Kommentar zu Kelim 19:14

המפרק את המטה להטבילה – even though it had become defiled while it was whole/complete, sometimes, on occasion when it is large and is unable to enter the Mikveh [whole], and one needs to take it apart.

One who dismantles a bed in order that he might immerse it and [while doing so] touches the ropes remains clean. If while dismantling a large bed in order to immerse it in a mikveh to purify it a person touched the ropes of the bed, he is not thereby defiled. This is because the ropes of a dismantled bed are not considered impure. As we shall see, the ropes are considered to be impure only when attached to the bed.

והנוגע בחבלים – this is our reading. Meaning to say, whether one takes it (i.e., the bed) apart or one touches the ropes, one is ritually pure. But we are speaking about a bed that was defiled through contact with a corpse or though a person with gonorrhea lying on it, and as for example, that is no on the bed a long board and two legs, even though, it is necessary to immerse it [in a Mikveh], in order that it not return to its defilement when it is connected. But the person who touches the ropes is ritually pure, for since he took it (i.e., the bed) apart, the ropes are no longer connected.

When does the rope begin to constitute a connective with the bed? As soon as three rows of meshes of it have been knotted. Beds in the time of the Mishnah were made by tying ropes tightly around the bed frame. The mishnah now asks when are ropes considered connected to the bed such that their purity/impurity status matches that of the bed. The answer is that as soon as three rows have been tied onto the bed. It would seem that at that point the bed offers at least minimal support.

החבל מאימתי חיבור – at the outset when a person makes a partition by means of net-work/makes a zig-zag completely and girds it with three [rows of] meshes with it, and the rope still remains very long. If the bed became defiled, the rope is defiled. And a person who touches the rope, is impure. For it is all connected/attached, for ultimately, one is making a partition by means of net-work.

And [if another rope was tied to this one] and a person touches it: If from the knot inwards he becomes unclean; But if from the knot outwards he remains clean. If one ties another rope to the rope that is already tied to the bed, the new rope is considered connected from the knot and inwards. That portion of the rope is impure, and if the bed is impure it will defile him if he touches it. But from the rope and outwards, it is pure and it will not defile him.

מן הקשר ולפנים – if he tied another rope to this rope that he is making a lattice-work with, the other rope is not attached from the knot and outward.

As to the loose ends of the knot, any one that touches that part which is needed for it becomes unclean. And how much is needed for it? Rabbi Judah says: three fingerbreadths. The first three fingerbreadths of the loose ends of the knot were needed to tie the knot. Therefore, they are impure. Anything beyond that is not impure.

נימי הקשר (fringes of a knot) – when they tie in a knot two ropes with one another, they leave a bit from the heads of the ropes from this side and from that side they exit beyond the knot, and they are called the “fringes of a knot.”

הנוגע בצורכו – for since there is a need to tie them in a knot, that if the knot at the actual top of the of the rope was an extra knot, it is found that these fringes establish the knot an they are like the knot itself.

רבי יהודה אומר שלש אצבעות – is an attachment/connection, and he requires the knot, but not more.

החבל היוצא מן המטה – what remains from it [hangs over the bed] after he completed the plaiting.

A rope that hangs out from a bed:
If it is shorter than five handbreadths, it is clean,
If it is from five to ten handbreadths long, it is unclean.
From ten handbreadths and longer is clean;
For it is with [this rope] that paschal lambs were tied and beds were lowered down.
Today's mishnah deals with ropes that hang out from a bed after the main part of the rope was woven around the bed frame.
Section one: If the rope is less than five handbreadths long, it is not useful and it is not susceptible to impurity.
Sections two and four: If it is longer than five handbreadths, it is useful, but only the portion up to ten handbreadths is susceptible. Section four explains how they would use these ropes. The first use was to tie the paschal lamb to the bed in preparation for the lamb's slaughter on Pesah. On the original Pesah which was celebrated in Egypt it was required that one would set aside the lamb on the tenth of Nissan. This was not required on subsequent observations of the holiday, but evidently people did so in any case. My only explanation for why they would tie it to the bed is so that it wouldn't get mixed up with other non-paschal lambs, or with paschal lambs set aside by other people.
The other use was to lower their beds when taking them down from the roofs (where they sometimes slept) or for lowering them down into the mikveh.
Section four: Only the part that was between five and ten handbreadths was really needed. The rest of the rope was extraneous and therefore it is clean.

עד חמשה טפחים טהור – for it is not appropriate for the needs of the bed, and it is not considered a handle.

מחמשה ועד עשרה טמא – for it is appropriate to knot with it the Passover sacrifices. For they would regularly tie up the Passover sacrifices with a rope that is on the leg of the bed in order that it be ready for them. And it was appropriate also to let it down [over the side of the bed] , that is to say, to lower it from the attic to the roof. Alternatively, to lower it to the ritual bath to immerse it when it became defiled.

מעשרה ולחוץ טהור – for what there is on a rope more than ten [handbreadths] he does not use at all for the purposes of the bed.

המיזרן (girth, hanging from the bed – a strap of cloth which is wound over the bed to keep the covering in position) – a kind of girdle or woven belt that they tie around the bed in order to attach its joints/links. But sometimes it is too large and it drags and extends beyond the bed.

If a part of a mattress hangs over, it is unclean whatever its length, the words of Rabbi Meir. Rabbi Yose says: only that which is shorter than ten handbreadths. It seems that during the time of the Mishnah, not all beds were used with mattresses. The Geonim (rabbis in Babylonia in the 8-11th centuries) defined the word that I have translated as "mattress" in the following way: "a wool garment which rich people put on their beds underneath the regular bedding. And they put it on the edge of the bed frame." If the mattress hangs over the bed, according to Rabbi Meir no matter how long the part that hangs over is, it is all considered to be connected to the bed and if the bed is impure, all of the mattress is impure. Rabbi Yose says that only that which is shorter than ten handbreadths (this is quite long). Anything longer is already far enough away from the bed that it has an independent status of impurity.

היוצא מן המטה – and the bed is impure from treading.

The remnant of a mattress remains unclean if the length is at least seven handbreadths from which a donkey's covering can be made. The remnant of a mattress can remain unclean if it is at least seven handbreadths long, because this is the measure that could be used to make a donkey's covering. This goes according to the general principle that as long as something can still be used as a vessel it retains its impurity.

כל שהוא – even if it extends outward a few cubits beyond the bed, everything is impure.

ר' יוסי אומר עד עשרה טפחים – it is impure through the defilement of the bed. From ten [handbreadths] and beyond it is pure. And the Halakha is according to Rabbi Yossi.

שיירי מיזרן – a girth that was worn out or torn, whatever that will remain from it, and it will be ritually impure.

שבעה טפחים – for less than this, it is not appropriate for anything and it is not considered a vessel.

חבק (a band with which the saddle or housing of an animal is fastened around its belly) – there are those who explain/interpret , a thick and hard piece of cloth that they place on the donkey when it comes from the road and it is sweating, , in order that it not catch cold when they remove the saddle from it. And there are those who explain, that they place it on the burden of the donkey in order that it not be lost if rains fell upon it.

נישא הזב על המטה ועל המיזרן (if the person with gonorrhea was carried on the bed and on the girth) – not exactly carried on the bed girth, but rather that the person with gonorrhea was carried on the bed that the girth is tied around it and extends from it.

If a zav was carried on a bed and on its mattress, the latter causes an uncleanness of two grades and an unfitness of one grade, the words of Rabbi Meir. The zav (person with abnormal genital discharge) causes the mattress to become a primary source of impurity (the bed also is a primary source of impurity, but this mishnah deals only with this mattress). The mattress causes anything that touches it to have first degree impurity. Whatever has first degree impurity imparts second degree impurity to whatever it touches. That which has second degree impurity renders unfit any terumah that it might touch (giving it third degree impurity). But the terumah does not disqualify anything by giving it fourth degree impurity.

מטמא שנים ופוסל אחד דברי ר' מאיר – Rabbi Meir according to his reason that he stated above (see previous Mishnah, Tractate Kelim, Chapter 19, Mishnah 3), that even if the bed birth extends from the bed a little bit, and even more, it is attached/connected to the bed, and the two are made impure and renders [the heave-offering] unit, like the bed itself. For all that the person with gonorrhea is carried upon and acts of lying and sitting are performed by the person with gonorrhea, which is a primary category of ritual impurity, and the person who touches is first degree [level of ritual impurity], and something that is first-degree [level of ritual impurity] makes something else second [degree level of ritual impurity] , and something that is second degree [level of ritual impurity] makes something third [degree level of ritual impurity] to invalidate the heave-offering/priest’s due alone, but not to make it impure. And this is where he defiles two degrees, which are first [degree of ritual impurity] and second [degree of ritual impurity] and he invalidates one and it is third [degree level of impurity] and it is invalid for heave offering alone. And the bed girth all the while that it was not removed from the bed is considered like a primary source of ritual impurity, and it defiles two and invalidates one, but after he removes it, it is nothing other than a derivative of the defilement which defiles one and invalidates one, according to the law of a person who touches that which the person with gonorrhea lies upon.

Rabbi Yose says: if a zav was carried on a bed and on its mattress the part that is shorter than ten handbreadths causes an uncleanness of two grades and an unfitness of one grade, but that which is over the ten handbreadths causes only an uncleanness of one grade and an unfitness of one grade. Rabbi Yose distinguishes between the part of the mattress that extends from the bed less than ten handbreadths and the part that extends more than ten handbreadths. This accords with what he stated in yesterday's mishnah. The part that extends less than ten handbreadths has the same rule that Rabbi Meir stated above. The part that is further away from the bed is treated not like the bed but as if it were a separate piece that had contact with the remainder of the mattress. Therefore, this part has first degree impurity which it got from the main part of the mattress and it defiles that which it touches, giving it second degree impurity. That which has second degree impurity renders unfit any terumah that it might touch (giving it third degree impurity).

ר' יוסי אומר = Rabbi Yossi according to his reasoning, who stated above (in Tractate Kelim, Chapter 19, Mishnah 3) ten handbreadths and not further. Therefore, that which is within ten [handbreadths] is considered a connection/attachment to lying [by a person with gonorrhea], and it defiles two and invalidates one all the while that he did not remove it. But what is beyond ten [handbreadths] is not considered an attachment to the lying [by a person with gonorrhea], and its law is as it was explained, that it defiles one and invalidates one.

If he was carried on the mattress, [on the overhanging part] that was shorter than ten handbreadths, it becomes unclean, but if on the part that was longer than ten handbreadths it remains clean. In this scenario he was carried on the part of the mattress that extends over the bed, but not on the bed itself. If he was carried on the part of the mattress that is less than ten handbreadths from the bed, the mattress is unclean. But if further from the bed, then the mattress is clean because it is not susceptible to "midras" impurity (imparted by sitting, lying or leaning on something) because it is not considered part of the bed. And since the zav did not directly touch the mattress (he touched the mattress covering), the mattress is completely clean.

נישא על המזרן מעשרה ולפנים טמאה – this is our reading (i.e., טמאה). But we don’t have the reading of טמא/impure. And this is an explanation: if the person with gonorrhea was carried on the bed girth that extends from the bed, if he was carried from ten [handbreadths] and within to the side of the bed, the bed is impure through treading/Midras, for since all ten [handbreadths] are considered an attachment to the bed, but from ten [handbreadths] and beyond it is not an attachment/connection to the bed, and the bed is pure and its not defiled [with the defilement] of the bed girth. Such it appears in my eyes an explanation/commentary on this Mishnah. And the reading of my Teachers/Rabbis who have the [textual] reading "טמא וטהור" /impure and pure and their explanation, but it was not acceptable to me. And similarly the words of Maimonides who wrote in his commentary to this Mishnah did not enter my eyes are all. And I investigated afterwards in his work (i.e., the Mishneh Torah) in the Laws of Kelim/Vessels, Chapter 21 [Halakha 9] – it appears to me that there he retracted and explained this Mishnah as I explained it here.

כולה טמאה מדרס – ;and all the time that he did not remove the bed girth from the bed, it is like the bed itself, as I have explained.

If around a bed that had contracted midras uncleanness one wrapped a mattress, the whole becomes subject to midras uncleanness. If it was removed, the bed remains subject to midras uncleanness but the mattress is unclean only from contact with midras. When he wraps the mattress around the bed, the mattress becomes part of the bed and takes on the impurity status of the bed. And when he removes the mattress from the bed, it loses the impurity status that the bed had. But since it had contact with something that had "midras" impurity, the mattress remains unclean, albeit with a lower type of impurity (first degree impurity).

והמזרן מגע מדרס – and it defiles one and invalids one, like the law of all who touch/come in contact with a primary category of ritual impurity.

If around a bed that had contracted seven-day uncleanness one wrapped a mattress, the whole becomes subject to seven-day uncleanness. If it was removed, the bed remains subject to seven-day uncleanness but the mattress is unclean until the evening. The same halakhah is true with regard to seven day uncleanness, the type of uncleanness contracted from contact with a dead body. When the mattress is attached to the bed it has the same impurity as does the bed. When it is removed, it has the lower status of "evening uncleanness," meaning it will become pure in the evening. This is because the bed was a "father of impurity" and it caused the mattress to have first degree impurity, but first degree impurity lasts only until evening.

If the bed was subject to evening uncleanness and around it he wrapped a mattress, the whole becomes subject to evening uncleanness; If it was removed, the bed remains subject to evening uncleanness but the mattress becomes clean. However, if the bed was itself unclean only with "evening uncleanness" it does not defile at all other vessels that have contact with it. When the mattress is attached, it has "evening uncleanness" but when it is removed, it is completely pure.

ונגע בהן המת – when they are wrapped together.

If a mattress was wrapped around a bed and a corpse touched them, they are subject to a seven-day uncleanness; If they are taken apart they are still subject to a seven-day uncleanness. In this case the mattress is impure because it too came into contact with a corpse, and not just because it became part of a bed that had corpse impurity (as in yesterday's mishnah). Therefore, even when it is taken apart from the bed, it still retains its corpse impurity.

טמאים טומאת שבעה – in this, Rabbi Yossi does not dispute. For especially in the defilement of treading/Midras it is stated, up until ten handbreadths it is impure; from ten [handbreadths] and beyond it is ritually pure. But concerning the rest of the defilements, even one hundred cubits all together is an attachment, such as the bed girth which is wrapped on a bed and the bed enters into the tent of a corpse or that it touched a reptile, and similarly if a piece from the bed girth enters into the tent of a corpse or touched a reptile, if the bed is defiled, the bed girth is defiled; if the bed girth is defiled, the bed is defiled, and even if the bed birth extends from the bed for one-hundred cubits.

If a sheretz touched them they are subject to an evening uncleanness; If they are taken apart they are still subject to evening uncleanness. The same is true if the bed and mattress become defiled with evening uncleanness through contact with a sheretz. Since the mattress was also defiled, it retains its impurity even when removed from the bed.

פירשו טמאים טומאת שבעה – and they are not like vessels that were broken, since each one of them is a vessel in its own right. Even though that regarding the matter of acquiring defilement they are considered like one vessel, and when defilement touched one of them, the other was defiled [as well].

A bed from which the two longer sides were removed and two new ones were prepared for it but the original sockets were not changed: If the new sides were broken the bed retains its uncleanness, But if the old ones were broken it becomes clean, since all depends on the old ones. One removed the two longer sides of the frame of a bed and he made new ones to replace them. But since he did not change the sockets of the bed, if the new ones break he can still replace them with the old ones. If he puts the new ones in and they break, the bed regains its old impurity. In other words, it's not a new bed if the old bed can still be reconstituted. But if the old ones are broken, then the bed cannot be reconstituted and it is pure. As the mishnah notes, the purity of the bed depends on the existence of the old ones, not the new ones.

שניטלו שתי ארוכות – its [two long pieces], and they did not beak. And they are appropriate to be restored to their places, therefore, the bed was not purified from its defilement with the taking of the long pieces.

נשתברו חדשות טמאה – for since the old ones and the sockets/perforations were not changed, and when he removed each part of the bedstead and all of its bedsteads are whole. But when the old ones were broken, they are pure, because the old ones were on the bed when it became defiled, and when they were broken, the bed is a broken vessel, for it is not appropriate without the long pieces.

תיבה שנפחתה מלמעלן )a box which was damaged from above) – its covering.

A box whose opening is at the top is susceptible to corpse uncleanness. If a box has an opening on its top it is susceptible to corpse uncleanness, and to other types of uncleanness as well. The only type of impurity to which it is not susceptible is midras impurity, because midras impurity is imparted only to objects that are meant for sitting.

טמאה אמא מת – because its rim/bottom still exists, it is worthy for use. And specifically, defilement through contact with the dead, but not defilement by treading, for it is not appropriate for sitting.

If a piece fell out above it is still susceptible to corpse uncleanness. If the box broke but only at its top, it is still usable so it is still susceptible to impurity.

נפחתה מלמטן – at its rims/bottoms, its receptacle was annulled and it is completely pure.

If it was damaged below, it becomes clean. However, if it was damaged below it is no longer usable so it becomes clean.

מגורות שלה (its drawers [in a chest]) – the treasures/storehouse within, that is the rooms that are in it that were not damaged with it, are impure.

The compartments within it remain unclean and are not regarded as a connected to it. If the box had compartments and the box became clean because it was broken, the compartments are still usable so they remain unclean. They are not considered as connected to the box, for it is clean and they are unclean.

התורמל (bag – the inside pocket of which has become defective) -a large leather pocket that the shepherd puts his belongings into, and within the bag, there are small pockets like the drawers in a box.

Introduction Just a warning this mishnah might make you chuckle a bit.

חמת (bottle – of a skin of a he-goat/wether) – leather skin or bottle.

If a shepherd's bag was damaged, the pocket within it retains its uncleanness and is not regarded as a connected to it. A shepherd's bag which is made of leather has pockets in it to store things. If the bag is damaged, the larger bag is pure, but the smaller pockets retain their impurity because they are still usable.

שהביצים שלה מקבלות עמה when they flay/shed the skin of the male rams and wethers/he-goats, there remains the leather that is in place of the genitals/testicles, like a small pocket, but if they were damaged, they are ritually pure, for their receptacle has been nullified.

A skin whose testicle bags serve also as receptacles and they were damaged, they become clean, since they will no longer serve their original purpose. Evidently, they would make skins for holding wine that would also have pouches made from the testicles of the animal. They would do this by skinning the animal complete from head to legs. This would leave the testicles intact and usable for storing liquids. If the testicle bags are damaged they become clean because they can't be used to store liquids, which is the normal way in which they are used. Even if they can still be used for some other purpose, since they can't be used in their normal way, they are clean. I bet you wish you had a bag like this. It would definitely be the talk of the town!

שפתחה מצדה (that was damaged from its side) – When it was damaged from above, it was not impure by treading, for if he sat upon it and comes to use it, they say to him: “Stand and let us do our work.” But when it was damaged from the side, it is possible to use it even though he sits upon it.

A box whose opening is at the side is susceptible to both midras uncleanness and corpse uncleanness. Today's mishnah discusses a box whose opening is at the side. Since this box can be sat upon it is susceptible to midras uncleanness. It is also susceptible to other types of impurity, including corpse impurity.

בזמן שאינה גבוהה עשרה טפחים – when it is ten [handbreadths] high, it is not appropriate for sitting all that much.

Rabbi Yose said: When does this apply? When it is less than ten handbreadths in height or when it does not have a rim one handbreadth deep. Rabbi Yose says that it is susceptible to midras impurity only if it is less than ten handbreadths high or does not have a rim of at least a handbreadth. A high box with a rim will not be sat upon, and therefore it is not susceptible to midras. But a low box might be sat upon, with or without a rim.

או שאין לה לזבז (or when it does not have a vertical rim/edge – buy which a flat vessel is made into a vessel-like receptacle) – when it has a vertical rim which damages the person who sits upon it.

If it was damaged above it is still susceptible to corpse uncleanness. If it was damaged above, it cannot be sat upon so it is no longer susceptible to midras. But it is still usable as a box, so it is susceptible to corpse uncleanness.

נפתחה מלמטן – at its rim/bottom. It is not appropriate for use, but is appropriate for sitting.

If it was damaged below: Rabbi Meir rules that it is susceptible to uncleanness. But the sages rule that it is clean because if the primary function ceases the secondary one also ceases. If it is damaged below, it can be sat upon, but it cannot be used for storage, which is its main purpose. Rabbi Meir rules that since it can still be sat upon, it is susceptible to midras impurity. The sages disagree. They hold that if a vessel cannot be used in its primary function, in this case storing, it is not susceptible due to its secondary function, sitting. Therefore, the box is completely clean.

מפני שבטל העקר (because the primary purpose was annulled) – the primary purpose of the box is that its made to support its rim what one places within it, and through that, it is called a vessel. But because its rim was damaged and it was nullified, also its walls from above are nullified and it no longer receives any form of defilement. And the Halakha is according to the Sages.

משפלת (a wicker basket carried on a pole over the shoulder) – a large basket that they carry the manure and the trash.

A dung-basket that was so damaged that it will not hold pomegranates: Rabbi Meir says is still susceptible to uncleanness, But the sages say that it is clean because if the primary function ceases the secondary one also ceases. The mishnah deals with a "dung-basket," a basket used to take out dung used for fertilizer. If the basket has a hole large enough for pomegranates to escape, then the basket then it can't be used as a dung-basket (it would make some serious mess on the floor). Rabbi Meir says that since it can still be used as a seat cushion, it is still susceptible to impurity. The other sages disagree, invoking the principle we saw in yesterday's mishnah. If something can no longer be used for its primary purpose (to carry dung) then it is no longer susceptible, even if it can be used for a secondary one.

שנפחתה מלקבל רמונים – for this is its measure to become purified, when an incision is made when removing pomegranates.

ר' מאיר מטמא – even though it is more pure than all of the other defilement things, it is impure from treading, which is appropriate for sitting.

וחכמים מטהרין – And the Halakha is according to the Sages [for when the primary purpose is annulled, the secondary purpose is annulled].