Comentario sobre Tohorot 9:10

זיתים מאימתי מקבלין טומאה – to be fit for Levitical uncleanness with the oil that is coming out from them.

Introduction Chapter nine deals with olives that were pressed in an olive press in which an am haaretz was working. For olives (or any produce) to become susceptible to impurity they must have had contact with one of seven liquids (water, dew, oil, wine, milk, blood or date honey). The secondary requirement is that the produce became wet with the approval of the owners meaning they were not opposed to the produce getting wet. We will learn more about this when we get to tractate Makhshirin, a whole tractate about this subject! Our mishnah deals with the liquid that comes out of the oil and whether that is sufficient for the olives to be susceptible to impurity.

זיעת המעטן (the – intended - exudation produced by lying in the vat/exude the sweat of the vat) – a vessel that they place the olives in and they shrink by effect of the heat there in order to the appropriate to remove the oil. The language of (Job 21:24): “His pails are full of milk.”

At what stage do olives become susceptible to uncleanness?
When they exude the moisture [produced] by [their lying in] the vat but not the one [produced while they are still] in the basket, according to the words of Bet Shammai. Rabbi Shimon says: the minimum time prescribed for proper exudation is three days. There are three opinions as to when olives have exuded moisture that makes them susceptible to impurity. Bet Shammai holds that the moisture they exude must occur in the vat into which they are placed to "warm up." This is before they are pressed. The moisture that might have been exuded in the basket in which they were first placed does not count. However, Bet Shammai seems to hold that any moisture that comes out in the vat is to the "approval" of the owners and therefore it makes them susceptible. Rabbi Shimon modifies Bet Shammai's opinion. The moisture that comes out during the first three days does not count. They must be in the vat for three days and then if they remain there, the moisture makes them susceptible to impurity.

אבל לא זיעת הקופה (but not the – unwelcome – exudation originating in the pile or basket) – for the basket does not hold the liquids, for the basket that comes out from hem goes to waste and it is not appropriate for him, and it doesn’t make the seeds susceptible to receive ritual impurity other than liquid that is appropriate for it, as it is written (Leviticus 11:38): “but if water is put on the seed”/"וכי יתן-מים על-זרע" – is written יתן (defectively), but we read it as "יותן"/”yuttan” (written fully), [the word] יותן is similar to יתן. Just as "יתן" is satisfactory, so also ”יותן" is satisfactory.

Bet Hillel says: as soon as three olives stick together. Bet Hillel rules more leniently. The olives must become so soft that three of them will stick together.

שיעור זיעה שלשה ימים (the measure/prescribed time of sweat is three days) – for liquid that goes out within three days is not considered oil but rather a mere thin secretion and doesn’t make it susceptible [for ritual impurity], for they don’t make it susceptible to receive ritual impurity other than the seven liquids (see Tractate Makhshrin, Chapter 6, Mishnah 4) alone, and they are wine, water, olive oil, honey, milk, dew and blood.

Rabban Gamaliel says: as soon as their preparation is finished, and the sages agree with his view. Rabban Gamaliel rules even more leniently. The olives are not susceptible to impurity until he has completed their preparation in the vat. Once he decides to bring them to the press, they are susceptible. The sages agree with this opinion.

משיתחברו שלשה זה לזה – for it is the manner of olives that are attached one to another when they remain in the vat.

משתגמר מלאכתן (after the work of preparing them is completed) – the work of bringing them. For all the time that it is intention to bring in more olives from another place to add to these, the sweat does not make them susceptible [for receiving ritual impurity], because it is not satisfactory for him. But when the work of preparing them is completed, even of that day, it makes it susceptible [to receive ritual impurity], even for that one day, it makes it (i.e., the olives) susceptible [to receive ritual impurity]. And the Halakha is according to Rabban Gamaliel, for the Sages state according to his words.

גמר מלמסוק – from harvest his olives.

Introduction Our mishnah is a continuation of Rabban Gamaliel and the sages' opinion from yesterday's mishnah, that the olives are not susceptible to impurity until he has decided to take them to the olive press.

אבל עתיד ליקח – to purchase olives from the market and to add on to these.

If he finished the gathering but intended to buy some more, or if he had finished buying but intended to borrow some more, or if a time of mourning, a wedding feast or some other hindrance befell him then even if zavim and zavot trampled over them they remain clean. In all of these cases, the owner of the olives does not want more liquid to flow from the olives because he either intends to add more olives later, or he is going to be delayed from pressing due to some unforeseen circumstance (a relative died, he was invited to a wedding or something of that nature). In these cases the olives are not susceptible to impurity. So if a zav or a zavah (people with abnormal genital discharge) trample over the olives, they do not become impure.

גמר מליקח – that he doesn’t have any intention to purchase more olives, but wishes to borrow olives from others and to add on to these.

If any unclean liquids fell upon them, only the place where it touched them becomes unclean. Unclean liquids that fall on produce cause it to become susceptible to impurity and impure simultaneously. If some unclean liquid falls on these olives, only the part upon which the liquid fell is impure. The remaining olives are still clean.

אירעו אבל או משתה – and therefore he didn’t add to them, but it is his intention to add [to them] when the mourning period will pass.

Any liquid that comes out of them is clean. Any liquid that comes out of the olives whose processing has not been completed is clean. This rule is obvious and is already stated in section one. It is only here to be contrasted with the cases we will learn tomorrow in mishnah three. So stay tuned!

טהורין – because they were not made fit for Levitical uncleanness. According to Rabban Gamaliel (see previous Mishnah) who stated: “After the work of preparing them is completed.”

אין טמא אלא מקום מגען – it is not fit to receive Levitical uncleanness other than the place of the falling liquid. Another explanation: if they (i.e., the water) on these olives whose work of preparing them was not completed the liquids are impure, nothing is defiled from them other than the olives that the impure liquids them alone.

המוחל היוצא מהן (the thin secretion that exudes from them) – the water that exudes from the olives prior to their work of preparing them being completed, they do not have the status of law of liquids, and they do not make eatables susceptible [to receive ritual defilement], and they themselves do not receive ritual defilement. And because just as the thin secretion/sap that exudes from the olives is ritually pure until the work of preparing them is completed because he doesn’t desire their existence.

נפלו עליהן משקין טמאין – after the work of preparing them is completed and they are susceptible to receive ritual defilement, all of the olives are ritually impure and even those that the impure liquids did not touch, for the liquid that exudes from them after the work of preparing them is completed for through it, they became susceptible to receive ritual defilement he combines with those impure liquids and receives defilement from them, and afterwards they defile all of the rest of the olives.

When their preparation is finished behold they are susceptible to uncleanness. If an unclean liquid fell upon them they become unclean. Once the preparation of the olives has been completed, they are susceptible to impurity for they have had contact with the sap that flows out of them. What this means is that if unclean liquid falls on them, it renders all of the olives impure, not just the place it touched. This is because the independent olives have now become one lump of olives, all connected to one another.

המוחל היוצא מהן – (the thin secretion/sap that exudes from them) from the olives whose work of preparing them has been completed.

The sap that issues from them: Rabbi Eliezer says it is clean, But the sages say that it is unclean. Rabbi Eliezer disagrees with the opinion in section one. The sap that issues from the olives does not render them susceptible to impurity. It is not yet considered oil. The sages agree with section one. This sap renders them susceptible and once they are impure it will also defile other olives.

ר' אליעזר מטהר – for he (i.e., Rabbi Eliezer) does not consider the thin secretion/sap a liquid neither to make susceptible the seeds [to receive ritual defilement] and not to receive defilement like the rest of the liquids (see Tractate Makhshirin, Chapter 6, Mishnah 4).

Rabbi Shimon says: they did not dispute the ruling that sap that issues from olives is clean. But about what did they dispute? About that which comes from the vat: That Rabbi Eliezer says is clean And the sages say is unclean. Rabbi Shimon gives another version of the debate found in sections one and two. According to Rabbi Shimon, all of the sages agree that the sap that comes forth from the olives does not render them susceptible. They disagree about the liquid that comes out of the vat. The olives are placed in this vat after they have been crushed and before they are to be squeezed. This sap contains some oil and therefore the sages say it makes them susceptible to impurity. But the sap that flows before they have been placed in the vat is not "oil" and does not make them susceptible.

וחכמים מטמאין – for the thin secretion/sap is considered a liquid whether to make susceptible [to receive ritual defilement] or whether to defile when it exudes from the olives after the work of preparing them is completed.

המוחל היוצא מן הבור – after they remove the oil from the cistern, there remains a thin secretion/sap on the floor of the cistern like water, and as Rabbi Shimon states that it is upon this that Rabbi Eliezer and the Rabbis disagree, Rabbi Eliezer does not consider it liquid, but the Rabbis hold that since it is not possible to have a thin secretion/sap on the floor of the cistern without dilution of oil, it is considered liquid like the oil. And the Halakha is according to the Sages, and like the first Tanna/teacher [of the Mishnah] and not like Rabbi Shimon explained it.

הגומר את זיתיו – after the time of the vats and the olive press have passed. For at the time of the vats and the olive press, it is taught in the Mishnah in [Tractate] Hagigah, Chapter 3, Mishnah 4 that everyone is believed [that in Judea] regarding the heave-offering/priest’s due at the time of the vats and olive presses.

One who had finished [the gathering of his olives] and put aside one basketful, let him put it [in the container] in front of a priest, the words of Rabbi Meir. The mishnah refers to an am haaretz who has crushed all of his olives in the crushing container but left over one container so that the olives would not become susceptible to impurity. From these olives he intended to separate terumah. Note that an am haaretz does seem to separate terumah and to respect the purity of the terumah so that a priest could make use of it. However, he doesn't separate tithes, nor does he preserve the purity of his common food. The question that the sages ask is what must he do to make sure that the olives remain pure? Rabbi Meir says that he should put the olives in the container in which they are crushed in front of the priest. This way the priest can make sure they stay pure.

ושייר (and left aside) –[one must say, "ישייר" /and there should remain, and similarly it is found in old manuscripts].

Rabbi Judah says: he must hand him over the key immediately. Rabbi Shimon says: within twenty-four hours. Rabbi Judah says that the am haaretz must immediately give over to the priest the key to the container. Evidently, he affords little trust to the am haaretz. Rabbi Shimon gives him a little leeway he has twenty-four hours in which to give over the key.

קופה אחת – in order that he would separate heave-offering from it and [first-tithe] from it in ritual purity [and give it in the presence of the Kohen, that the Kohen] himself will see that he now has finished working with his olives, for if he doesn’t give it in the presence of the Kohen, he will not be believed to state that he guarded them in ritual purity, since the time of the vats and olive presses have passed. But there are books where we have the reading "לעני הכהן"/to a poor person who is a Kohen, because small amounts of heave-offering like this that he separates after [the time has passed] of the vats and the olive presses, it is not customary to give it other than to an indigent Kohen, because of this, it (i.e., this manuscript of the Mishnah) teaches: "כהן עני"/an indigent/poor Kohen, and the same law applies when he is able to give to a wealthy Kohen.

יוליך לו את המפתח מיד – and we believe him with what he says that now he has completed [working with] his olives.

ר' שמעון אומר מעת לעת – of the completion of his harvesting of the olives, if he brought him the key, we believe him. And the Halakha is according to Rabbi Yehudah. But in the Tosefta (Tractate Taharot, Chapter 9, Halakha 10) in implies that when Rabbi Yehuda said "מיד"/immediately, that is all of the entire day.

המניח זיתים בכותש (he who places olives in a basket in which olives are kept for softening) – We have the reading. And it is is a large basket that they place the olives into to shrink them.

One who put his olives in a basket that they might be softened so that they will be easy to press, they become susceptible to uncleanness; The olives put into this basket to be softened so that they can be crushed will expel some sap. The sap causes them to be susceptible to impurity. This is because the person wants them to expel some of their juices, for in the end he is going to crush them to make olive oil in any case.

שימתונו – that they will be softened and they will be moist. And there are books where we have the reading of "בכותש"/in an olive basket, that we place them in a cavity for many days in order that they will become loose and soft and they will be easy to press.

[If he put them in a basket] to be softened so that they may be salted: Bet Shammai says: they become susceptible. Bet Hillel says: they do not become susceptible. In contrast, if he puts them in a basket to soften so that they can be salted, Bet Hillel holds that they are not susceptible to impurity. This is because he doesn't really want them to expel their liquid. Bet Shammai holds that they are susceptible to impurity even in this case. It is possible that Bet Shammai simply holds that susceptibility to impurity is not dependent upon a person's intention whether the person wants the liquid to have contacted the produce or not. This is typical of a Shammaite system of halakhah the halakhah is less determined by intention and more determined by reality, i.e. what actually happened.

הרי אלו מוכשרים – with thin secretion/sap that exudes from them, for the work of preparing them is completed.

One who splits his olives with unwashed hands, he causes them to be unclean. Here he clearly intends for the liquid to come out and therefore even Bet Hillel agrees that the liquid causes them to be susceptible. Since his hands have not been washed, we assume that they are impure and the olives are impure.

The School of Hillel states that they are not susceptible [to receive ritual defilement] for the work of preparing them is not yet completed.

הפוצע זיתים (he who crushes olives)- he who crushes them with unwashed hands.

טימאן- for unwashed hands invalidate/make unfit the heave-offering, and all who invalidate the heave-offering defiles liquid to be first-degree [of ritual impurity]. And they are made fit for Levitical uncleanness through their crushing, for it is satisfactory for him with liquid that drips on them, and through this, they increase the taste.

לגרגרם – to make of them shriveled olives. Meaning to say, to make that each and every berry will wither in the sun and dry out.

Introduction This mishnah continues to explore the distinction between cases where one wants the olives to sweat and cases where he does not.

אפילו הן רום אמה – that when the upper ones wither, the lowest ones from the moisture and the moistness of the liquid, nevertheless, since it is his intention that they dry out, they are not made fit for Levitical uncleanness . And there are those who explain "לגרגרן"/to shrivel them, to sweet them in the sun in order that make an incision in them with salt and to consume them. And because they all do not become sweet at once, because of this, it (i.e., the Mishnah) takes [the term]: "לגרגרן"/to make of them shriveled olives, that is to say that he takes the shriveled olives that sweeten one by one and consumes them, and we have the reading: "אפילו הן רום אמה"/even if they are piled a cubit in height, they are fit for Levitical uncleanness, meaning to say, even that they are a cubit high for now those lowest ones are sweetened, they are made fit for Levitical uncleanness by liquids that exude from them. For it is satisfactory for him that they sweat there, that it appears better for consumption.

If one put his olives on a roof to dry, even though they are piled up to the height of a cubit, they do not become susceptible to uncleanness. If he put them on the roof to dry they are not susceptible to impurity because he does not want them to sweat. This is true even if they are piled high enough that the bottom ones definitely will sweat. Again, the issue is not whether they sweat, but whether he wants them to.

שילקו (that they might putrefy) – that they will be crushed and will be burst.

If he put them in the house to putrify, even though he intends to take them up on the roof, or if he put them on the roof so that they might open so that they could be salted, they become susceptible to uncleanness. In these cases, he put them somewhere for them to start to soften or go bad so that he could crush them and make oil. Or he put them on the roof so that they would split open so he could salt them. In all of these cases, he wants them to sweat. Therefore, the liquid that they emit makes them susceptible to impurity.

לעתיד להעלותן לגג – afterwards to sweeten them there in the sun.

If he put them in the house while he secured his roof or until he could take them elsewhere, they do not become susceptible to uncleanness. In this case he put them in his house temporarily, just until he could bring them somewhere else to soften them. Even though he does want the olives to be softened, they are not susceptible because he doesn't really want them to start this process in the house, where he is currently storing them.

נתנן בגג שיפתחם – that the olives will burst open and will salt them.

הרי אלו מוכשרים – for all these it is satisfactory to him with the sweating of the oil that is saved.

עד שישמר – that he will prepare to guard it on its roof. He covers it from reeds and straw that they make at the top of the roof to sit there to guard.

אינן מוכשרים – for it is not satisfactory to him with the moisture that exudes from them.

רצה ליטול מהם בד אחד (If he wanted to take – enough from – them for a single pressing) – olives which had completed their work of preparation and they were not fit for Levitical uncleanness as for example, that it was his intention to purchase and to add upon them as is taught in the Mishnah at the beginning of our chapter (Mishnah 2), and he comes to take from them a small/minute measure that they place in the olive press on one occasion, or two presses and make [olive] oil from them, and leave from them a lot in the vat/pit where olives are packed until they form a viscid mass.

Introduction Our mishnah deals with a person who wants to take some olives that are in a condition that doesn't make them susceptible to impurity and bring them to the olive press to press them into oil. In other words, he has changed his mind about what to do with the olives. At first he didn't want them to sweat because he wasn't using them for oil, but now he changed his mind.

בית שמאי אומרים קוצה בטומאה (let him set them apart in a state of uncleanness)- he cuts off what he wants to cut off from the cluster of olives that are in the vat where the olives are packed until they form a viscid mass, a single pressing or two pressings in defilement, since they had not completed their work of preparation and were not fit for Levitical uncleanness.

If one wants to take from them [a quantity sufficient for] one pressing or for two pressings:
Bet Shammai says: he may scrape off [what he requires] in a condition of uncleanness, but he must cover up [what he takes] in a condition of cleanness. According to Bet Shammai when he goes to scrape off some of the olives he doesn't need to do so in a state of purity. Since the olives have not yet been made susceptible to impurity, they will not become impure even if he is impure. However, after he takes those olives out, they are immediately susceptible to impurity. Therefore, if he wishes to cover the olives so that they can be pressed he must do so in a state of purity, otherwise they will become impure. In other words, Bet Shammai holds that the sweat that they exuded previously now causes them to be susceptible.

ומחפה בטהרה (and cover up in a state of ritual purity) – when he finished taking what he wanted to take, he covers the remainder that is in the vat in purity as if it was made fit for Levitical uncleanness, for his taking of what he takes is defrauded to consider the remainder as if he completed his work of preparation.

Bet Hillel says: he may also cover it up in a condition of uncleanness. Bet Hillel disagrees and holds that he can even cover them up in a state of uncleanness. The sweat they exuded before does not make them susceptible to impurity. However, Bet Hillel agrees that if he takes the entire lot of olives, he has changed their status and made them all susceptible to impurity. In this case, he will have to cover them in a state of purity.

אף מחפה בטומאה – for even that which remains is not fit to receive Levitical uncleanness, since their work of preparation had not been completed and it was his intention to add upon them. But however, if he uprooted all the olives that were in the vat in order to make them in the olive press, they were fit to receive Levitical uncleanness according to the House of Hillel.

Rabbi Yose says: he may also cover it up in a condition of uncleanness. Rabbi Yose rules even more leniently. He can even take metal axes and remove all of the olives that were set aside in a state in which they were not susceptible. They are still not susceptible to impurity.

ר' יוסי אומר חופר בקרדומות (Rabbi Yossi says he digs out with metal axes/hatchets) – and uproots all of the olives that are in the vat.

ומוליך לבית הבד בטומאה – because they are not fit to receive Levitical uncleanness, and it (i.e., the Mishnah’s) use of the word קרדומות, it is a noteworthy point because they are vessels of iron and they are prepared for the defilement through a corpse more than other vessels. And the Halakha is according to the School of Hillel.

בריחים (in the millstones) – that they grind/mill the olives before placing them in the olive press and afterwards they place them in the olive press and mill them with a beam.

Introduction Our mishnah deals with a dead sheretz found among the olives of the olive press.

ואם היה משקה – the liquid is defiled by the [dead] creeping thing, and all of the olives are defiled through connection of the liquid.

If a [dead] sheretz was found in the milling stones, only the place that it has touched becomes unclean. But if moisture was running, all become unclean. If a dead sheretz, which causes impurity, is found in the milling stones which are used to crush the olives before they are pressed, only the olives that the sheretz touches is impure. The rest of the olives that touch these olives remain pure because each olive is not the size of an egg such that it could transmit impurity to the other olives. Furthermore, each olive is considered to be a separate entity. However, if the moisture is running over all the mill stones it transmits purity to everything and all of the olives are impure. This is because all of the olives are considered one lump.

נמצא על גבי העלים – if the [dead] creeping thing is found on top of the leaves that cover the olives, and the leaves are not receptacles of defilement.

If it was found on the leaves, the olive-press men shall be asked whether they can say, "we did not touch it." In this case the sheretz is found on the leaves that cover the olives. These leaves are not food and they are not susceptible to impurity. Therefore, they themselves are not the problem. The problem is that the leaves were put there by somebody. We must ask the men who work at the olive press whether they touched the sheretz. If they admit that they did not, then the olives are pure. In other words, these men are trusted.

ישאלו הבדדים (ask the olive press workers) – commoners who are not careful in their observance of the laws of Levitical purity and tithing whom the owner of the oil purified to work on his olives in ritual purity, and they are believed to state: “we have not touched the creeping thing that is on the leaves and we were not defiled.

If it touched the mass [of olives], even by as little as the bulk of a barley grain, [the mass becomes] unclean. However, if the sheretz touched the mass of olives that are all stuck together, then all of the olives are considered unclean. This is because they are all considered to be connected.

ואם היה נוגע באום – if the creeping thing left from the leaves that cover the olives and touched the cluster/mass of olives.

אפילו וכו' – one hair from the creeping thing touches the cluster/mass [of olives].

טמא – all of the cluster/mass [of olives is ritually impure], for it is considered attachment/joining. [The word] אום/cluster, mass, the olives that are collected together and attached each with another in the vat are called an אום.

נמצא על גבי פרודים (if [the insect] was found on top of the broken olives) = after he inserted a peg in the cluster/mass of olives to separate the cluster to several separate parts, and in each clod of earth from these parts from the cluster, there are olives that are attached.

Introduction Today's mishnah is a continuation of yesterday's mishnah concerning the sheretz found among the olives.

והוא נוגע בכביצה (and it touches an egg’s bulk) – that if he came to combine the olives that the creeping insect touches that have an egg’s bulk.

If it was found on broken off pieces but it touched as much as an egg's bulk, [the entire mass] becomes unclean. In this case the sheretz is found on broken off pieces of olives that are resting on top of the olive mass. If these pieces are as much as the bulk of an egg, then they join the mass and all of the olives are impure. However, if they are smaller than the size of an egg, which means they themselves can't defile other things, then they are not considered part of the mass.

טמא – all of the clod of earth [is impure] even though the clod of earth is attached from when inserted the peg in the mass/cluster to separate them, nevertheless, since there is in this clod of earth impure olives like the appropriate measure to defile others, which is like an egg’s bulk, it becomes attached to defile all the rest of the olives in it.

If it was found on broken off pieces that lay upon other broken off pieces, even though it touched as much as an egg's bulk, only the place it touched becomes unclean. In this case, the sheretz is found on top of pieces of olives that are themselves on tops of other pieces of olives. The mass that is underneath does not join them all together, even if they are the size of an olive. The only part that is impure is the part that touches the sheretz, for this is always impure, no matter how small it is.

פירודים על גבי פירודים (broken-off blocks on top of other broken-off blocks) – there are clods of earth on top of clods of earth that the creeping inspect is on the uppermost clod.

If it was found between the wall and the olives, they remain clean. In this case we find the sheretz next to the wall, not touching the olives. We don't suspect that the sheretz touched the olives.

אע"פ שהשרץ נוגע בכביצה – of that clod of earth.

If it was found [on olives that were lying] on the roof, [the olives in] the vat remain clean. There were some olives in the vat and then a person took some up to the roof to dry out. A sheretz is found among the olives on the roof. The olives in the vat remain pure, for we do not suspect that the sheretz was brought up to the roof with the olives.

אין טמא אלא מקום מגעו – of the creeping insect [only what it touched through contact is impure], that is to say, that clod of earth that the creeping insect touched, but the rest of the clods of earth are ritually pure.

If it was found in the vat, [the olives on] the roof are [also] regarded as unclean. In contrast, if it is found in the vat, we do suspect that it defiled the olives that were later taken up to the roof. Therefore, they too are impure.

נמצא – the creeping insect [is found]

If it was found burnt upon the olives, and so also in the case of a rag that was completely worn out, [the olives remain] clean, because all cases of uncleanness are determined in accordance with their appearance at the time they are found. As we learned in 3:5, when it comes to matters of purity, we judge according to the way in which things are found. A burnt sheretz or a completely worn out rag no longer defiles. If either of these is found on the olives, the olives are pure. We don't suspect that they were there before they were burned or became worn out.

בין כותל לזיתים טהור - and we are not concerned that perhaps it (i.e., the creeping insect) was on the olives.

נמצא בגג – that one brings up olives from the vat to the roof and the creeping insect is found afterwards in the olives that are on the roof.

המעטן טהור – meaning to say that the olives that are in the vat are ritually pure, and we don’t say with the olives that were brought and were in the vat.

נמצא במעטן – olives that he brought up on the roof, are ritually impure, for before he brought the the olives to the roof the creeping insect was in the vat.

נמצא שרוף (if it found burned – and clean on the olives) – but a burnt creeping insect does not defile, as it is written (Leviticus 11:31): “whoever touches them when they are dead [shall be impure until evening],” similar to their being dead. And when it is found burnt on top of ritually pure olives, we are not concerned that perhaps it touched them before it was burned.

מהוהא (tattered, scorched) – a cloth that was burned by fire and became like a kind of קורי עכבים/an impeding beam, and it no longer is susceptible to receive ritual defilement.

טהורה – and we don’t say that perhaps it was ritually impure from the outset before it was singed/burnt.

בשעת מציאתן – whether or leniency or whether for stringency (see Tractate Taharot, Chapter 3, Mishnah 5 where this principle is enunciated – at the time when they are found).