touch

Everyday

1. To put your hand or another part of your body on something. tree →
2. When two things meet with no space between them. tree →
3. To make someone feel kind or sad feelings: "Her letter touched me." tree →
4. As a noun, the sense that lets us feel things with our skin. tree →
5. A small amount: "a touch of salt". tree →
6. Contact: "keep in touch". tree →

In the lessons

In science, touch is one of the five senses; nerves in the skin feel pressure, heat, cold and pain. In safety: don't touch hot things, sharp things, plugs with wet hands, or unknown animals; your body belongs to you — no one should touch private parts; say no and tell. In sport, touch rugby. Phrases: keep in touch, get in touch, a touch of, touch wood, don't touch.

Examples

• Don't touch the hot oven. tree →
• Touch the leaf and feel how soft it is. tree →
• The two shapes touch at one point. tree →
• We feel things through our sense of touch. tree →
• Keep in touch when you move away. tree →
• Never touch a plug with wet hands. tree →
• Her kind words touched my heart. tree →
• Add a touch of salt. tree →
• "Do not touch them," said Death. tree →

Note

Plural noun and he/she form: "touches". In maths, two lines "touch" if they meet at a point. Safe touch, unsafe touch: if a touch makes you uncomfortable, you can say no and tell a trusted adult.

In Jewish tradition

In the laws of purity, touching a dead body or a dead creature can make a person unclean for a time. In the later books it can also mean to harm someone, or to reach out and feel something.

Interpretation. The rabbis built a large system of purity rules on touching, and the idea of becoming unclean by contact is a main theme of Leviticus. "Touch not Mine anointed" is read as God's protection of the patriarchs and his prophets.

Examples

• Therefore suffered I thee not to touch her. (Torah GEN.20.6, JPS 1917) tree →
• Of their flesh ye shall not eat, and their carcasses ye shall not touch; they are unclean unto you. (Torah LEV.11.8, JPS 1917) tree →
• These are they which are unclean to you among all that swarm; whosoever doth touch them, when they are dead, shall be unclean until the even. (Torah LEV.11.31, JPS 1917) tree →
• 'Touch not Mine anointed ones, and do My prophets no harm.' (Writings 1CH.16.22, JPS 1917) tree →
• My soul refuseth to touch them; they are as the sickness of my flesh. (Writings JOB.6.7, JPS 1917) tree →
• O LORD, bow Thy heavens, and come down; touch the mountains, that they may smoke. (Writings PSA.144.5, JPS 1917) tree →

Note

Plural noun and he/she form: "touches". In maths, two lines "touch" if they meet at a point. Safe touch, unsafe touch: if a touch makes you uncomfortable, you can say no and tell a trusted adult.