Comentario sobre Oholot 15:15

סגוס עבה (a thick coarse woolen blanket) – This Mishnah was explained above (i.e., Chapter 11) in the chapter "הבית שנסדק"/The house that was split [Mishnah 3]. And since it is necessary to teach about boards/planks, it is taught once again here.

Introduction The first two sections of today's mishnah are found word for word in 11:3. I have copied my explanation from there.

ואם היו של שיש – even if the larger one was a handbreadth above the ground, it is not considered a tent to bring the defilement, since the lower one reduces the airspace because they are considered like the ground. But boards/planks of wood are not considered like the ground at the time when the upper one is a handbreadth higher than the ground, even though the lower one reduces the airspace, the upper one brings the defilement.

A thick woolen jacket or a thick wooden block does not bring uncleanness until they are one handbreadth high off the ground. Despite the fact that these items are one handbreadth thick, they are not considered to be an ohel such that there is an ohel directly beneath the split in the roof of the portico. For something to be an ohel it must also have an empty space.

If [garments] are folded one above the other they do not bring uncleanness until the uppermost is one handbreadth high off the ground. If there are a few garments folded one on another, they bring uncleanness when placed underneath the split if the bottom part of the upper garment is at least one handbreadth off the ground. In other words, the entire upper garment must be one handbreadth above the ground in order for it to form an ohel over the other garments. We might have thought that since the presence of the lower garments does not prevent an ohel from being formed, then the lower folds of the upper garment also wouldn't prevent an ohel from being formed. The mishnah teaches that there is a difference between the lower and upper garments. The lower garments are in the ohel and the upper garment forms the ohel.

Tablets of wood [placed] one above the other do not bring uncleanness unless the uppermost is one handbreadth high off the ground; When it comes to pieces of wood, the upper piece is considered an ohel if it is at least a handbreadth over the ground.

But if they were of marble, the uncleanness cleaves upwards and downwards. The slabs of marble placed one on top of another are treated as if they were all one tablet. Therefore, no matter how high the upper tablet is, it does not form an ohel. In other words, marble is treated as one piece (like the coats in section one) whereas the pieces of wood are considered separate.

טבליות של עץ – that are adjacent to one another and each of them are a handbreadth above the ground and touch at their corners – each other with its neighbor that is near it, and it is the manner of the corners of the boards that they are not a handbreadth wide, therefore, vessels that are underneath the first that the defilement is under it are impure, but that which is under the second are pure.

[With regard to] wooden tablets which touch each other at their corners, and are one handbreadth high off the ground: If there is uncleanness beneath one of them, [a person] touching the second [tablet] becomes defiled with seven-day defilement. Vessels under the first [tablet] become unclean; but those under the second remain clean. This section describes two wooden tablets that touch each other only at one corner. The part that is touching is less than one handbreadth. The two tablets are one handbreadth off the ground, the required amount to be an ohel. Although they are touching only at their corners, in some ways they are considered to be one ohel. Therefore, if there is uncleanness beneath one of them, a person who touches the other one is impure as if he had been in contact with a dead body. This is where it gets a bit tricky. If there are vessels underneath the tablets, those under the one where the corpse uncleanness is found are defiled, but those under the other one are not. This seems to contradict the previous line. Albeck explains that since the impurity is not under the second tablet and the second tablet is not touching the first tablet by an amount the size of a handbreadth, the impurity doesn't spread beneath it. However, we do look at the tablet as if it was overhanging the impurity and one who touches it is impure.

הנוגע בשניה טמא טומאת שבעה – and even though it is taught in the Mishnah in the first chapter [Mishnah 2] that: “Utensils which touch the corpse and utensils [which touch other] utensils are unclean with the uncleanness of seven [days]. The third, whether man or utensils, is unclean with the uncleanness [that passes at] evening.” But it is taught in the Mishnah there (i.e., at the conclusion of Mishnah 3): “The tent does not come under consideration.” Therefore, the board that the defilement is underneath it is not part of the count (i.e., is not included).

A table does not bring uncleanness unless it contains a square of at least one handbreadth. Tables were often expanded by adding squares, one next to the other, in order to allow more guests (like the leafs we add to our tables). If there is no single square that is at least one handbreadth square, meaning one square to serve as the base of the table, then none of the squares join to form an ohel. This is not considered to be a sustainable ohel (for this concept see 8:5).

עד שיהא בו ריבוע בפותח טפח (until it has a squared handbreadth) – it is a kind of breached/broken-through chest that has four walls that they would make for a table when the table sits upon it, and that breached chest is called a square. And sometimes, that the table protrudes and extends outside from that square a handbreadth or less or more, and now it states that it needs that the table protrudes outward from that square with an opening of handbreadth, for just as what is within the square does not combine, if defilement is also within the square from the inside, the square interposes and prevents the defilement from passing to the outside.

חביות – many rows of jars [of clay], this one after that one and this over that one.

[With regard to] jars standing on their bottoms or lying on their sides in the open air and touching one another to the extent of a handbreadth: If there is uncleanness beneath one of them, the uncleanness cleaves upwards and downwards. The jars mentioned referred to here are made of earthenware and therefore cannot be defiled from the outside (only if a source of impurity enters their airspace are they impure). The jars are found outside, not in a house or other type of ohel. They are standing on their bottoms or on their sides such that there is not a handbreadth of space beneath them. These jars do not form an ohel. Therefore, even if they are touching each other by the length of a handbreadth, impurity doesn't spread from one to the other. Even within one jar it doesn't spread because it is not in an ohel. It only travels up and down.

שהן יושבות על שוליהן – and their mouths are [facing] upward.

When does this rule apply? When the [jars] are clean. But in the case where they were unclean or one handbreadth high off the ground, if there is uncleanness beneath one of them, what is beneath all becomes unclean. The above is true only if the jars are clean. If they are unclean they do not prevent the impurity from entering within. Once within, it is as if the impurity is found in an ohel and it spreads from one jar to the other. Similarly, if the jars are at least a handbreadth off the ground, they form an ohel and the impurity will spread from one jar to the other because the contact point is at least a handbreadth long.

או מוטות על צדיהן – and their mouths are from the side.

באויר – in a garden or in a courtyard.

בפותח טפח – with the width of a handbreadth they touch one another.

טומאה בוקעת ועולה – to the sides it teaches [in the Mishnah]. That they lie on their sides, even facing the defilement, nothing is impure other than what is below them and on top of them, but what is within them is pure, since that an earthenware vessel does not become impure on top of it, it protects what is inside of it, and what is not facing the defilement, even that it is under them or above them, is pure. And when they sit on their rims, even what is within is not protected, because there is no interruption from the airspace inside it to the airspace that is outside of it, but the jar itself is defiled, and all of the vessels that are in it are defiled, and even if it is not facing the defilement, as we stated the reason at the conclusion of the chapter הכוורת/The Hive (Chapter 9 of Tractate Ohalot, Mishnah 16).

במה דברים אמורים בטהורות – for since they are pure, they are similar to boards of marble whose bottoms conceal the empty space/cavity of a handbreadth and the defilement bursts through and ascends.

אבל אם היו טמאות – even if they are not above the ground, the upper ones which are a handbreadth above the ground bring the defilement, for the lower ones do not conceal/stop up, since they are impure, this resembles the ones folded over/doubled on each other and boards on top of each other.

או גבוהות מן הארץ פותח טפח – they bring the defilement, and even the pure ones since they touch each other in a width of a handbreadth they are all considered like one tent.

שחצצו – that he made in it a partition (i.e., a room which one partitioned off with boards or tapestry on the sides – walls – or on the ceiling).

[With regard to] a house, sectioned off by boards or curtains from the sides or from the roof beams: If there is uncleanness in the house, vessels beyond the partition remain clean. If there is uncleanness beyond the partition, vessels in the house become unclean. [With regard to] the vessels beyond the partition: The house has been sectioned into two parts such that what was one room is now two. Alternatively, some sort of loft was added such that the house is now separate from the roof beams. The mishnah now discusses what happens if the source of impurity is found in various parts of the house and its partitions. If the source of impurity is in the house then the vessels that are in the partitioned off inner room, or in the newly sectioned off upper room, remain pure. However, if the uncleanness is in the inner room or in the upper chamber, it goes out and defiles the vessels in the house because, as we have learned, impurity goes out of a confined space and defiles things that are in its space.

מן הצדדין – that the curtains and the boards were placed opposite/corresponding to the walls of the house.

If there is a space of a [cubic] handbreadth there, they become unclean, But if not, they are clean. As far as the petitioned off areas themselves, if they are at least a cubic handbreadth in dimension, then they are an ohel and they are impure. However, if they are less than a cubic handbreadh, then the impurity within would only go up and down and it wouldn't defile any vessels found on the sides of such a space.

או מן הקורות – that they were placed underneath the ceiling of the house.

כלים שבחצץ טהורים (vessels that are in the space between two partitions/the vacuum) – that the curtains and the boards interpose, and are considered like vessels that are on the roof and like vessels that are outside of the wall.

כלים שבבית טמאים – for there is no interposition for defilement, for this resembles an earthenware vessel that is surrounded with an airtight lid, for if the defilement that is in the house it protects over what is within it, but if the defilement is within it, there is no airtight lid for defilement.

כלים שבחצץ – the vessel that is with the defilement with in the partition.

אם יש פותח טפח – that there is an empty space/cavity which is a handbreadth wide.

ואם לאו טהורים – the vessels that are in the space between the two partitions/the vacuum [are pure]. But a house however is impure.

חצצו מארצו (if one partitioned it off from the floor - laying an additional floor with a vacuum between) – that he covered the bottom [of the floor] of the house with boards or curtains.

[In the case where] it was partitioned off from the floor: If there is uncleanness beneath the partition, vessels in the house become unclean. In this mishnah, they build a new floor, thereby separating the house from its old floor. If the source of impurity is below the partition, it travels up and defiles the contents of the house because the way of impurity is to escape from confined spaces. See also 3:7 for a somewhat similar situation.

טומאה בחצץ – even if it has a handbreadth [in length] by a handbreadth [in width] at the height of a handbreadth [vessels that are in the house are impure].

[In the case where] the uncleanness is in the house, vessels beneath the partition, If there is a space there of one cubic hand breadth, remain clean; But if not, they become unclean, since the floor of the house is reckoned as the house even to the nethermost deep. If the uncleanness is in the house, then the purity of any vessels found below the partition depends on whether there is a cubit handbreadth in the area below. If there is such a space, then the impurity is found in an ohel and it is blocked from entering the house. However, if there is not an ohel below, then the vessels are considered as if they are inside the house. This is because the floor of a house is always considered part of the house, no matter how deep.

כלים שבבית טמאים – like a gutter/canal that is arched over underneath the house, as is taught in the Mishnah above in Chapter 3 [Mishnah 7]: “If it is a handbreadth wide, and its outlet is not a handbreadth-wide, the uncleanness is in in it - the house is unclean. Uncleanness is in the house – what is in it is clean.”

שארצו של בית כמוהו – when it lacks an opening of a handbreadth.

טומאה בפנים- in the place of the straw.

Introduction Today's mishnah deals with a house that has basically been filled in, in this case with straw. It is treated similarly to the case in yesterday's mishnah, where a partition was built above the floor.

שכנגד היציאה – a vacant place which is like the width of a cubit from the opening until the wall that is opposite it that they (i.e., people) enter and depart on that path there to remove the straw and to bring it in. But the vessels that are within the vacant space are impure, which resembles the defilement in the vacuum/space of the two partitions of the vessels that are in the house are impure.

[With regard to] a house filled with straw, without a space of a handbreadth [being left] between [the straw] and the roof beams: If there is uncleanness within [the straw], vessels at the exit become unclean. In this case the uncleanness is within the straw, which is similar to the situation in yesterday's mishnah were the uncleanness was below the partition placed above the floor. Any vessels that are at the exit, meaning they are in the area that is not filled in with straw, will be defiled because the impurity escapes through that area.

טומאה בחוץ – that is in the vacant space from the opening until the wall that is opposite it.

[In the case where] the uncleanness was outside [the area of the straw], with regard to the vessels within: If they are in a space of a cubic handbreadth, they remain clean, But if not they become unclean. If there is a space of a handbreadth between the straw and the roof beams, in either case the vessels become unclean. If the uncleanness is outside the area of the straw and the vessels are within the straw and within an empty space that is one cubic handbreadth, they are protected by being in an ohel. If they are in a space that is less than a cubic handbreadth, then it is as if they are in the floor of the house and they are impure (as was the case in yesterday's mishnah). If there is a space of a handbreadth above, in the place where the impurity is found, then the straw is not considered a barrier to the impurity, even if the empty space is a cubic handbreadth. The vessels in the straw are impure in both cases.

כלים שבפנים – in the place of the straw.

אם יש במקומן טפח על טפח ברום טפח טהורים ואם לאו טמאים – that is in the space between two partitions/in the vacuum also if defilement is in the house, vessels that are in the vacuum where there isn’t in their place a handbreadth are impure.

ואם יש בין התבן ולקורות פותח טפח - that this straw was not nullified to be considered like a vacuum/space of the two partitions and it is like the rest of the belongings that are in the house. But it doesn’t protect on what is inside, whether there is in its place a handbreadth or whether there isn’t in its place a handbreadth [of space].

וכן כרי של תבואה – that they abandoned.

[With regard to] a house filled with earth or pebbles which he [decided] to leave there, or similarly a heap of produce or a mound of pebbles even such as Akhan's mound, and even if the uncleanness is by the side of the vessels, the uncleanness cleaves upwards and downwards. The mishnah discusses three situations: 1) Someone's house is full of pebbles or earth and he decided not to remove them. 2) A heap of produce that is found outside of a house. 3) A mound of stones, even if it is like the stones that were put on top of Akhan when he was executed (see Joshua 7:26). In all of these cases there is a source of impurity within the mound (or house) but it is not touching the vessels. The mishnah rules that the impurity goes up and down but does not defile the vessels. In other words, the impurity is not found in an ohel, and therefore it doesn't spread to the sides.

אפילו טומאה בצד הכלים – that the defilement was within the heap of stones, and vessels there were adjacent/near to the defilement within the heap but ae not touching the defilement.

טומאה בוקעת ועולה – but whatever is at its side is pure. And if there is in the place of the defilement a handbreadth [length) by a handbreadth [width] at a height of a handbreadth, it is indeed like a concealed grave and it defiles everything that is around it.

חצר הקבר – he courtyard that surrounds from its four directions four caves of graves.

[With regard to] the courtyard of a tomb: A person standing in it remains clean as long as there is a space of four cubits square, according to the words of Bet Shammai. Bet Hillel says: four handbreadths. The courtyard described here is at the entrance to a tomb. According to Bet Shammai, the courtyard must be at least four cubits square to be considered its own space. If it is this size, a person standing there will not be defiled by the tomb because he is not considered to be in the "tomb". Bet Hillel provides a smaller measure. If the courtyard is at least four handbreadths square, it is its own space.

טהור עד שיהא בה ארבע אמות – all the while that there are four cubits the person who stands in its midst is ritually pure. But less than four cubits, the person who stands in its midst is impure, but if there aren’t there other than three caves from three directions and the fourth direction of the courtyard is open to the airspace of the world, even if he isn’t is not distanced from the opening of the cave other than whatever the amount, he is pure, as long as he doesn’t touch the lintel of the opening of the cave. And these words [apply] when the courtyard of the grave is marked with a partition, but for a mere corpse [it takes only] four cubits for defilement.

[With regard to] a roof beam which had been used as a covering stone for a tomb, whether it is standing upright or lying on its side, nothing becomes unclean except what [touches] opposite the opening of the grave. A roof beam was used to close up a burial grave. Typically, this was done with a stone. A person who touches the part of the beam that is opposite the stone is impure; but if he touches it elsewhere, he is pure.

גולל לקבר – a covering on the opening of the burial cave.

If the end [of the beam] were made the covering stone of a grave, only [that part] up to four handbreadths [from the grave] becomes unclean. In this case he puts the end of the beam up against the cave, with the beam extending out from the grave. The first four handbreadths of the beam are considered to be covering the grave and are impure and defile one who touches them. After that, the beam is pure.

אלא כנגד הפתח (only the part directly opposite the opening) – of the burial crave. But a person who touches the end that is placed outside of the grave, is ritually pure.

[This applies] when [the beam] is going to be cut. Rabbi Judah says: all the beam is connected. The above is true if he intends to cut off the beam and leave only the four handbreadths that cover the grave. If he intends to leave the entire beam there, it all defiles. Rabbi Judah rules more strictly. The whole beam is connected to the part that covers the grave and therefore, even if he intends to cut it off, it is still impure.

עשה ראשה גולל לקבר – and behold it stands over the burial cave like a tree. A person who comes in contact with it at four handbreadths near the burial cave is impure because of the stone placed on top of a burial cave/top stone, but from four [handbreadths] and above, he is pure.

בזמן שהוא עתיד לגוד – to cut it off. And even though he did not cut it yet. [The word] לגוד is like (Daniel 4:20): “[The holy Watcher whom the king saw descend from heaven and say,] Hew down the tree [and destroy it].”

כולו חיבור – all he while that he did not cut it, and even though he will ultimately cut it down. But the Halakha is not according to Rabbi Yehuda.

הנוגע בה – all the time that it is a covering on the opening of a burial cave.

A jar full of clean liquid and sealed with a tightly fitting lid, which had been made the covering stone of a tomb, a person touching it contracts seven-day uncleanness but the jar and the liquid remain clean. The jar used to cover the tomb conveys impurity to one who touches it, just as does a stone. However, an earthenware jar is not defiled on its outside, as long as it is covered with a tightly fitting lid (see Kelim 9:2). Therefore, the jar and its contents remain pure.

טמא טומאת שבעה – as it is written (Numbers 19:16): “And in the open, anyone who touches a person [who was killed or who died naturally, or human bone, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days],” including the stone placed on top of a burial cave/גולל and the frame supporting the movable stone of a tomb/דופק.

An animal that had been used as a covering stone, a person touching it contracts seven-day uncleanness. Similarly, if a person uses an animal to temporarily cover a tomb, it too conveys impurity. Note that like the jar, the animal is not impure. It merely conveys impurity to one who touches it. See also Eruvin 1:7.

והחבית והמשקין טהורים – that an earthenware vessel that is surrounded with an air-tight lid is pure from being defiled in the tent of a corpse, as it states (Numbers 19:15): “And every open vessel, with no lid fastened down, shall be unclean,” but if it is has an air-tight lid upon it, it is pure, and an earthenware vessel that Scripture speaks of is not susceptible to receive defilement from outside it/above it.

Rabbi Meir says: anything possessing the breath of life does convey uncleanness on account of [its being used as] a covering stone. Rabbi Meir says that anything that is alive does not convey uncleanness if used to cover a tomb. This would mean that he disagrees with the halakhah in section two, although not with the halakhah in section one.

רבי מאיר אומר וכו' – But the Halakha is not according to Rabbi Meir, but rather even though you don’t have a thing that is a living, breathing creature and it defiles, outside of a human being, nevertheless, they defile because of the top-fitting cover all the while that they are top-fitting covers for a burial cave.

המאהיל על המת ונוגע בכלים – the vessels are impure for a period of seven days because of attachments, as for example, that at the time that he touched the corpse or overshadowed it, a person who touches likewise with vessels.

One who touches a corpse and touches vessels, one who overshadows a corpse and touches vessels, they [the vessels] are unclean. A person who has become unclean through a corpse, whether by contact or by overshadowing, now defiles vessels by contact (see 1:1-4).

ואם יש בידיו פותח טפח טמאים – since his hands overshadow over the corpse and over the vessels, they bring the defilement in.

One who overshadows a corpse and overshadows vessels, one who touches a corpse and overshadows vessels, they [the vessels] are clean. However, a person who has been defiled by contact with a corpse or by overshadowing a corpse does not defile vessels by overshadowing.

שני בתים – and their openings correspond with one another.

If his hands are a handbreadth wide, they are unclean. If one hand is overshadowing or touching a dead body and the other hand is simultaneously overshadowing vessels, it is possible to convey the impurity from the corpse to the vessels, as long as each hand is a handbreadth, such that it can form an ohel. If the hands are smaller than a handbreadth, they do not convey the impurity.

מביא את הטומאה – and they remained as two impure houses. For a tent of his hands combines the defilement as if two halves ae placed in this one (i.e., hand) and that one (i.e., hand).

Two houses, and in each there is a half an olive's worth of corpse and he puts one hand into each house: If his hands are a handbreadth wide, he brings uncleanness; But if not, he does not bring uncleanness. The mishnah now brings up a similar circumstance where a person can convey impurity if each of his hands is a handbreadth. There are two houses adjacent to one another and their doors or windows are opposite each other. There is less than an olive's worth of impurity in each house and a person puts his hands into both houses simultaneously. If his hands are each a handbreadth, then they successfully bring the impurity from each into the other, and all vessels found in either house are impure. If his hands are not one handbreadth, then they don't join the two half olives, and all remains pure.

ואם לאו – that there isn’t an opening of a handbreadth in his hands. A person, however, is impure, as it is taught in the Mishnah further on [Chapter 16, Mishnah 1] and on themselves with whatever amount, but the two houses are ritually pure.