A pepper mill acquires uncleanliness by reason of three vessels. [If one of the parts separates, it is not regarded as a fragment of a vessel, which does not acquire uncleanliness), but each one is considered a vessel in itself and acquires uncleanliness, even though when they are on the mill they are connected and look like one vessel]: (It acquires uncleanliness) by reason of "a receptacle" [The lower part, which receives the pepper ground through the holes of the sieve, acquires uncleanliness by reason of "a receiving vessel," being a wooden vessel with a receiving element.]; and by reason of a metal vessel [The upper part, which crushes and grinds the pepper acquires uncleanliness by reason of "a metal vessel." It does not acquire uncleanliness as a wooden vessel (flat wooden vessels remaining clean), but because of its lower covering, which is of metal]; and by reason of "a sieving vessel." [The middle part, which surrounds the sieve, does not acquire uncleanliness as a wooden vessel, not being a receptacle. But the sages decreed that a sieve acquire uncleanliness by reason of a weaving vessel, so that even if the sieve if not of metal, it acquires uncleanliness by reason of "a sieving vessel."]
Bartenura on Mishnah Beitzah
משום שלשה כלים – for if he separated one of them they are not shards of utensils but rather all of them are considered a utensil of its own and is impure, even while they are still attached in the millstone and appear as one utensil.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Beitzah
Introduction
This mishnah is brought here on account of section three in yesterday’s mishnah which dealt with using a pepper-mill on Yom Tov. As an aside, the mishnah teaches the susceptibility of a pepper-mill to impurities.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Beitzah
משום כלי קבול – the bottom one that receives dust from the pounding of the peppers through the holes of the basket used as a sieve is ritually impure because it is a receptacle, for it is a wooden utensil that has a receptacle.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Beitzah
A pepper-mill is susceptible to impurity on account of [it consisting of] three [separate] utensils; on account of a receptacle, on account of a metal utensil and on account of a sifting utensil. A pepper-mill has three separate parts. Our mishnah teaches that each part is itself considered a “vessel” and therefore each part on its own can receive impurities. If one of the parts should break, while it can no longer become impure, because broken vessels are not receptive to impurities, the other two parts can still become impure. The bottom part of the pepper-mill is a wooden receptacle for the ground pepper. All vessels which have a receptacle are susceptible to impurity. The top part is made of metal. This is the part that grinds the pepper. It is susceptible to impurity because it is metal and all metal vessels are susceptible to impurity, even if they don’t have a receptacle. The middle part of the pepper-mill sifts the ground pepper. Some commentators explain that since some of the pepper gets stuck here, this part is also considered to be a receptacle and hence susceptible to impurity.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Beitzah
ומשם כלי מתכות – the upper one where we pound and grind in it the peppers, is ritually impure because it is a metal utensil, and because a wooden utensil cannot be made impure, for its flat surfaces are ritually pure, but because its lower covering is made of metal.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Beitzah
ומשום כלי כברה – its middle which surround the basket used as a sieve. Because of the wood utensil it is not defiled and its receptacle is not a receptacle, but the Sages decreed defilement upon the basket used as a sieve because it is a woven utensil, and even if the metal basket used as a sieve does not defile because it is the utensil of the basket used as a sieve.
