concern to limit the number of books.2 In my view, the belief that holy scriptures defile the hands is an important criterion that contributed to the formation of the Rabbinic canon. Based on the priestly theology that sees contagion in the sancta, one important feature that cannot be ignored is the way that holiness of scriptures is understood to have had a detrimental effect on the mundane. The Song of the Ark, cited in Mishnah Yadayim, is an important if neglected piece of evidence that points