The Gemara mentions that a Baal Keri is through levity but a man sleeping with an unmarried woman is not therefore he is able to pray? I don't understand how the latter is not through levity even if he did go to the mikveh before he prayed.
Thank you
ELiyahu, NY USA
1. In fact, the Gemara does not refer to an unmarried woman but rather to a Nidah who has not been to the Mikveh after her menstrual period.
2. When a man goes to the Mikveh after relations, he "removes" the levity that was caused by relations. However, if the woman was a Nidah there is an additional problem. Even after the light-headedness has disappeared as a result of immersing in the Mikveh, one is still left with the Tum'ah caused by the contact with the Nidah. This is in fact a more severe issue than the Ba'al Keri, for one must wait seven days before it goes away. On the other hand, this Tum'ah does not prevent one from praying like Tum'as Keri does. This is because (as the Gemara says a few lines later) the words of Torah (and also the words of prayer) are like fire. Just as fire cannot receive Tum'ah, the words of Torah cannot become Tamei. Hence, even while one is waiting for seven days until he becomes Tahor, he is still able to pray. This means that levity is a stronger disturbance to prayer than Tum'ah is.
Kol Tuv,
Dovid Bloom