Beth Shammai say: One wipes his hands on a towel [after washing for the meal] and places it on the table. [And he uses the towel throughout the meal to wipe food-grease from his hands. He may not place it on the pillow he sits on — a decree, lest the pillow be of first-order tumah and water from the drying of the hands wet the towel and, on contact with the pillow, become first-order tumah (as is always the case with liquids), and the towel, which he uses constantly in the course of the meal, impart tumah to his hands. But there is no cause for such a decree vis-à-vis a table, it being forbidden to use a table of second-order tumah.] And Beth Hillel say: (He places it) on the pillow. [Beth Hillel hold that it is permitted to use a table of second-order tumah. Therefore, he may not place the towel on the table, lest the water in the towel become tame via the table and, in turn, impart tumah to the food. If he places it on the pillow, however, the only cause for concern is that tumah might be imparted to his hands — Better that his hands become tame (there being no Scriptural basis for such tumah, the Torah not requiring washing of hands for non-consecrated food) than that food become tame, there being Scriptural basis for this, first-order tumah imparting second-order tumah to non-consecrated food.]
Bartenura on Mishnah Berakhot
מקנח ידיו במפה – From his first hand-washing and place it on the table and wipe his hands with it throughout from the filth of the cooked food; and he should not place it [the napkin] on the cushion on which he sits, as a preventive measure, lest the cushion becomes defiled in the first-degree, and the liquid comes in close contact with the napkin on account of the drying of the hands, and that liquid when it comes in contact with the cushion becomes [defiled] in the first-[degree], and the liquids become [defiled] in the first-[degree], and defile the hands when one wipes [one’s hands] with it continuously during the meal, but concerning the table [itself], there is no preventive measure made, for it is forbidden to use a table which is defiled in the second-degree. But the School of Hillel holds that it is permitted to use a table which is impure in the second-degree. Therefore, he should not leave the napkin on the table, lest the liquids become defiled that are on the napkin on account of the table and in turn would defile the food there, and if he leaves [the napkin] on the cushion, everyone should not suspect lest his hands became defiled; better that his hands become defiled – since they are not an essential principle from Torah law, since the washing of the hands for unconsecrated objects is not from the Torah and they don’t defile foods which have an essential principle from the Torah, for [something that is] unclean from the first-degree makes something unclean in the second-degree for unconsecrated objects from the Torah [perspective].
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English Explanation of Mishnah Berakhot
Introduction
Another debate between the two houses, a debate which again connected to matters of purity and impurity. The mishnah refers to a towel which was used to dry one’s hands after washing them and to clean them off during eating (they ate with their hands since forks had not yet been invented). The question is where to place the towel after one has used it to dry one’s hands. It is also important to remember that in mishnaic times they ate reclining on cushions and small tables were brought in front of them on which to serve the food.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Berakhot
Bet Shammai says: he wipes his hand with a towel and then places it on the table. Bet Hillel says: on the cushion. After he has washed his hands, he dries them with a towel and he places the towel on the table. Bet Shammai says he shouldn’t place the towel on the cushion upon which he is reclining lest the cushion is impure and the cushion makes the water on the towel become impure and the water in turn impurifies his hands. Bet Shammai does not fear that the table is impure because they hold that it is forbidden to eat off an impure table. Bet Hillel holds that he should place the towel on the cushion and even if his hands become impure, impure hands is not a serious form of impurity. However, he shouldn’t place the towel on the table lest the table is impure and causes the water in the towel to be impure which in turn causes the food on the table to be impure. While Bet Hillel was not concerned lest one’s hands became impure, they were concerned about the purity of the food.
