoping that someone could help me.
It seems mashma from the Gemara (pesachim 68a) that a Bal Keri is ossur to come into the Machena Leveya, and also has a Mitzvas Asei to leave. If this understanding is correct, it would seem that all forty years that Klal Yisroel was in the Midbar the Leviim would be forbiden from Tashmish, for that would make him a Bal Keri. This seems very difficult for numerous reasons. Aside from the obvious, it also seems that Moshe was the only one to seperate from his wife (and even that, if I remember correctly according to some Meforshim, was not the entire time in the Midbar). Please clarify or direct me to where I should look. Shkoyach Gadol
Yisroel Rabinowitz, thornhill, Canada
Yisroel,
That is an excellent question (and in general, questions that are not on the Daf are fine.)
The Meshech Chochmah asks your question at the beginning of Bamidbar. His answer is that the families of the Leviyim lived in the area between Machaneh Leviyah and Machaneh Yisrael, which were separated by 2000 Amos according to the Midrash. That outer area did not have the Kedushah of Machaneh Leviyah and a Ba'al Keri was permitted there. Only the Leviyim who were Shomrim (i.e. they were on guard duty for the Mishkan) populated the inner Machaneh Leviyah.
According to the Meshech Chochmah there are allusions to these two halves of the Machaneh Leviyah in the Pesukim (see what he writes there). He adds that the verse (Bamidbar 3:38) refers to the entire inner Machaneh Leviyah as "Moshe" (according to the Gemara in the beginning of Tamid) because those Leviyim, like Moshe himself, were not permitted to be with their wives - as you wrote.
Best wishes,
Mordecai Kornfeld