Comentario sobre Keilim 1:10

אבות הטומאה. השרץ – there are eight reptiles that are written in the [Torah] portion of Shemini (Leviticus 11:29-30): החלד/the mole and עכבר/the mouse [and the צב/lizard; the ענקה/gecko; the כח/land crocodile; the לטאה/lizard; the חמט/sand lizard and the תנשמת/chameleon],” they are the primary sources of ritual impurity to defile humans and utensils/vessels that come in contact with them when they are dead. And their measurements for defiling is like that of a lentil (though we are informed in Tractate Kelim, Chapter 17, Mishnah 8, that whenever a lentil is spoken of, it means…the Egyptian lentil). For the sand lizard/חמט at the beginning of its creation is like that of lentil (see Tractate Nazir 52a). But the limbs have no measure, for even less that of a lentil of a reptile defiles (see Tractate Ohalot, Chapter 1, Mishnah 7). And especially when it is moist, the reptile defiles, but it does not defile when dry, as it is written (Leviticus 11:32): “And anything on which one of them falls when dead [shall be impure: be it any article of wood, or a cloth, or a skin, or a sack – any such article that can be put to use shall be dipped in water, and it shall remain impure until evening; then it shall be pure],” similar to their being dead (see Tractate Niddah 56a).

Introduction Mishnah Kelim begins by listing five types of impurity that are called "fathers of impurity." The word "fathers of…" is also used in connection with damages and in connection with the 39 types of labor prohibited on Shabbat.

ושכבת זרע – Specifically the semen of an adult Israelite , but that of a heathen does not defile, even according to the Rabbis, for the nocturnal pollution of a heathen is completely pure. And similarly, the semen of a minor also does not defile, as it is written (Leviticus 15:16): “When a man has an emission of semen, [he shall bathe his whole body in water and remain impure until evening],” a man/איש, but not a minor/קטן who is younger than nine-years and one-day old, for [prior to the age of nine-years and one-day] his act of sexual intercourse is not coition. And its measurement to the observer is a little bit, even similar to a mustard seed, and to contact/touching, like that of a lentil. And specifically moist semen that defiles, as it is written (Leviticus 15:16): “[When a man has] an emission of semen/כי תצא ממנו שכבת זרע,” he who is appropriate for emitting semen, for since the teacher of our Mishnah did not consider a בעל קרי/one who experienced a seminal emission (see Leviticus 15:16-18) as one of the primary sources of defilement, we learn from this that it is none other than first degree of ritual defilement, and this is taught at the conclusion of Tractate Zavim (Chapter 5, Mishnah 11), that a person who experienced a seminal emission is like one who came in contact with a reptile, and is not seen as other than first [degree of ritual defilement].

The fathers of impurity are a: sheretz, semen, [an Israelite] who has contracted corpse impurity, a metzora during the days of his counting, and the waters of purification whose quantity is less than the minimum needed for sprinkling. Below in sections three and four the mishnah explains the shared characteristics of these types of impurity. A) Sheretz one of the eight creepy crawly things listed in Leviticus 19:29ff. B) See Leviticus 15:16-17. C) See Numbers 19: 11, 17. D) Once the metzora (person with skin disease) is healed, he spends seven days outside of the camp until he is allowed back in. During these days he is still impure and he conveys impurity to other things. See Leviticus 14. E) These are waters with the red heifer's ashes in them. See Numbers 19:21. If there is not sufficient water to be used to sprinkle on the dead, then these waters convey impurity in the ways described below. Tomorrow's mishnah will discuss how they convey impurity if there is enough to sprinkle.

וטמא מת – a person who became defiled through contact with the dead. But utensils/vessels that came in contact with the dead are like the dead itself, and whatever comes in contact with them is made into a primary source of ritual defilement. But utensils/vessels which came in contact with a person who was defiled through contact with the dead or a person who came in contact with utensils/vessels that had been in contact with the dead, they are primary sources of ritual defilement and are defiled for seven days like a person, as is taught in the Mishnah of the first chapter of Ohalot [Mishnah 2]. But earthenware and foods and liquids that came in contact with the dead do not become primary sources of ritual defilement. And especially an Israelite becomes a primary source of ritual defilement when he touched a dead person. But an idolater and similarly a non-viable birth/premature that was born at the age of a month is not susceptible to become ritually impure if he came in contact with the dead.

Behold, these convey impurity to people and vessels by contact and to earthenware by presence within their airspace, These five "fathers of impurity" convey impurity by contact with people and vessels. When it comes to earthenware, as we explained in the introduction, the vessel is impure only if the source of impurity enters its airspace. It does not convey impurity through contact.

ומצורע בימי ספרו – A confirmed leper (declared ritually impure by a Kohen. All the laws applying to a quarantined leper apply to a confirmed leper – who must grow his hair long and rend his garments; to purify himself when healed, he must shave all his hair, and bring a special purification offering) and who is fitted for Levitical uncleanness with [his bringing] [two] birds, and cedar wood and hyssop and two scarlet-dyed yarn and shaving, and he sits from outside his tent for seven days and one the eighth [day] brings his sacrifices (see Leviticus 14:8), and on those seven days are called the days of his counting, and he defiles humans, and it is stated “the washing of his clothing “ (“The one to be purified shall was his clothing” – Leviticus 14:8) on the day of final decision [by a Kohen] and it is stated, “the washing of his clothes” on the days of his counting (Leviticus 14:9: “[On the seventh day he shall shave off all his hair…]he shall wash his clothes [and bathe his body in water; then he shall be pure],” just as there he defiles a human being, so here [also] he defiles a human being.

But they do not convey impurity by being carried. If a person carries one of these things without coming into physical contact with it, he is not thereby made impure.

ומי חטאת שאין בהם כדי הזייה – defiles him through contact. But if they have enough in order to sprinkle [of the water of the purification upon the unclean] it defiles even through carrying, to defile humans and clothing, as it is written (Numbers 19:21): “Further, he who sprinkled the water of lustration shall wash his clothes, and whoever touches the water of lustration shall be impure until evening.” But our Rabbis/teachers learned that the person who sprinkles is pure, and the Biblical verse does not come other than to give a measure to the person carrying [the waters of the sin-offering of the Red Heifer] that there must be enough for sprinkling , and the Biblical verse divided between the two kinds of water, to inform you that water where there is enough for sprinkling defiles a person to defile clothing, but where there isn’t enough [water] for sprinkling, it defiles a person to defile food and liquids but not to defile clothing.

וכלי חרס באויר – when his defilement fell in the airspace of an earthenware vessel, whether it touched ,the vessel or whether it did not touch it, the vessel is defiled. But if it the defilement touched the vessel from the outside, it was not defiled by this contact, as it is written (Leviticus 11:33): “And if any of those (i.e., an article of wood, or a cloth, or a skin, or a sack) falls into an earthen vessel, everything inside it shall be impure [and the vessel itself you shall break],” from inside it/within it, it becomes defiled, but it is not defiled from outside of it.

ואינם מטמאין במשא – that all of these primary sources of ritual defilement that are considered here are written concerning them "הנוגע"/someone who comes in contact with them and it is not written: "הנושא"/he who carries them.

מטמאים את האדם במשא – when he lifts one of them whether by his hand or his fellow lifts it upon his shoulder, and even if he [himself] did not make contact with the defiling substance, or that the defiling substance was tied with a rope and the defiling agent was lifted via the rope. Since he moved the weight of the impure thing on his own, the person is defiled by ritual impurity imparted by carrying [even when not touching them directly] to defile the clothing that is upon him, or all of the garments/clothing and vessels/utensils that he comes in contact with, except for earthenware, all the while that the defiling matter is upon his back. But after he withdrew from the defilement, he does not defile utensils/vessels through touching/contact, for whomever carries the defilement, after he has withdrawn from it is not ought but first degree of ritual impurity, but utensils/vessels do not become susceptible to receive defilement other than from a primary source of ritual impurity. But even at the time that he carries the defilement, he does not defile humans nor earthenware vessels, but rather only other utensils/vessels. And you do not have something that is defiled with ritual impurity imparted by carrying other than a human being alone, but not utensils/vessels and not food and liquids, for if there were may utensils/vessels one on top of the other and a carrion or the waters of lustration in the upper-most vessel, the lower vessels are not defiled by carrying all the while that they did not touch/come in contact with the carrion or with the waters of lustration. And similarly, food and liquids are not defiled with the ritual impurity imparted by carrying, for concerning the ritual impurity imparted by carrying, it is written "לכם" (see Leviticus 11:39: “If an animal that you may eat has died/וכי ימות מן-הבהמה אשר-היא לכם לאכלה [anyone who touches its carcass shall be impure until evening]),” and we expound [the word] "לכם"/that you – that they defile through carrying but they do not defile vessels nor foods and liquids through carrying. And just as carrion defiles through carrying, so it also defiles through movement/ היסט (i.e., by means of a lever, without actually coming in contact with it – and this applies to impurity imparted by someone with gonorrhea, a woman in flux, a menstruating woman or a woman after childbirth), for movement is from the category/species of carrying, as for example, that there was wood placed at the tope of a tree or at the top of a wall and a carrion was at one end of the wood and a person comes and puts the knee of the balance down on the second/opposite end, since he lifted the end on which the carrion on is on account of his additional weight, it is defiled with the ritual impurity of movement, which is like carrying.

Introduction Moving up on the hierarchy of "fathers of impurity," we now encounter two more types of impurity which are even more contagious than the five listed in yesterday's mishnah.

וחשוכי בגדים במגע (and to make unclean the persons alone but not their clothes) – meaning to say, the clothes are prevented from defilement if there is contact without carrying, for the person who comes in contact/touches the carrion or the waters of lustration but does not carry them does not defile even the clothing that is upon him, as it written (Leviticus 11:39, though this verse, which is brought by the commentary of Rabbi Pinchas Kahati on this Mishnah does NOT exactly express what Bartenura writes – perhaps he is referring to Leviticus 11:27): “anyone who touches its carcass shall be impure until evening” (and see verse 27: “whoever touches their carcasses/הנוגע בנבלתם shall be impure until evening. [They are impure for you/טמאים המה לכם”), and the washing of clothing is not mentioned there, and with the waters of lustration, it is also written (Numbers 19:21 – and this verse does not match the Hebrew text brought by the Bartenura commentary, but is also referred to by the commentary of Rabbi Pinchas Kahati where he mentions that in both places, the washing of clothing is not mentioned: “Whatever that impure person touches shall be impure until evening/והנוגע במי הנדה יטמא עד-הערב”. On the other hand, use of the Bar Ilan Responsa project takes the reader to Numbers 31:24: “On the seventh day you shall wash your clothes and be pure, and after that you may enter the camp.”). [The word] חשוכי – is the language of prevention, like (Genesis 22:16): “Because [you have done this] and have not withheld your son/ולא חשכת את-בנך, [your favored one].”

Above them are nevelah and waters of purification whose quantity is sufficient to be sprinkled, for these convey impurity to a person [even] by being carried so that he in turn conveys impurity to clothing by contact. Nevelah is carrion of a pure animal, that is, a kosher animal that was not slaughtered properly. See Leviticus 11:24-28, 39-40. Anyone who even carries nevelah, or a piece of nevelah, is impure, even if he doesn't directly touch the carrion. Furthermore, he in turn defiles the clothing that he is wearing while carrying the carrion. The same halakhah applies to the waters of impurity (see yesterday's mishnah) if there is a sufficient amount to sprinkle on a person to purify him.

Clothing, however, is free from impurity where there was contact alone. If a person touches one of these things, his clothes are not thereby defiled. They are only defiled if he carries one of these things.

בועל נדה – It is written concerning them (Leviticus 15:24): “[And if a man lies with her,] her menstrual impurity is communicated to him/ותהי נדתה עליו; [he shall be impure seven days, and any bedding on which he lies shall become impure],” we learned that he, like a menstruating woman, defiles surfaces designated for lying and sitting, and it is written after this (Leviticus 15:24): “and any bedding on which he lies shall become impure/כל משכב אשר-ישכב עליו יטמא,” but it is not necessary to state this, but rather it comes to explain, “her menstrual impurity is communicated to him,” of the first clause [of the Mishnah], and this is what he said: this [phrase], “her menstrual impurity is communicated to him,” that I stated to you, I did not say other than in regard to the matter that he would be a primary source of ritual impurity like a menstruating woman, that just as she defiles a person and an earthenware vessel, even he defiles a person and an earthenware vessel, but [also] to make a surface designated for lying and sitting [impure], that “and any bedding on which he lies shall become impure,” but that he does not defile a person and vessels like the bedding of a menstruant woman who defiles a person and vessels/utensils, but he has the first degree of defilement that he defiles food and liquids alone.

Introduction We continue moving up the line of defiling agents.

משכב תחתון כעליון (the lower surface upon which one lies is like the upper one)– that is to say, the lower surface upon which the man who has intercourse with a menstruating woman is like the upper one of a person with gonorrhea, that just as the upper surface of a person with gonorrhea, and that is vessels that are above the person with gonorrhea, such as ten couches one on top of the other and all of them are on top of the person with gonorrhea, whether the person with gonorrhea was in contact with them or not are ritually impure and they defile food and liquids but not humans nor vessels, so also the lower surface of a person who has intercourse with a menstruating woman, that is, the couches that are under him defile food and liquids but not humans and utensils/vessels. Whereas the lower surface below a person with gonorrhea or a woman with a flux or a menstruating woman or a woman after childbirth, even ten couches one on top of the other, and one of these defiled [couches] are above, all of them that are below/the lower surface are impure and defile humans and utensils/vessels.

Above them is one who had intercourse with a menstruant, for he defiles the bottom [bedding] upon which he lies as he does the top [bedding]. The impurity of a man who has sex with a menstruant is referred to in Leviticus 15:24: "And if a man lies with her, her impurity is communicated to him; he shall be unclean seven days, and any bedding on which he lies shall become unclean." The rabbis interpret the end of this verse to mean that no matter how much bedding lies beneath him, they are all impure. The bedding will have first degree impurity, which means it defiles food and drink, but not other people or vessels.

למעלה מהן זובו של זב כו' – because these that are important and move defile I ay amount through contact and lifting, but a person having sexual intercourse with a menstruating woman does not defile until he raises [her] entirely, because of this it is taught [in the Mishnah], “above them/למעלה מהן,” meaning to say that these are considered are above/more important than someone who has intercourse with a menstruating woman because they defile with any amount, what is not the case with someone who has sexual intercourse with a menstruating woman.

Above them is the issue of a zav, his spit, his semen and his urine, and the blood of a menstruant, for they convey impurity both by contact and by carrying. Fluids which come out of the zav (spit, semen and urine) and menstrual blood convey impurity to a person by carrying and contact, such that he in turn conveys impurity to his clothing. This is different from the impurities mentioned above in mishnah two, which through contact do not defile a person such that he defiles his clothing. And a person who has sex with a menstruant does not defile others by being carried.

שהם מטמאים במגע ובמשא – that their contact is equivalent to their lifting, that whether through contact or through lifting, they defile humans to defile clothing and vessels other than a person and vessels.

Above them is an object on which one can ride, for it conveys impurity even when it lies under a heavy stone. If a zav sits on a heavy stone, and underneath the stone there is a vessel used for riding (such as a saddle) the vessel is impure even though the stone cannot become impure. This is a special characteristic of something that is ridden upon.

מרכב (riding) – the piece of wood fastened to a saddle, which is grasped on mounting of the saddle is called מרכב/riding – that the saddle itself that a person rides upon is impure because of sitting, and its piece of wood fastened to the saddle, which is grasped on mounting of the saddle is impure because of מרכב/riding.

Above the object on which one can ride is that on which one can lie, for contact is the same as its carrying. Something that a zav lies upon (and is a vessel used for lying down, such as a bed) is even more serious in its impurity than something upon which he rides, in that the former conveys impurity through both contact and carrying. Furthermore, if someone has contact with something upon which the zav lay, he will himself further convey impurity to clothing. In contrast, one who has contact with something upon which the zav rides, does not defile clothing.

שהוא מטמא תחת אבן מסמא (that it defiles underneath a stone used for closing a pit – that the corpse was put on a closing – immovable-stone – under which there is a cavity- see Tractate Niddah 69b) – a large and heavy stone, as it is written (Daniel 6:18): “A rock was brought and placed over the mouth of the den; [the king sealed it with his signet and with the signet of the nobles, so that nothing might be altered concerning Daniel].” But if there was a large stone on top of the piece of wood fastened to a saddle, which is grasped on mounting of the riding and a person with gonorrhea grabs hold of it, even though the weight of the person with gonorrhea is not recognized on the riding seat, the piece of wood fastened to the saddle that is under the stone is defiled because of the riding seat.

Above the object on which one can lie is the zav, for a zav conveys impurity to the object on which he lies, while the object on which he lies cannot convey the same impurity to that upon which it lies. The zav himself can cause anything upon which he lies to become a defiling agent. However, the thing upon which he lies does not itself cause other bedding to become a "father of impurity." Rather, anything it touches just has "first degree impurity." We will learn more about the implications of being either a "father of impurity" or merely a "first" or lower degree of impurity as we proceed.

למעלה מן המרכב משכב – for the stone used for closing a pit that the corpse was put on a closing (immovable) stone defiles lying as it does riding. And more stringent than this is that its coming in contact/touching is equivalent to carrying it to defile a person which defiles his clothing. His coming in contact/touching is explicitly written (Leviticus 15:5): “Anyone who touches his bedding shall wash his clothes, [bathe in water, and remain impure until evening].” And his carrying, that after Scripture mentioned the law of touching by lying and the law of touching by riding it states (Leviticus 15:9-10): “[Any means for riding that one with a discharge has mounted shall be impure; whoever touches anything that was under him shall be impure until evening;] and whoever carries such things shall wash his clothes, [bathe in water, and remain impure until evening],” so we see that regarding lying, whether through contact/touching – whether through carrying, requires the washing of clothing, but concerning riding, Scripture divides between coming in contact with/touching and carrying as it is written (Leviticus 15:9): “Any means for riding that one with a discharge has mounted shall be impure,” whereas that he should wash his clothes, is not written.

ואין משכב עושה משכב – as it is written (Leviticus 15:4): “Any bedding on which the one with a discharge lies shall be impure,” the man with a discharge/gonorrhea makes the bedding [impure] but the bedding does not make the bedding [impure]. Therefore, if the bedding of person with gonorrhea touched/came in contact with vessels/utensils, they are not other than first degree of ritual defilement. It is found that the man with gonorrhea is [on a] higher [level of impurity] than that of bedding.

שהיא מטמאה את בועלה – seven [days] of uncleanness. For regarding a menstruating woman, it is written (Leviticus 15:24): “[And if a man lies with her,] her menstrual impurity is communicated to him and he shall be impure seen days” and it is also written regarding a woman with flux (Leviticus 15:25): “she shall be impure, as though at the time of her menstrual impurity, as long as her discharge lasts,” and we expound upon "תהיה טמאה היא"/she shall be impure – to include the man who had sexual intercourse with her. [The word] "היא"/she – that she defiles the man who had sexual intercourse with her but the person with gonorrhea does not defile whomever he has had sexual intercourse with for [a period of] seven [days], but only the defilement of contact/touching and carrying.

Introduction This is the last mishnah that ranks defiling agents. It ends with the greatest source of impurity the dead body.

למעלה מן הזבה מצורע – a leper [defiles] by lying and sitting like a woman with a flux. But more stringent than her, he defiles through entering [a place]. When he comes to the house, everything that is in the house is impure, even though he did not touch it/come in contact with it, as it is written (Leviticus 13:46): “[He shall be impure as long as the disease is upon him. Being impure, he shall dwell apart;] his dwelling shall be outside the camp,” which teaches that is dwelling is impure. From here, they (i.e., the Rabbis) stated that a leper that sits underneath the tree and a pure person passes by, the pure person is defiled. But if a pure person sits underneath the tree and a leper passes by, the pure person is not defiled. And similarly leprous clothing and with a leprous stone. And especially concerning a leper during the days of his receiving final judgment following probationary enclosure, but during the days of his counting, that is, after shaving/cutting off all of his hair and [the offering of] the birds, he does not defile by entering and he does not defile by lying and sitting.

Above the zav is the zavah, for she conveys impurity to the man who has intercourse with her. The zavah conveys impurity to the man who has relations with her, just as does the menstruant. In other words, not only is he impure, but he also defiles that which he lies upon, even without contact.

למעלה מן המצורע עצם כשעורה שהוא מטמא טומאת שבעה – as it is written (Numbers 31:24): “On the seventh day you shall wash your clothes and be pure, [and after that you may enter the camp],” all defilements that you become defiled through [contact with] the dead will not be less than seven [days]. But even though that the leper is more stringent than a bone the size of a barley corn, for the leper defiles everything that is in the tent when he comes to the tent, but the bone the size of barley corn does not defile in the tent, nevertheless, on this level, however, the bone the size of a barley corn is more stringent as it defiles an uncleanness of seven[days]. And similarly, all of these are of [increasingly] higher levels that are considered not for every matter it is stated that the second is more stringent than the first, for many of them have a stringency in the first [mentioned] that is not [found] in the second, but for that [higher] level that he counts alone it is stated that the second is more stringent.

Above the zavah is the metzora, for he conveys impurity by entering into a house. When a metzora enters a house, everything in the house is impure, even if he doesn't come into contact with it.

חמור מכולם מת – there are those of them [listed] that are more stringent than a corpse, for a man with gonorrhea and a woman with flux makes [defilement] through lying and sitting and defile with the very heavy stone, but a corpse does not [defile] through lying and sitting and doesn’t defile with a very heavy stone. But nevertheless, on this [higher] level, a corpse is more stringent than all of them, as it defiles by overshadowing. For just as a leper causes defilement through entrance, his defilement is not like the defilement of overshadowing, for if he brought his hand into a leprous house, it is pure, and even if he completely entered except for his nose, he is pure, for partial entering is not called entering. And even a partition saves in a house where the leper is, as is taught in the Mishnah of [Tractate] Negaim at the end of the thirteenth chapter [Mishnah 12]: “If he entered the synagogue, they make a partition for him ten handbreadths high [by four cubits wide]. He enters first and leaves last.” And all in a similar manner concerning a corpse that defiles in a tent. Alternatively, there is a division between a sitting leper and a passing leper, as I have explained above, what is not the case regarding a corpse.

Above the metzora is a [human] bone the size of a barley grain, for it conveys impurity for seven days. Contact with a bone from a dead body makes a person impure for seven full days.

More strict than all these is a corpse, for it conveys impurity by ohel ( whereby all the others convey no impurity. This is the final clause of the hierarchy. The most severe form of impurity is conveyed by a dead body, for it conveys a significant form of impurity to anyone found in the same "ohel" as the body. In rabbinic parlance, "ohel" doesn't just mean "tent" as it does in Hebrew. It means "overhanging." We shall learn more details concerning this concept throughout the tractate, and also in tractate Ohalot (I bet you can't wait!).

עשר טמאות פורשות מן האדם – there are ten levels/degrees of uncleanness one above the other that emanate from the human.

Introduction There are ten grades of impurity when it comes to impurities that are a result of emissions from a male body. These include semen, flux (abnormal genital discharge), skin disease (tsaraat) and separated limbs.

מחוסר כפורים (lacking atonement) – as for example the confirmed leper (whom must grow his hair long and rend his garments), and the male with gonorrhea who has had three appearances of flux, and the woman with flux and the woman following childbirth, who immersed in the ritual bath and when their [seventh day’s] suns have set, they are prohibited to eat Holy Things until they bring their atonement. And then [if they are Kohanim or married to them] are permitted to eat heave-offering/Terumah.

There are ten [grades of] impurity that emanate from a person:
A person before the offering of his obligatory sacrifices is forbidden to eat holy things but permitted to eat terumah and [second] tithe. The lowest level of impurity is a person who has immersed in the mikveh but is not fully pure until he brings his sacrifices. An example is the metzora (see Keritot 2:1). Such a person cannot eat sacrifices, but he can already eat terumah and second tithe.

חזר להיות טבול יום – an impure person who has immersed in the ritual bath/Mikveh but his sunset has not come.

If he is a tevul yom he is forbidden to eat holy things and terumah but permitted to eat [second] tithe. A tevul yom is a person who has immersed in the mikveh but is waiting for the sun to set before he becomes fully pure. He can't eat terumah or sacrifices, but he can still eat second tithe.

אסור בקודש ובתרומה – and he disqualifies/invalidates them if he comes in contact with/touches them.

If he emitted semen he is forbidden to eat any of the three. A man who has a seminal emission (and has not yet been to the mikveh) cannot eat any of these three things, giving him a more serious form of impurity than the tevul yom.

חזר להיות בעל קרי – that effusion of semen came out from him and he didn’t immerse in a Mikveh.

If he had intercourse with a menstruant he defiles the bottom [bedding] upon which he lies as he does the top [bedding]. A man who has intercourse with a menstruant has an even more serious form of impurity. This was explained above in mishnah three.

חזר להיות בועל נדה – but surely that it (i.e., the Mishnah) did not teach that he became unclean through contact with a corpse which is more severe than someone who experienced a seminal emission, for a person who comes in contact with a corpse is a primary source of ritual impurity, but someone who experienced a seminal emission is only a first-degree of ritual impurity, and it (i.e., the Mishnah) returns to teach that he returned to become someone who had sexual intercourse with a menstruating woman which is more severe than someone who became unclean through contact with a corpse that he defiles the lower surface upon which he lies which is like the upper one. And because these ten defilements emanate from the human being, this is defilement through contact.

If he is a zav who has seen two discharges he conveys impurity to that on which he lies or sits and is required to undergo immersion in running water, but he is exempt from the sacrifice. A zav who has had one or two abnormal discharges has a higher form of impurity, in that he needs to immerse in a spring in order to become pure. See Leviticus 15:13, "When one with a discharge becomes clean of his discharge, he shall count off seven days for his cleansing, wash his clothes and bathe his body in fresh water; then he shall be clean."

משכב תחתון כעליון (the lower surface upon which one lies is like the upper one) – the bedding underneath the man who engages in sexual intercourse with a menstruating woman is like the upper one of a man with gonorrhea/flux. Just as what is above a man with gonorrhea is unclean to defile food and liquids but not a person nor vessels, even what is below the man who has sexual intercourse with a menstruating woman is impure to defile food and liquids, but not humans or vessels/utensils.

If he saw three discharges he must bring the sacrifice. If he has three abnormal discharges within three days, he must bring a sacrifice of either two turtle-doves or two pigeons. See Leviticus 15:14.

שראה שתי ראיות מטמא משכב ומושב (renders unclean the couch and the chair he sits upon) – and he needs to count seven clean [days]. For this is taught in the Mishnah in the first chapter of [Tractate] Megillah (Mishnah 7): “There is no difference between a person with gonorrhea/Zab who suffers two appearances of flux and one who suffers three except the requirement of a sacrifice/offering [for the latter].

If he is a metzora that was only enclosed he conveys impurity by entry [into an ohel] but is exempt from loosening his hair, from rending his clothes, from shaving and from the birds offering. There are two stages when it comes to the impurity of a person who has developed tzaraat (skin disease). The first is when the priest sends him away to wait and see if fuller signs of the affliction develop. Already at this period he conveys impurity by entering a house (see mishnah four). However, he does not have to rend his clothes, loosen his hair or shave his body. Concerning these things see Leviticus 13:45. He also does not need to bring sacrifices, if later he is determined not to have tzaraat.

וצריך ביאת מים חיים – as it is written concerning a man with gonorrhea/flux (Leviticus 15:13): “[When one with a discharge becomes purified of his discharge, he shall count off seven days for his purification, wash his clothes, [and bathe his body in fresh water/מים חיים; [then he shall be pure],” but the rest of all of those who are impure, the waters of the Mikveh are sufficient for them.

But if he was a confirmed metzora, he is liable for all these. Once it is determined that he does have tzaraat, he is liable to do all of these things.

חייב קרבן – that is stated in the Torah portion of Metzora regarding a man with gonorrhea/flux (Leviticus 15:14-15). And all the time that he didn’t bring a sacrifice, he is lacking atonement.

If a limb on which there was not the proper quantity of flesh was severed from a person, it conveys impurity by contact and by carriage but not by ohel. A limb which is severed from a living person conveys impurity, even if the person remains alive. If it does not have a sufficient amount of flesh, then its level of impurity is such that it defiles by contact and carrying, but not by entering into an ohel. Below the mishnah will explain "sufficient amount of flesh."

מצורע מוסגר (quarantined leper) – that the Kohen quarantines him for seven days to see if he will produce signs/symptoms of defilement.

But if it has the proper quantity of flesh it conveys impurity by contact, by carriage and by ohel. A "proper quantity of flesh" is such as is capable of healing. Rabbi Judah says: if in one place it has flesh sufficient to surround it with [the thickness of] a thread of the woof it is capable of healing. If there is a sufficient amount of flesh, then it also conveys impurity by being in an ohel. For there to be "a sufficient amount of flesh" there must be enough flesh on the limb such that it could heal if it was attached to the body. So if one's finger falls off, for instance, but it had already been damaged so much that there was barely any flesh on it, it doesn't convey impurity by being in an ohel. Rabbi Judah provides a slightly different interpretation. If there is enough flesh in one place on the limb, such that if it was stripped off it could surround the limb, and the strip would have the width of the thread of a woof, then it is sufficient.

מטמא בביאה – if he comes into the house, everything that is in the house is defiled.

ופטור מן הפריעה ומן הפרימה (and he is exempt from letting the hair grow and rending his garments) – for the Torah did not say that his clothing should be rent/torn and that [the hair on] his head will be neglected (i.e., allowed to grow wildly).

ומן התגלחת ומן הצפורים – that a confirmed [leper] that healed brings birds and shaves all of his hair off but a quarantined [leper] does not [do these things].

שאין עליו בשר כראוי – as is explained in the concluding clause [of the Mishnah] in order to produce new flesh/skin on a healing wound.

מטמא במגע ובמשא ואינו מטמא באוהל – that regarding contact/touching, it is written (Numbers 19:18): “[and on] him who touched the bones [or the person who was killed or died naturally or the grave],”implying, whether he has appropriate flesh or whether he lacks appropriate flesh. And regarding the defilement in a tent, it is written (Numbers 19:16): “or human bone, or a grave, [shall be impure seven days],” and human bone implies until there will be upon him flesh and sinews and bones.

במקום אחד כדי להקיפו בחוט ערב (in one place enough [flesh] to surround the member with [the thickness] of the thread of the woof) – if he would cut the flesh that is on the limb to thread that have in their thickness like the thread of the woof, which is thicker by double than the thread of the warp, and there will be in them enough to surround the member, while knowing that through this, it is producing new flesh/skin on a healing wound. But the Halakha is not according to Rabbi Yehuda.

עשר קדושות הן – since we speak about the degrees/ of defilement – one above the other, it (i.e., the Mishnah) also teaches the degrees/ascents of holiness, one above from the other.

Introduction The remainder of this chapter establishes geographical grades of holiness which lands are holier than others, and which places within Israel holier than other places.

שמביאין ממנה העומר – as it is written (Leviticus 23:10): “[When you enter the land that I am giving to you] and you reap its harvest, you shall bring the first sheaf [of your harvest to the priest],” reaping the harvest [in the land of Israel] but not the harvest outside the Land.

There are ten grades of holiness: the land of Israel is holier than all other lands. And what is the nature of its holiness? That from it are brought the omer, the firstfruits and the two loaves, which cannot be brought from any of the other lands. The first grade of holiness, meaning the first place with any degree of holiness at all, is the land of Israel, which is holier than any other land. The mishnah then proceeds to explain what are the ramifications of Israel being holier than the other lands. Israeli is holier for three reasons: 1) The barley that is reaped on the day after Pesah (see Leviticus 23:10-15), called the omer, must be harvested in the land of Israel. 2) First fruits, which are brought to the Temple (see Mishnah Bikkurim) and eaten in Jerusalem by their owners, are brought only from fruits that grow in the land of Israel. We should note that this is true of all agricultural offerings terumah, tithes, etc. Anything brought directly from produce grown on the land comes only from the land of Israel. The mishnah specifies first fruits because they are brought to the Temple in a formal ceremony, whereas the other offerings are given directly to the priest or Levite, without any special ritual. 3) The two loaves are brought on Shavuot. They must come from grain grown in Israel (see Leviticus 23:17). It is revealing that the rabbis grade holiness by opportunities to perform mitzvot. A place in which more mitzvot can be performed is holier than others. This implies that holiness is wrapped up in the performance of God's will, as if to say that the more one can perform God's will, the more holiness is brought to the world. A different view of gradations of holiness might claim that God "resides" in a certain place, and therefore, that place is holier.

והבכורים – as it is written (Deuteronomy 26:2): “You shall take some of every first fruit of the soil, which you harvest from the land [that the LORD your God is giving you].”

ושתי הלחם – as it is written (Leviticus 23:17): “You shall bring from your settlements two loaves of bread [as an elevation offering].” (Also see Tractate Kiddushin, Chapter 1, Mishnah 7: “Every commandment that is dependent upon/tied to the land [of Israel] is not observed other than in the Land [of Israel.].”

עיירות המוקפות חומה –[cities surrounded by a wall] from the days of Joshua son of Nun. That regarding a leper it is written (Leviticus 13:46): “[He shall be impure as long as the disease is on him. Being impure, he shall dwell apart;] his dwelling shall be outside the camp,” outside of the camp of Israel. But when Joshua conquered the Land, he sanctified the cities/towns that were surround by a wall in his days that they would be like the camp of Israel to send off from there the lepers.

Cities that are walled are holier, for metzoras must be sent out of them and a corpse, though it may be carried about within them as long as it is desired, may not be brought back once it has been taken out. There are two halakhot that make walled cities holier than non-walled cities. First of all, metzoras must be sent out of walled cities. This is based loosely on Leviticus 13:46 which states that a metzora must be sent out of the "camp." The second halakhah is that a corpse may not be brought into a walled city. However, a corpse that is already in a walled city need not be removed quickly.

ומסבבים לתוכן מת – it is permitted to carry it (i.e., the corpse) in the city from place to place until the place that the representatives of the town wish to bury him there.

יצא – if the corpse [left] the city.

אין מחזירים אותו – [they don’t bring him back] into the city to bury him there and even if the representatives of the town wished it. For since the defilement departed from the city, we don’t bring it back inside [the city].

לפנים מן החומה – from the wall of Jerusalem.

The area within the wall [of Jerusalem] is holier, for it is there that lesser holy things and second tithe may be eaten. Within the walls of Jerusalem is holier than within other walled cities, for within these walls one may eat lesser holy things (kodashim kalim) such as the pesah sacrifice and shelamim sacrifices. One may also eat second tithe inside the walls of Jerusalem.

שאוכלים שם קדשים קלים ומעשר שני – as it is written (Deuteronomy 12:5-6): “[But only to the site that the LORD your God will choose amidst all your tribes as His habitation, to establish His name there.] There you are to go, and there you are to bring [your burnt-offerings and other sacrifices], and it is written (Deuteronomy 12:17): “You may not partake in your settlements [of the tithes of your new grain or wine or oil].” (see also Tractate Makkot, Chapter 3, Mishnah 3).

The Temple Mount is holier, for zavim, zavot, menstruants and women after childbirth may not enter it. Men or women who are zavim or zavot, and menstruants and women after childbirth are not allowed to enter the Temple Mount. This is stated with regard to the woman who gave birth in Leviticus 12:4.

הר הבית – it was five-hundred cubits by five-hundred cubits, and in it the Temple was built, and from there begins the Levitical camp and its measurement [is] until the Nicanor Gate, from the Nicanor Gate inward is the camp of God’s presence, and from the Temple Mount towards the outside until the wall of Jerusalem is the camp of Israel (see also Tractate Middot, Chapter 2, Mishnah 12).

The chel is holier, for neither non-Jews nor one who contracted corpse impurity may enter it. The chel is a sort of corridor surrounding the Temple's courtyards. See Middot 2:3. Strictly speaking, its area is not considered part of the Temple. Non-Jews and Jews who contracted corpse impurity are not allowed into this area. This seems to be an extra insurance policy to keep these two categories further away from the Temple itself.

שאין זבים וזבות נדות ויולדות נכנסים לשם – as it is written (Numbers 5:2): “[Instruct the Israelites] to remove from camp anyone with an eruption or a discharge and anyone defiled by a corpse,” I hear that all three (i.e., a man with gonorrhea/a woman with a flux, menstruating women and women after childbirth) go out to one place, the inference teaches us regarding a leper (Leviticus 13:46): “[He shall be impure as long as the disease is on him. Being impure,] he shall dwell apart,” so we see that he is not sent to the place that the man with gonorrhea/flux and someone defiled to a corpse are sent, and just as a leper whose defilement is more severe, his banishment from the banishment of his fellow as it is written (Leviticus 13:46): “his dwelling shall be outside the camp,” therefore he is exiled outside of Jerusalem, even those men with gonorrhea or women with flux, menstruating women and women following childbirth whose defilement is graver than the defilement of coming in contact with a corpse, that make [defilement by] lying and sitting and the very heavy stone (leading to that which is beneath it becoming ritually impure) which is not the case for someone defiled through contact with a corpse, their exile is greater than the exile of their fellows. It is found that one states, that a leper is exiled outside of Jerusalem which is opposite the camp of Israel. Men with gonorrhea/flux and women with a flux and menstruating women and women after childbirth are exiled from the Temple Mount. That this is the camp of the Levites, but they are permitted in Jerusalem. A person defiled by contact with a corpse and even the corpse itself are permitted on the Temple Mount and is exiled from Nicanor Gate and within, which is the camp of the Divine Presence/Shekhina.

The court of women is holier, for a tevul yom may not enter it, though he is not obligated a hatat for doing so. The Women's court was the first court into which one would enter upon entering the Temple. See Middot 2:5-6. A person who had gone to the mikveh but who had not yet waited till sundown could not go into this court, meaning he/she cannot enter the Temple. However, if he/she accidently enters this court, he is not liable for a sin-offering, as would be a person who entered the Temple while fully impure.

החיל (the rampart – a low wall surrounding the Temple courtyard and he buildings within it) – inside from the Temple Mount wall was a wall ten handbreadths high and it is called סורג/one of the approaches of the Temple fortification (see Tractate Middot, Chapter 2, Mishnah 3), and ten cubits inside from this is the rampart/חיל.

The court of the Israelites is holier, for a man who has not yet offered his obligatory sacrifices may not enter it, and if he enters he is liable for a hatat. After going through the Women's Court, one would enter the Israelites' court. Obviously, any impure Israelite cannot enter here. The mishnah adds that a metzora (skin disease) who had been purified but had not yet offered his sacrifices cannot enter this area, and if he does so, he is liable for a hatat.

שאין נכרים וטמאי מתים נכנסים לשם – even though that the Rabbis decreed regarding the heathens that they will be like people with gonorrhea/flux for all their things, for the matter of exile from the camps, they did not decree anything upon them other than that they are like those who have been defiled through contact with a corpse. And this – that those who have been defiled through contact with a corpse they do not enter from the rampart/חיל and [further] inside, that is from the Rabbis. But according to the Torah-law, even in the Women’s Courtyard/עזרת נשים (which was the largest in the Temple, demarcated from the Israelite’s courtyard by the Gate of Nicanor – which was square: 135 cubits by 135 cubits. Men and women stood there and its sanctity was greater than that of the rampart and the Temple Mount). For all this was the Levite’s Camp until the Israelite courtyard where the Gate of Nicanor was.

The court of the priests is holier, for Israelites may not enter it except when they are required to do so: for laying on of the hands, slaying or waving. The Priests' Court is basically off limits to the Israelites. However, they may enter in order to perform one of the sacrificial actions that they are either obligated or permitted to perform. These including laying one's hands on the sacrifice (see Menahot 9:8), slaughtering the sacrifice (Israelites can, but do not have to perform this see Zevahim 3:1) and waving the sacrifice (see Menahot 5:6-7).

עזרת נשים – inside from the rampart/חיל it was 135 cubits by 135 cubits.

שאין טבול יום נכנס לשם – Jehoshaphat and his legal court decreed (see Tractate Yevamot 7a and Tractate Pesahim 92a) on the one who immersed that day/טבול יום (but a Kohen who had just immersed following a period of impurity cannot partake of heave-offering/Terumah until after nightfall; see Tractate Berakhot, Chapter 1, Mishnah 1) that he/she should not enter into the Women’s Courtyard. As it is written (II Chronicles 20:5): “Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem in the House of the LORD at the front of the new court.” And they stated in the Gemara (see above): “What is the new court?” That they renewed things in it and stated, that a person who has just immersed following a period of impurity/טבול יום cannot enter into the Levite camp, but not in all of the Levite camp, but rather only [not] in the Women’s Court alone. And they decreed on the person who has just immersed following a period of impurity but did not make a decree on someone lacking atonement/מחוסר כפורים, because a person who has just immersed following a period of impurity is prohibited to [partake of] heave-offering/Terumah, but someone lacking atonement (i.e., a sacrifice) is permitted to [partake of] heave-offering/Terumah (if that individual is a Kohen or married to one). And all whose defilement is more serious than that of his fellow, his banishment/exile is more severe than that of his fellow.

עזרת ישראל – it was inside from the Women’s Courtyard, its length was one-hundred and thirty-five by a width of eleven [cubits]. And similarly, the Courtyard of the Priests had a length of one-hundred and thirty-five by a width of eleven [cubits], and the cut and polished stone block/mosaic would divide between the Israelite courtyard and the Courtyard of the Priests.

שאין מחוסר כפורים נכנס לשם – and the same law applies that it (i.e., the Mishnah) is able to teach that a ritually pure person is not able to enter there until he immerses [in a Mikveh], for this is taught [in the Mishnah] in the chapter "אמר להם הממונה"/The supervisor said to them [Tractate Yoma, Chapter 3, Mishnah 3]: “No pure person enters the Temple courtyard until he immerses [in a Mikveh” [Talmud Yoma 30a].

וחייבים עליה חטאת – the impure who entered there inadvertently.

לסמיכה – to press his hand on the head of his sacrifice (to indicate ownership) and that is impossible other than its owners, as it is written (Leviticus 3:8): “and lay his hand [upon the head of his offering], and not the hand of his agent.

לשחיטה – that slaughter can be done by a foreigner (i.e., non-Kohen), and even though that it is possible for Kohanim [to perform the slaughter], it is also possible for a “foreigner” to slaughter in the Israelite courtyard, nevertheless they did not prohibit an Israelite to enter into the Priest’s Courtyard to slaughter the sacrifice.

ולתנופה – that the Kohen places his hand under the hand of the owners and waves it.

בין אולם ולמזבח מקודש ממנו שאין פרועי ראש ובעלי מומין נכנסים לשם – In the Gemara (Tractate Menahot, Chapter 3, 27b proves that all of these gradations that are taught here, as for example, a person who enters the Priest’s Courtyard without need and similarly, those [Kohanim] with physical defects/בעלי מומין and those [Kohanim] with overgrown hair/פרועי ראש that entered between the entrance hall/אולם and the altar. All of them are the gradations of the Rabbis. And such is what I received from my Rabbis/teaches. But Maimonides holds that all of them are from the Torah, those [Kohanim]with physical defects/deformities, as it is written (Leviticus 21:21): “No man among the offspring of Aaron the priest who has a defect [he shall not be qualified to offer the food of his God],” (but the way that the Bartenura commentary quotes this verse: "כי כל איש אשר בו מום לא יקרב" – the last two words – “that he shall not offer it” are NOT found in this verse – though the words, "לא יקרב" are found in verse 16). And [priests] with overgrown hair, as the All-Merciful states to Aaron and his sons who were in the Tabernacle (Leviticus 10:8): “[And Moses said to Aaron and to his sons Eleazar and Ithamar:] ‘Do not bare your heads/dishevel your hair’ [and do not rend your clothes, lest you die and anger strike the whole community].” But even though the language of the Tosefta (Tractate Kelim Bava Kamma, Chapter 1, Halakha 11) supports the words of Maimonides, the tradition of my Rabbis appears to me to be essential, and that the first Tanna/teacher [of the Mishnah] does not consider those [Kohanim] who are intoxicated with wine and who had not washed their hands and feet together with those with physical defects and those [Kohanim] whose hair is overgrown as Rabbi Yossi considers them in the concluding clause [of the Mishnah] because those [Kohanim] with physical defects and overgrown hair, their invalidation is in their bodies, therefore, their exile is severe, but those [Kohanim] who are intoxicated with wine and those who have not washed their hands and their feet , their invalidation is on account of another matter, therefore, he was not strict regarding their exile so much.

The area between the porch ( and the altar is holier, for [priests] who have blemishes or unkempt hair may not enter it. There were 22 cubits between the porch and the altar (see Middot 3:6, 5:1). This section is off-limits to a priest who is blemished (Leviticus 21:17), or one who grew his hair too long (Leviticus 10:6).

אלא כהן גדול ביום הכפורים – as it is written (Leviticus 16:2-3): “[Tell your brother Aaron] that he is ot to come at will into the Shrine behind the curtain [in front of the cover that is upon the ark, lest he die; for I appear in the cloud over the cover.] Thus only shall Aaron enter the Shrine.”

The Hekhal is holier, for no one whose hands or feet are unwashed may enter it. Priests who had not washed their hands and feet could not enter the Hekhal, the Sanctuary. However, according to the first opinion they could enter the area between the porch and the altar without washing their hands.

בשעת עבודה – for times, he (i.e., the High Priest) enters there, 1): to offer up incense; 2) to sprinkle from the blood of the bullock; 3) to sprinkle from the blood of the goat; 4) to remove the spoon and the coal-pan, but if he enters into it five times, he is liable for death (see Tosefta Kelim Bava Kamma, Chapter 1, Halakha 7).

The Holy of Holies is holier, for only the high priest, on Yom Kippur, at the time of the service, may enter it. The highest degree of sanctity is accorded to the Holy of Holies, for the high priest could only enter there once a year, on Yom Kippur.

ופורשים בין האולם ולמזבח בשעת הקטרה (and they keep distant [from the area] between the porch and the altar at the time of [offering up] the incense – whether at the time that they offer up the incense on the Golden Altar that is in the Sanctuary, or at the time that the High Priest offers up incense In the innermost part of the Temple precincts (i.e., the Holy of Holies) , all of the people keep distant from between the porch and the altar and one does not need to mention, from the Sanctuary. But the first Tanna/teacher disputes on that of Rabbi Yossi and holds that at the time that they offer up incense in the Sanctuary is only when they keep distant and not been the porch and the Altar. And the Halakha is according to the first Tanna/teacher. And the ten Holy [locations] that are taught in our Mishnah, these are [actually] eleven, the Gaonim that the Land of Israel is not from the number of Holy Places, because in the remainder of the Holy Places, there is within them honor to the place that prevents from them some of the defilements or prevents from some of the people from entering to it. And this holiness is not found merely within the Land of Israel. But the bringing of First Fruits, and the Omer and the two loaves and the shewbread are not like these Holy Things. But there are those who explain that the first Tanna/teacher that considers ten Holy Things is Rabbi Yossi, and he holds that between the porch and the Altar is equivalent to the Sanctuary in five matters, and for him, they are there weren’t any other than ten.

Rabbi Yose said: in five respects the area between the porch and the altar is equal to the Hekhal, for those afflicted with blemishes or with a wild growth of hair, or who have drunk wine or whose hands or feet are unwashed may not enter there, and the people must keep away from the area between the porch and the altar when the incense is being burned. According to Rabbi Yose the prohibitions that the first opinion says begin at the Sanctuary, begin between the porch and the altar. He also holds that priests who had drunk wine (or other alcohol) cannot go into this area (see Leviticus 10:9). If you go back and count, Rabbi Yose holds that there are ten levels of holiness whereas the first opinion holds that there are eleven. In addition, when the incense is being burned on a daily basis, the people must leave both the Sanctuary and the area between the porch and the altar. On Yom Kippur they need not withdraw all the way to the porch, but rather just leave the Sanctuary itself.