Comentario sobre Keilim 5:14

תנור תחלתו ארבע – an undefined oven is made like a larger pot which lacks a rim at the bottom of the vessel, and they fasten it with plaster on the ground, and the floor of the ground is the bottom of the oven. But even though that of itself it lacks a receptacle, it is nevertheless impure, for the All-Merciful assigned it by its insides, and behold it has an inside.

Introduction The next five chapters of Mishnah Kelim will do with the purity of oven and stoves. The oven referred to in the mishnah was like an inverted pot, with a narrow top to let a little air escape and enter. It had no floor, but rather the earth served as the floor. It was used primarily for the cooking of flat bread, which would be stuck to its sides.

תחלתו ארבעה – the height of the oven is not less than four handbreadths.

A baking oven originally must be no less than four handbreadths [high] and what is left of it four handbreadths, the words of Rabbi Meir. But the sages say: this applies only to a large oven but in the case of a small one it originally can be [any height] and what is left is the greater part of it. According to Rabbi Meir for an oven to be susceptible to impurity, its original size must be at least four handbreadths. If it was originally higher than four handbreadths, and then it broke and not all of it remains, the minimum height for it to be susceptible to impurity is still four handbreadths. The sages make a distinction between ovens that were intended to be large from the outset and ovens that were originally intended to be small. When it comes to the large oven they agree with Rabbi Meir. However, they hold that some ovens were intended to be small from the outset. Such an oven can originally be of any height for it to be susceptible to impurity and if it breaks as long as a majority of it remains it is still susceptible to impurity.

ושייריו – if it was large and it became defiled and afterwards was broken, it would not be purified until there would not be in its remnants four [handbreadths].

[Its susceptibility to impurity begins] as soon as its manufacture is completed. What is regarded as the completion of its manufacture? When it is heated to a degree that suffices for the baking of spongy cakes. Rabbi Judah says: when a new oven has been heated to a degree that sufficed for the baking of spongy cakes in an old one. The oven is susceptible to impurity once its manufacture is complete. The rabbis debate what is considered the completion of its manufacturing. According to the first opinion, the oven is susceptible once it has been forged sufficiently for it to be used to cook spongy cakes, which can be cooked at a relatively low temperature. Rabbi Judah slightly modifies this. Sponge-cakes would require more heat in a new oven than in an old one. If the new oven had been heated up enough for an old oven to cook sponge-cakes, then it is already susceptible.

במה דברים אמורים – that its beginning and its remnants would be four [handbreadths].

בגדול – that is made to bake and to roast with it in the manner of overs.

אבל בקטן – that is made for young children to play in.

תחלתו כל שהוא – but not exactly any small amount, for less than a handbreadth is not anything (see Talmud Hullin 124a).

ושייריו ברובו – In the Gemara in the chapter: “The Hide and the Grease”/העור והרוטב [Chapter 9 of Tractate Hullin 124a] it raises a question on our Mishnah that is here, that less than a handbreadth, of what is it worth? And it (i.e., the Gemara) answers, that the “remnant” that is referred to is the majority of the large [oven], and it is not about the small over. And We raise the objection, that with a large [oven]. And we raise the objection, regarding a large [oven], surely it states “and its remnants” are four [handbreadths], for it surely teaches: “Under what circumstances?” with a large [oven], implying that the Sages did not dispute with the first Tanna/teacher (i.e., Rabbi Meir) regarding a large [oven] at all. And it answers: This one is speaking about an oven of seven [handbreadths] and that one is [speaking of] an oven of nine [handbreadths], that is to say, something of seven [handbreadths] whose remnants are the majority/larger part, and even though there aren’t four [handbreadths] and there is no oven with less than four [handbreadths], for since, from its outset, it was an important vessel which used its remnants, even though they were not so worthy, and with an oven of nine [handbreadths] where its majority/larger part is a large measure, it defiles with its remnants with four [handbreadths] at its outset.

משתגמר מלאכתו – it refers to the beginning of the oven. From when does the oven become defiled? From when its manufacture is complete.

משיסיקנו (from when he will heat it – sufficiently] – even though that with the rest of earthenware vessels, it is sufficient for them with the smelting of the kiln (as seen at the conclusion of Chapter 4, Mishnah 4 of Tractate Kelim) an oven that requires to attach/glue it with plaster to be interwoven in order to contain its heat, its manufacture is not complete until it can heat sufficiently. But however, it doesn’t require large heating in order to bake bread in it, but rather in order to bake cakes made of spongy dough, dough that its mixture is soft that is made like a sponge and only a small amount of heating is sufficient for it.

משיסיק את החדש כדי לאפות בישן – that the new [oven] in order to bae in it cakes made of spongy dough requires greater heating from the old [oven]. But if the new [oven] was heated with a lesser/smaller heating, that with a heating like this, the old [oven] would be appropriate to bake in it the cakes made of spongy dough, that is when its manufacture is complete. But the Halakha is not according to Rabbi Yehuda.

כירה (a portable stove on feet with caves for two pots) – a place of placing over the fire two pots. But sometimes they place the pots to cook within it and sometimes on top of it.

Introduction Today's mishnah begins to deal with the "stove" which either had one or two holes on its top upon which they would place pots and pans.

תחלתה שלש – its height is no less than three fingers-breadth.

A double stove: its original height must be no less than three fingerbreadths and what is left of it three fingerbreadths. Stoves were much smaller than ovens and therefore as long as it was originally three fingerbreadths or if it was broken and there remain three fingerbreadths, the stove is considered usable and susceptible to impurity.

משתיגמר מלאכתה- from when it become defiled initially, from when its manufacture is complete.

[Its susceptibility to impurity begins] as soon as its manufacture is completed. What is regarded as the completion of its manufacture? When it is heated to a degree that suffices for the cooking of the lightest of eggs when scrambled and put in a saucepan. A stove of this height is susceptible to impurity once its walls have been fired enough to cook on it a scrambled egg.

ביצה קלה – the egg of a chicken. But why do they call it a light (easily boiling) egg? That this is easier to cook more than all the eggs.

A single stove: if it was made for baking its prescribed size is the same as that for a baking-oven, and if it was made for cooking its prescribed size is the same as that for a double stove. A single stove was hotter than a double stove and therefore it could either be used to bake bread inside like a baking oven, or to cook on top. If it was made to bake bread, then it must be as large as an oven (see yesterday's mishnah) in order to contract impurity. If it was made to serve as a stove, then it only needs to be as large as a stove to become impure.

טרופה – that it is beaten and broken in a bowl (i.e., scrambled).

A stone that projects one handbreadth from a baking-oven or three fingerbreadths from a double stove is considered a connection. One that projects from a single stove, if it was made for baking, the prescribed size is the same as that for a baking-oven, and if it was made for cooking the prescribed size is the same as that for a double stove. Stones protruding from ovens and stoves may either be useless, in which case they are not susceptible to impurity, or they may be handles through which the oven or stove is carried, in which case they are susceptible to impurity. For an oven the stone can be up to a handbreadth for it to be considered connected and therefore a handle. If it is larger than it is not susceptible. For a double stove, which is smaller, the measure is only three fingerbreadths. Again, the single stove does not have its own set of rules rather it is considered like an oven if made for baking and like a double stove if made for cooking on top.

ונתונה באלפס (and placed in a tightly-covered pot) – that was already warmed, for it is boiled quickly.

Rabbi Judah said: they spoke of a ‘handbreadth’ only where the projection was between the oven and a wall. Rabbi Judah says that the measure of the stone as a "handbreadth" was only given in the case of a stone that was between the oven and the wall. In order to push the oven up against the wall, they reduced the stone to a handbreadth. But if the oven is not next to the wall, the stone is considered connected as a handle no matter how long it is. It will always be susceptible.

הכופח – the measurement of the placing over the fire of one pot, and its heat is greater than the heat of the portable stove with caves for two pots, and sometimes they bake bread in it.

If two ovens were adjacent to one another, they allot one handbreadth to this one and one to the other and the remainder is clean. If two ovens were next to each other and one stone connected them, then the handbreadth closest to each oven is susceptible to impurity. Any space between the two beyond the handbreadth allotted to each remains clean, even if the oven is impure.

שיעורו כתנור – in order to bake cakes made of spongy dough (i.e., four handbreadths).

שיעורו ככירה – to make a light boiled egg.

האבן היוצא – they are used to attaching a stone to the oven that projects outward from it in order that it will be for it a handle, and it is compared to an oven. But if the oven is defiled, the stone is [also] defiled, and the bread that came in contact with it is defiled because it is a handle for the oven, as it is written (Leviticus 11:35): “[Everything on which the carcass of any of them falls shall be impure:] an oven or stove shall be smashed. They are impure and impure they shall remain for you,” for everything that is in your needs, to include the handles which are needed for the vessel.

לא אמרו – that more than a handbreadth for an oven and from three fingers-breadth for a portable stove on feet with caves for two pots is not considered an attachment, other than when the stone is between the stove and the wall. Because it hinders it for one cannot bring the oven near to the wall and it presses the house, therefore, more than a handbreadth stands to be taken. But at the side of the house, even larger than the handle is to the oven. But the Halakah is not according to Rabbi Yehuda.

והשאר טהור – as it is taught in the Sifra/Torat Kohanim (i.e., the Halakhic Midrash on the Book of Leviticus), it is possible that I earn more than that of its measure, as the inference teaches us, “they are impure” (Leviticus 11:35).

עטרת כירה – round building made on the top of the portable stove on feet with caves for two pots/כירה in order to preserve its heat.

The crown of a double stove is clean. The crown is like a lid for the stove. It was placed on top of the hole to keep the heat in. Since it is unattached, it is unaffected by the impurity of the stove.

טהורה – but if the portable stone on feet with caves for two pots became impure, the crown did not become impure, for the crown is not considered as attached to the portable stove with caves for two pots.

The fender around an oven: if it is four handbreadths high it contracts impurity by contact and through its air-space, but if it was lower it is clean. The fender around the oven is not attached to the oven. Some commentators explain that the purpose of this structure was to hold bread after it had been removed from the oven. If this fender is four handbreadths high, which is the minimum height of the oven, it is susceptible to the impurity of the oven. Thus an oven which is rendered impure by a defiling agent which comes into contact with it or enters its air-space will cause the fender to be impure. However, if it is lower than the oven than it is not susceptible to impurity.

טירת התנור (the surrounding of an oven/brick-work/fender) – the courtyard of the oven, it is the language of (Genesis 25:16): “[These are the sons of Ishmael and these are their names] by their villages and their encampments: [twelve chieftains of as many tribes].” It is ap lace in front of the oven that is surrounded by partitions where they place in it the bread when they detach/ shovel out bread from [where it sticks to] the oven.

If it was joined to it, even if only by three stones, it is unclean. In all cases if the fender was joined to the oven, then it is susceptible to the oven's impurity because it is part of the oven.

בזמן שהוא גבוהה ארבעה – as the measure of the height of the oven (which is four handbreadths) at its outset.

The place [on the stove] for the oil cruse, the spice-pot, and the lamp contract impurity by contact but not through their air-space, the words of Rabbi Meir. Rabbi Ishmael rules that they are clean. On the stove's outer walls were compartments to hold the oil cruse, the spice-pot and the lamp. However, they are only susceptible to impurity if the oven came into actual contact with a defiling agent. If an impurity came into the oven's air-space, while the oven is impure the compartments remain pure. This is the opinion of Rabbi Meir. Rabbi Ishmael holds that the compartments are independent of the stove and therefore unaffected by the stove's impurity.

אפילו על שלש אבנים – that its attachment/connection was not done well but rather, it is lying only on three stones and is glued the oven, it is considered an attachment.

בית הפך (socket/cruse) – a place that is made on the sides of the portable stove on feet with caves for two pots that they place upon it a cruse of oil to make tepid/cool.

בית תבלין – a place where they place in it the spices.

בית הנר – a place where they place in it the lamp.

מיטמאין במגע – if an unclean reptile came in contact within the portable stove on feet with caves for two pots, these places became unclean through the defilement of the portable stove on feet with caves for two pots. And similarly, if one of these places became defiled through contact with the unclean reptile, the portable stove on feet with caves for two pots became impure with them, for they are considered like the portable stove on feet with caves for two pots and they are one thing regarding the matter of defilement through physical contact.

ואין מיטמאין באויר – if an unclean reptile was suspended in the airspace of the portable stove on feet with caves for two pots but did not come in contact with it, even though it is defiled, for an earthenware vessel becomes defiled through airspace, they are [ritually] pure, for they are not attached to it other than through the matter of physical contact. Because from the Torah, they are not attached to it, but the Rabbis decreed upon them defilement, as the Rabbis made an indication/sign not to defile it by airspace, in order that they not burn upon them heave-offering and Holy Things.

ור' שמעון מטהר – [Rabb Shimon declares it pure] even through physical contact. Every place where defilement did not come in contact with it for each and every vessel is separate/independent. And the Halakha is according to Rabbi Meir.

תנור שהוסק מאחוריו – that the oven does not become susceptible to receive defilement until it is heated, and if it is not heated from the inside, but rather from the outside, it is considered heating.

An oven that was heated from its outside, or one that was heated without the owner's knowledge, or one that was heated while still in the craftsman's house is susceptible to impurity. Usually an oven is heated up from the inside, with the owner's knowledge, after the craftsmen has put on the finishing touches. However, as long as the oven is heated up enough to cook sponge-cakes, the oven is susceptible to impurity.

או הוסק שלא לדעתו – [even from the inside].

It once happened that a fire broke out among the ovens of Kefar Signah, and when the case was brought up at Yavneh Rabban Gamaliel ruled that they were unclean. Even though these ovens were not heated up intentionally, and they were heated up probably in the craftsmen's house, they are still susceptible to impurity.

או שהוסק בבית האומן – prior to the completion of the manufacture of its being made.

טמא – we have the reading. But there are books that we have the reading, that it is pure, and this is a blunder/confusion.

מוסף התנור (chimney-piece of the oven) – the addition of the oven that they at its top in order to preserve its heat.

The additional piece of a householder's oven is clean, but that of bakers is unclean because he rests the roasting spit on it.
Rabbi Yohanan Hasandlar said: because one bakes on it when pressed [for space].
Similarly the additional part of the boiler used by olive cookers is susceptible to impurity, but that of one used by dyers is not susceptible.
Section one: This additional piece was put around the hole at the top but since it serves no special function, it is not susceptible to impurity. However, the same piece when part of a baker's oven is susceptible because the baker may occasionally use this piece to roast some meat.
Rabbi Yohanan Hasandlar agrees that this piece is susceptible but he holds that it serves a different function. Sometimes the baker will use it to bake bread when the oven is full.
Section two: The same principle is employed here. Since the additional part of the boiler is used by olive cookers it is impure, but the dyers did not use this additional part and therefore it is pure.

מפני שהוא סומך עליו את השפוד (because it supports the roasting-spit on it) – of meat, for they regularly roast meat on it, and it is a thing that is necessary for the oven. And the All-Merciful states (Leviticus 11:35): “and unclean they shall remain for you,” to everything that are your needs, as we expounded above [in Mishnah 2 of Chapter 5 of Tractate Kelim].

מפני שהוא אופה בו כשהוא נדחק – when he has many forced laborers and he the need for a great deal of bread. But for Rabbi Yohanan [HaSandlar], the reason of the first Tanna/teacher is not sufficient for him because he rests the roasting-spin upon it, and he holds that we require that the additional usage would like the usage of the body of the oven.

מוסף היורה של שולקי זיתים (rim around a boiler in the ground of olive seethers) – it is the manner of those who seethe/thoroughly boil olives and dyers that have large boilers and they make for them a rim of plaster on the border that water will rise upon it at the time of their foaming. But the seething of olives is unclean/impure, because addition/rim Is needed for the vessel and we use it.

ושל צבעים טהור – for they don’t use it in order that they don’t use its dye. But the Halakha is not according to Rabbi Yohanan HaSandlar.

מעפר ולמטן מיטמא במגע – if the unclean reptile touched/came in contact with the oven from within above from the dirt, what is below from the dirt is defile. But if the unclean reptile was suspended in the airspace and did not touch the walls of the oven from inside it, it did not defile anything other than what is above from the dirt [-line].

If an oven was half filled with earth, the part from the earth downwards contracts impurity by contact only while the part from the earth upwards contracts impurity [also] from its air- space. If a person filled part of an oven up with earth, then it is less susceptible to impurity than the empty/usable part. The filled part is impure only if a defiling agent touched the upper part, whereas the empty part is impure even if the defilement only enters the oven's airspace.

בור (cistern) – a pit below the earth.

If he put the oven over the mouth of a cistern or over that of a cellar and he put a stone at its side: Rabbi Judah says: if when heated below it becomes also heated above it is susceptible to impurity. But the sages say: since it was heated, no matter how, it is susceptible to impurity. In this case a person put an unfinished oven above either a pit or over a cistern and he wedged a stone to keep it from falling. Rabbi Judah says that it must be possible to forge the oven from below in the pit or cistern. If the oven can only be heated up by using its own bottom part, then the oven's manufacturing is not complete. Rabbi Judah holds that an oven must be attached to the ground when heated for the first time. The other sages do not share this rule with Rabbi Judah. They hold that as long as the oven is heated up, it is susceptible to impurity.

דות (cellar) – it is made like a cistern, but it is a building that is above from the ground.

ונתן שם אבן – between the pit and the wall of the oven, to support the oven that it should not fall into the pit/cistern.

אם מסיק מלמטה – if when he kindles the flame from below within the cistern, the oven is heated from its insides from above through its rims, it is impure. But if not, that it is not heated from the heating of the flame that is below within the cistern, it Is pure. But the disagreement of Rabbi Yehuda and the Rabbis is specifically through the first heating which is the completion of the construction of the oven and through that heating, it is susceptible to receiving defilement, Rabbi Yehuda holds that the oven should be attached to the ground with the first heating, as it is written (Leviticus 11:35): “[And if any of those falls into an earthen vessel,] everything inside it shall be unclean and – the vessel – itself you shall break,” but the language of נתיצה/breaking up (as in Leviticus 11:35 – תנור וכירים יותץ /and [the vessel] itself you shall break) other than that which is attached to the round, for when something falls that is carried, it is the language of שבירה/breaking but not the language of נתיצה/cutting out or breaking up, therefore, if the oven is heated through its rim from the heating that is within the cistern, it is considered as attached to the cistern and we call it יותץ/broken up/cut out, but if it is not heated from the heating of the cistern, it is chipped off and standing and it is impossible to apply to it further יותץ/broken up/cut out.

וחכמים אומרים הואיל וניסוק מכל מקום טמא (since it is heated from any place, it is unclean) – as it stated in Scripture (Leviticus 11:35): “and unclean they shall remain for you/וטמאים יהיו לכם,” nevertheless, but even if he heated it when it is suspended upon the neck of a camel, it is heated, and its construction has been completed with that. But everyone admits that with the second heating after its construction has been completed, that it is defiled even on the neck of the camel. And the Halakha is according to the Sages.

תנור שנטמא – an oven that is made like large pot that lacks rims and is carried, when one comes to affix it, one attaches it to the ground and affixes plaster from the outside and makes it thick in order that it will preserve its heat/warmth, and we call it plastering that he plasters it and attaches it.

Introduction Our mishnah discusses how one can purify an oven. To recall, in the time of the mishnah the oven was like an upside down pot, and it was attached to the ground before it was used. To provide with extra insulation, they would cover the walls with clay.

כיצד מטהרים אותו – how much should be its breaking so that it purifies it.

If an oven contracted impurity how is it to be cleansed? He must divide into three parts and scrape off the plastering so that [the oven] touches the ground. According to the first opinion, the first step in purifying an oven is to divide it into three parts, from top to bottom. As we will learn in the final clause, he should divide it so that no part is equal to half of the oven. Then he scrapes off the clay on the outside of the oven. This either refers to the clay that covers the wall of the oven, or the clay which attaches the oven to the ground. In either case, the oven has now ceased to be a functional vessel and is therefore no longer impure.

חולקו לשלשה – to the vessel itself from the inside. For if it is into two parts, the larger part is impure, for it is the majority.

Rabbi Meir says: he does not need to scrape off the plastering nor is it necessary for [the oven] to touch the ground. Rather he reduces it within to a height of less than four handbreadths. Rabbi Meir is a bit less strict. To purify the oven, he can split the oven from inside, without removing the layer of clay on the outside. The split should be less than four handbreadths from the ground. Since Rabbi Meir holds that any oven that is not four handbreadths from the ground is not susceptible to impurity (see 5:1) this oven is now pure.

וגורר את הטפילה – [he scrapes off the plaster] that is glued to it, for it is also attaches it.

Rabbi Shimon says: he must move it [from its position]. Rabbi Shimon rules more strictly than either two previous opinions. Not only must he split the oven and scrape off the coating, but he must also move it from its position.

עד שיהא בארץ – meaning to say, he lowers it down until the ground. Alternatively, it refers to dividing it, and it is not sufficient when dividing it until its majority, but dividing until it reaches the ground.

If it was divided into two parts, one large and the other small, the larger remains unclean and the smaller becomes clean. If he split it into only two pieces, one large and one small, the small piece is pure because it is less than half the size of the original oven. The large piece remains impure.

ולא עד שיהא בארץ – but not to divide it until below it is near the ground.

If it was divided into three parts one of which was as big as the other two together, the big one remains unclean and the two small ones become clean. Furthermore, if he split it into three pieces but one piece was still as large as the other two combined, then the large piece is still impure because it is more than half of the size of the oven. In other words, when section one stated that the oven must be split into three, it meant that no piece should be more than half of the size of the original oven.

אלא ממעטו מבפנים – unitl there should not remain four handbreadths which is the measure of the beginning of the oven. But the Halakha is not according to Rabbi Meir.

צריך להסיעו – even though he divided it, he did not purify it until he separates the parts from each other. But the Halakha is not according to Rabbi Shimon.

הגדול טמא- because there is the majority of the oven.

חתכו חוליות לרחבו (if he burned clay of an oven into tiles breadthwise) – like he cuts the tube of a reed.

If an oven was cut up by its width into rings that are each less than four handbreadths in height, it is clean. If instead of cutting the oven into pieces from top to bottom, he cut it along its breadth into rings, each ring of the oven that is less than four handbreadths high is clean. This accords with Rabbi Meir's opinion in 5:1, who said that if the remnants of the oven are less than four handbreadths, the oven is clean. The other sages in that mishnah would limit this to a case where the oven was larger than eight handbreadths. If it was smaller, then it remains unclean until less than a majority is left in the ring.

פחות מארבעה טפחים – if there is in the burned clay less than for handbreadths and it comes from a large oven where there isn’t a majority. But if there is four handbreadths, it is impure, even though it is a minority.

If he subsequently plastered it over with clay, it becomes susceptible to impurity when it is heated to a degree that suffices for the baking of spongy cakes. If after taking the oven apart he reassembles it and plasters it over with clay, the oven is not susceptible to impurity until he fires it up sufficiently so that it could be used to bake sponge cakes. This is the same rule for when a new oven is susceptible to impurity. In other words, a reconstituted oven is treated the same as a new oven.

מרחו בטיט (if he smeared plaster over it) – it requires heating like a new oven.

If he distanced the plastering, and sand or gravel was put between it and the oven sides of such an oven it has been said, "A menstruant as well as a clean woman may bake in it and it remains clean." If instead of plastering the clay directly back on the rings of the oven, he made a covering of plaster and then filled in the space with stones or gravel, the oven is not susceptible to impurity because for an oven to be susceptible the clay must be directly on the oven. In this case, a pure woman and a menstruant can bake in the oven at the same time, without fear that the menstruant will defile the oven which would subsequently defile the pure woman's bread. It seems that this may have been a way to circumvent what was certainly a problem how can women who are menstruationg bake their bread without the need for a separate oven?

הרחיק ממנו את הטפלה (if he removed from it the plaster) – paste of plaster that he made, and he did not attach it to the oven, but rather, removed [the plaster] from it.

שנתן חול או צרור –[and he placed sand or stones] between the plaster and the oven, and through this the oven preserves its warmth and one we bake in it.

הנדה והטהורה אופות בו – for the plastering is not considered an attachment to the oven, since it is distanced from it.

והוא טהור – and it is not susceptible to receive [ritual] impurity .

תנור שבא מחותך – that the artisan made it board/plank by board/plank in order to attach them together through rims, and they are crowns/wreaths that they call TZIRKELAAH, like the kind that we make for jugs when we place in them wine. And for those crowns/wreaths and rims – the Tanna/teacher calls למודין/frames.

An oven which came cut up in sections from the craftsman's house and he made for it hoops and put them on it, it is clean. The oven came to the person who ordered it cut up in pieces from top to bottom. The craftsmen had made hoops for it so that it could be held together while it was plastered and heated. The oven is still clean while he assembles it with the hoops because it is not yet ready to be used.

ונתנן עליו והוא טהור נטמא – after he placed upon it the frame and the oven was pure from the outset because it was a series of boards/planks and there was no attachment. It returned to be susceptible to receive defilement through these frames when they attach them.

If it contracts impurity, and then he removed its hoops it is clean. If he put a clay coating on it while the hoops were still attached and heated it up and then it became impure and then he removed the hoops, it is clean again because removal of the hoops causes the clay to fall off.

סילק את למודיו – and the boards/planks were taken apart one from the other, there is no greater breaking up/cutting out than this, and the oven becomes pure, even though he restored the frames a second time, they do not receive [ritual] impurity for the frames do not bring defilement other than only the first time when it comes in pieces from the house of the artisan.

If he put them back on, it is still clean. It is still pure when he puts the hoops back on because there is still no coating of clay.

מרחו בטיט [he plastered it with plaster] – for this oven for the frames do not bring him the defilement, but it defiles through the plastering with plaster.

If he plastered it with clay, it becomes susceptible to impurity and there is no need to heat it since it was once heated. If he again plasters it with clay, it is susceptible to impurity. It does not need to be reheated because it was heated up earlier while the hoops were still attached.

ואין צריך להסיקו – [he doesn’t need to heat it] like all the other ovens, for it doesn’t become susceptible to receive defilement until he heats them, because it was already heated the first time when it comes in pieces from the house of the artisan.

חתכו חוליות – when he cut it for the oven breadthwise into pieces, and placed one tile on top of another tile.

If he cut the oven up into rings, and then he put sand between each pair of rings, Rabbi Eliezer says: it is clean. But the sages say: it is unclean. This is the oven of Akhnai. In this case a person took an oven and cut it into rings, and then reassembled it, filling in with sand in between the rings. He then coated it all over with clay and heated it up so that it would be usable. Rabbi Eliezer rules that such an oven is not susceptible to impurity because of the presence of the sand between the rings, whereas the sages hold that the coating makes the oven into one unit and therefore it is susceptible. This oven is known as "the oven of Akhnai," which probably refers to the manufacturer of the oven. The Talmud's famous tale of the argument between Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Joshua is told concerning this oven. In this tale Rabbi Eliezer calls upon God to break the laws of nature to prove that his position is correct, and the miracles indeed occur. Rabbi Joshua responds "it is not in Heaven," meaning that after God gave the Torah to Israel, the law is no longer in Heaven, but rather subject to the independent interpretation of human beings. This is a foundational story for the rabbis, for it substantiates their understanding of Torah interpretation.

ונתן חול בסין חוליא לחוליא – and plastered it with plaster and made it plaster in the manner that they that make for ovens.

As regards Arabian vats, which are holes dug in the ground and plastered with clay, if the plastering can stand of itself it is susceptible to impurity; Otherwise it is not susceptible. This is the oven of Ben Dinai. An "Arabian vat" is simply a hole dug in the ground whose walls are covered with plaster. If the plaster can stand on its own, then the oven is susceptible to impurity, but if it requires the earth to support it, then it is not susceptible. This oven is called the oven of "Ben Dinai." Some hold that Ben Dinai was a robber who would bake his bread in such an oven. Others hold that "Ben Dinai" comes from the word "din" which is Hebrew for either logic or law. It was called "Ben Dinai" because there were debates over such an oven.

ר' אליעזר מטהר – for since there is sand between the fissures, it is like it is broken.

וחכמים מטמאין – for the plaster makes all of it one and connects/attaches all of the fissures, and even though there is sand between each tile.

וזהו תנורו של עכנאי – therefore it is called “The Oven of Akhnai,” that they encircled it with Halakhot like this snake and defiled it (see Tractate Berakhot 19a and Tractate Bava Metzia 59b). עכנא is a snake, that its custom is to make itself like a circle and to have its tail enter into its mouth, such is how they surrounded with responses and proofs of Rabbi Eliezer and the Sages each with the other, on this oven. And at the end, because Rabbi Eliezer was an individual [opinion] against the majority (i.e., the Sages), the law was decided like the Sages and not according to Rabbi Eliezer. And they brought all of the pure things that Rabbi Eliezer declared pure and burned them in fire and the decided to excommunicate him, because he encouraged dispute against the majority view.

יורות הערביין (cauldrons/improvised fire places of the Arabs/a cavity in the ground laid out with clay) – they are made to break bread, as will be explained further on.

של בן דינאי – My Rabbis explained the name of a person who would make these ovens (see Tractate Sotah, Chapter 9, Mishnah 9). And I heard that is on account of the fact that they judged many laws.

של אבן ושל מתכת טהור – [an oven] that is of stone is completely pure, and that of metal is pure from the law of an earthenware vessel, which does not defile from its airspace, and it has purity.

An oven of stone or of metal is clean, But the latter is unclean as a metal vessel. All stone vessels are totally unsusceptible to impurity, so a stone oven can never become impure. A metal oven can become impure but not in the same way as an earthenware oven. While an earthenware oven is susceptible to impurity through its interior space, and not from its outside, the reverse is true for a metal oven. Also, a metal oven that has been attached to the ground is not susceptible, whereas an earthenware oven is.

וטמא משום כלי מתכות – that it becomes susceptible to receive defilement from its outside and becomes a primary source of ritual impurity. But if it is attached to the ground, it does not defile, for all that is attached to the ground, behold it is like the ground, except for an oven and a portable stove on feet with caves for two pots which are of earthenware, as it is written concerning them (Leviticus 11:35): “[Everything on which the carcass of any of them falls shall be unclean:] an oven or stove shall be smashed,” that which has breaking up/cutting out.

If a hole was made in it, or if it was damaged or cracked, and he lined it with plaster or with a rim of clay, it is unclean. What must be the size of the hole [for it to be pure]? It must be big enough for the flame to come through. If the oven was in some way damaged such that a flame could go through the hole in the side, the oven is pure because it is not usable. However, it becomes susceptible again to impurity once it has been repaired.

ניקב נפגם נסדק – and he made a treatment of plaster to close up the perforation or the damage or the crack. Or he made at its mouth a supplement of plaster, it is impure, like the law of an earthenware oven.

The same applies also to a stove. A stove of stone or of metal is clean. But the latter is unclean as a metal vessel. If a hole was made in it or if it was damaged or cracked but was provided with props it is unclean. The same general rules apply to a stove. The mishnah adds that if he makes "props" which is either a tripod for pots put on top of the stove or legs to plug the holes on the bottom, the stove is again susceptible because it is usable. As usual, once a vessel has been repaired, it is susceptible to impurity.

וכן בכירה – and similarly, the measurement of a perforation of a portable stove on feet with caves for two pots, in order that the flame can exude through it, like the measurement of the earthenware oven.

If it was lined with clay, whether inside or outside, it remains clean. Rabbi Judah says: if [the lining was] inside it is unclean but if outside it remains clean. According to the first opinion, if he spread a clay lining over a stone or metal stove, it is still pure, meaning it is not considered an earthenware vessel. This is because the clay is not necessary and does not affect the functioning of the oven. Rabbi Judah holds that if the clay lining is spread inside the oven it does make the stove into an "earthenware vessel" and subject to the purity rules governing such a vessel. But if he spreads it on the outside of the vessel, it is still considered to be of stone/metal and the rules governing an earthenware vessel do not apply.

ועשה לה פטפוטין (if he made legs for the stove – so that it no longer rests immediately on the ground) – here it does not teach: “that he made for it plaster/paste” [because] they don’t make plaster/paste for a portable stove on feet with caves for two pots that was perforated, damaged or cracked like they do for an oven, but rather, when it was perforated or damaged, the portable stove on feet with caves for two pots is in the place of the perforation to make legs for the stove, they are the legs of the portable stove on feet with caves for two pots, like TRIPID in the foreign language, that the portable stove on feet with caves for two pots sits on these legs for the stove.

מרחה בטיט – [if he spread plaster over it] it is pure, for the spreading/smearing of plaster on it, has no effect other than with an oven that they bread read inside it, but not with a portable stove on feet with caves for two pots, because they don’t bake or cook within this portable stove on feet with caves for two pots itself, but they leave it it within it or on top of the pot. But the Halakha is not according to Rabbi Yehuda.