Commentary for Mikvaot 9:5

והמור (myrrh)– MOSKO in the foreign tongue. And there are books that have the reading "וחמר".

Introduction Today's mishnah deals with cases in which pitch and myrhh stains block the successful immersion of vessels. The general rule is quite obvious if the person would want to remove the stain of pitch or myrrh, then it blocks immersion. But if we can assume that they don't care, then they do not.

דרגש (footstool in front of a high bed) – a small bed. In the Aramaic translation/Targum, (Ezekiel 23:41): “and you sat on a grand couch [with a set table in front of it -and it was My incense and My oil you laid upon it],” these are דרגשין/footstools in front of a high bed.

In the case of vessels the following block: pitch and myrrh; The entire mishnah deals with when pitch and myrrh (the sap that comes from the myrrh tree), block successful immersion.

על הנקיים חוצציין – because they are mindful of them.

In the case of glass vessels, whether inside or outside; Glass vessels are the most precious and expensive of all vessels. If pitch or myrrh were to be found anywhere, inside or outside of these vessels, the person would wish to have it removed. Therefore they block immersion.

בלוסין (utensils soaked with a mixture of colors (i.e., stains from use) – dirty. Similar to it is what is in the Gemara in the chapter, “The Great Principle”/כלל גדול [Shabbat 76b) – a dough of unsifted flour (with bran).

On a table or on a board or on a couch; On those that are [usually] kept clean they block; On those that are allowed to remain dirty they do not block. If the table is generally kept clean, then one would want to remove the pitch or myrrh. Therefore, they do block immersion. If the table is allowed to remain dirty, then one doesn't care if there is pitch or myrrh on it. Since one doesn't care about it, it doesn't block immersion.

אינן חוצצין – because they are not mindful of them. And that is the reason we are talking about the beds of an houseowner and a poor person.

They block in the case of beds belonging to householders, but they do not block on beds belonging to a poor person. A normal householder would care if there was pitch or myrrh on his bed. Therefore, if the bed belongs to a householder, pitch and myrrh block immersion. But a poor person is probably used to having a bed with some dirt on it. For him, pitch and myrrh do not block immersion.

איכוף – like an אוכף/saddle. And it is [made] of leather and we place it on the donkey when it carries a burden.

They block on the saddle of a house-holder, but they do not block on the saddle of a dealer in water-skins. Again, a regular house-holder cares that there shouldn't be pitch or myrrh on his saddle. But those who deal in water-skins are used to the presence of pitch and myrrh. Therefore, they don't block the successful immersion of his saddle.

זקקין (saddles used by dealers in hose) – those who carry the leather bottles/skins. The language of hose/זיקא whether the tied-up wine skin was filled entirely or whether it was lacking, is permitted in Tractate Avodah Zarah 60a.

They block in the case of a pack-saddle. Rabban Shimon ben Gamaliel says: [only if the stain is as big] as an Italian issar. On a pack-saddle, they always block immersion. Rabban Shimon ben Gamaliel says that the stain must have a minimum size that of a coin called the Italian issar.

אינו חוצץ – for they are not mindful about the dirtiness.

עד כאיסר האיטלקי – which is wide like four grains of barley, it interposes; less than this it does not interpose. But the first Tanna/teacher does not give a measurement, but even less than an Issar, it interposes. And the Halakha is according to the first Tanna/teacher.