Commentary for Zavim 2:4
הַזָּב מְטַמֵּא אֶת הַמִּשְׁכָּב בַּחֲמִשָּׁה דְרָכִים, לְטַמֵּא אָדָם לְטַמֵּא בְגָדִים. עוֹמֵד, יוֹשֵׁב, שׁוֹכֵב, נִתְלֶה וְנִשְׁעָן. וְהַמִּשְׁכָּב מְטַמֵּא אֶת הָאָדָם בְּשִׁבְעָה דְרָכִים לְטַמֵּא בְגָדִים. עוֹמֵד, יוֹשֵׁב, שׁוֹכֵב, נִתְלֶה, וְנִשְׁעָן, בְּמַגָּע וּבְמַשָּׂא:
A <i>zav</i> makes things which he lies upon unclean in five ways rendering people unclean and clothing unclean. [They are] by standing, sitting, lying, balancing [a hanging object] and by leaning. [The item he] lies upon makes a person unclean seven ways rendering clothing unclean. [They are] by standing, sitting, lying, balancing [a hanging object], leaning, touching and carrying.
Bartenura on Mishnah Zavim
מטמא את המשכב – and the same law applies to sitting.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Zavim
Introduction
Today's mishnah deals with how a zav defiles things.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Zavim
עומד יושב שוכב – as it is written (Leviticus 15:4): “Any bedding on which he one with the discharge lies shall be impure,” and it is written (Leviticus 15:23): “Be it the object on which she has sat, [on touching it he shall be impure until evening],” I do not have other than at the time that he lied on the bed or sat on the chair. Lying on the seat and sitting on the bed, standing, suspended or leaning, from where do we derive it? The inference teaches, (Leviticus 15:4): “He shall be impure”, “on which he lies shall be impure” (Leviticus 15:23), and all of them are called מדרס/[impurity through] treading.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Zavim
A zav defiles the objects that are lain upon (or sat in five ways, so that they defile people and garments: by standing, sitting, lying, hanging or leaning. A zav can defile things that are lain upon or sat upon (such as chairs and couches) even though he hasn't touched them. The things that he defiles will then defile other people and clothing (see Leviticus 15:5-6). The five ways are: standing (he stands on the object, even if he doesn't touch it. Sitting and lying (even without touching). "Hanging" refers to a case where the zav is hanging because of the couch or chair. For instance, the chair is on one end of a balance and the zav on the other. If the zav is lifted up by the heavier chair, the chair is now impure. These five things are called "midras hazav." The chair or couch is now a "father of impurity" and it will defile other people and garments. Note that simply touching something is not sufficient he must do one of these five things.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Zavim
והמשכב מטמא את האדם וכו' עומד יושב שוכב נתלה – that the pure object is on the balancing scale [on one side] and the impure lying on the second scale, and the impure lying outweighed , and suspended the pure object. And that which is suspended in the first clause, as for example the person with gonorrhea on the [first] balance and those sitting on the second balance, and they outweighed them, they are impure, for how, the person with gonorrhea is suspended/hanging and it is as if he is sitting upon them.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Zavim
What he lies upon defiles a person in seven ways, so that he [in turn] defiles garments: by standing, sitting, lying, hanging, or leaning upon it, or by touching or carrying it. The couch or chair (or other such instrument) upon which he lied or sat (or one of the other ways of conveying impurity listed above) will defile people such that they in turn defile garments. Note that if it defiles garments, these garments do not defile people. The couch or chair defiles by standing on a person, by sitting or lying on a person, by being hanged by a person (see previous section) or by leaning on a person. These five are the same as those above. In addition, it also defiles by touching or by being carried by a pure person.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Zavim
לטמא בגדים – and this is the same law for all vessels that come in contact with them that have not been explained, except for a man and an earthenware vessel.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Zavim
כמגע ובמשא – if it came in touched with something impure that was lying or that he carried it.
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