En ce qui concerne un [morceau de tissu] trois par trois [largeurs de main], s'il [a été trouvé] dans les tas d'ordures, [il n'est susceptible de retenir les impuretés] que s'il est sain et capable de stocker du sel; si [il a été trouvé] dans la maison, [il est sensible aux impuretés] s'il est sain ou capable de stocker du sel. Combien de sel doit-il être capable de stocker? Un rova [une unité spécifique de volume, un quart de kav ]. Rabbi Yehudah dit: ceci concerne le sel fin. Et les Sages disent: c'est à propos du gros sel. Leurs deux intentions étaient de se prononcer avec indulgence. Rabbi Shimon dit: [les pièces qui sont] trois par trois [les largeurs de main, qui ont été trouvées] dans un tas d'ordures, sont [légalement] équivalentes à [les pièces qui sont] trois par trois [les largeurs de doigts, qui ont été trouvées] dans une maison.
Bartenura on Mishnah Kelim
בריא וצורר מלח (sound and capable of wrapping up salt) – this is our reading. A cloth that is placed in the trash is voided from the designation/nature of a cloth, unless it has two things: that it is sound and strong and appropriate to wrap in it a quarter Kab of salt. But if it is found in the house, since it wasn’t thrown in the garbage, it is still valuable/regarded but one qualification is enough, either it is sound/firm even though it is not capable of wrapping up salt or it wraps up salt even though it is not sound/firm.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Kelim
Introduction
Today's mishnah discusses how strong a small piece of cloth needs to be to be susceptible to impurity.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Kelim
ר' יהודה אומר בדקה – always it does not become defiled until it wraps up a quarter [of a Kab] of fine salt.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Kelim
If a piece of cloth three [handbreadths] square [was found] in a rubbish heap it must be both sound and capable of wrapping up salt; But [if it was found] in the house it need only be either sound or capable of wrapping up salt. For the piece of cloth found in a garbage heap to be susceptible to impurity it must fulfill two conditions, besides the usual stipulation that it be three handbreadths square. First of all, it must be sound, meaning of strong quality so that it doesn't easily tear. Second, it must not have holes in it, so that it could be used to bundle up salt without the salt passing through. In contrast, a piece of cloth found in a house is more easily susceptible to impurity, because no one has discarded it. Thus it only needs to fulfill one of the criteria either strong quality or no holes (can carry salt).
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Bartenura on Mishnah Kelim
וחכמים אומרים – it does not become susceptible to impurity until it wraps up coarse salt.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Kelim
How much salt must it be capable of wrapping up? A quarter of a kav. Rabbi Judah says: this refers to fine salt, But the sages stated: it refers to coarse salt. Both intended to be lenient. The rabbis disagree as to what type of salt the cloth must be able to carry. According to Rabbi Judah it must be able to hold fine salt, whereas the sages say it needs to hold coarse salt. It would seem that Rabbi Judah is lenient, because he holds that the cloth is pure unless it can hold even fine salt, and that the sages are more stringent. However, the mishnah says that both the sages and Rabbi Judah intended to be lenient. Rabbi Judah was lenient as we explained above. But even the sages are lenient because they hold that the cloth is not susceptible unless it is strong enough to hold a quarter of a kav of coarse salt without the salt melting. Since coarse salt will last longer, the cloth will have to last longer to protect the salt.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Kelim
אלו ואלו מתכוונים להקל – Rabbi Yehuda holds that fine [salt] must be wrapped in a sound and very strong cloth, because of its heaviness, that it is heavier than the coarse salt. Therefore, he estimates until it holds the fine salt, to be lenient regarding it so that it does not become defiled. But the Rabbis hold that coarse salt requires a cloth that is even more sound, because of its pointed projections and horns that protrude. Therefore, they estimate with the coarse salt to be susceptible to be defiled, in order to be lenient on the cloth that holds the thin salt that it should not become defiled.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Kelim
Rabbi Shimon says: the law concerning a piece of cloth three [handbreadths] square found in a rubbish heap is the same as that for a piece of cloth that was three [fingerbreadths] square in a house. Rabbi Shimon holds that just as a three fingerbreadths square piece of cloth that is found in a house is not susceptible to midras, but is susceptible to other types of impurity, so too a three handbreadths square piece of cloth found in a garbage heap is not susceptible to midras, but is susceptible to other forms of impurity.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Kelim
שוין שלשה על שלשה באשפה לשלש על שלש בבית – just the three [handbreadth] by three [handbreadth cloth] in the house is defiled through corpse uncleanness and are not defiled through treading/Midras uncleanness, so the three [handbreadth] by three [handbreadth cloth] that is in the garbage become defiled through corpse uncleanness and are not defiled through treading. For their importance has been invalidated after he threw it into the trash. And the Halakha is according to the Sages alone.
