Commentaire sur Kéilim 8:12

התנור שחצצו (the oven that was divided [by hangings/boards]) – that he made a partition in its mid-section and divided it until above from its top-most layer.

An oven which they partitioned with boards or hangings, and in it was found a sheretz in one compartment, the entire oven is unclean. If people divided an oven into different parts, all the way from the bottom to the top, and then a dead sheretz (an impure creepy crawling thing) is found in one section, the entire oven is impure. This is because a partition put into an earthenware vessel does not count as far as stopping impurity from spreading from one side to the other.

הכל טמא – even foods that are in the second side of the partition.

A hive which was broken and its gap was stopped up with straw and was suspended within the air-space of an oven while a sheretz was within it, the oven becomes unclean. The mishnah now complicates the picture a bit more. If a vessel shaped as a beehive was broken, it no longer counts a vessel, even if the gap was stopped up with straw. If there is a sheretz in this vessel and the entire vessel is suspended in an oven, the impurity breaks out of the hive-vessel and defiles the oven.

כוורת פחותה ופקוקה בקש (a defective bee-hive, which was repaired with stuffing of straw) – for this purpose, it (i.e., the Mishnah) took [the term] פחותה/defective, for it is not a vessel, for if were complete/full it would protect over the foods that are within it, for even a vessel that drips protects/saves, but here not it is not a vessel, it is a mere partition, and [the term] פקוקה בקש/stopped up with stuffing of straw – is taken [by the Mishnah] to add something new, for even though its defectiveness is stuffed with straw, it is not a vessel, and doesn’t protect the foods that are within it.

If a sheretz was within the oven, any food within the hive becomes unclean. But Rabbi Eliezer says that it is clean. Similarly, at least according to the sages, if there is a sheretz within the oven, the impurity of the sheretz defiles that which is in the hive-vessel. Rabbi Eliezer disputes and holds that the hive which has been stopped up with straw protects the food within it from being contaminated by the sheretz in the oven.

ומשולשת – hanging.

Rabbi Eliezer said: if it affords protection in the case of a corpse which is more consequential, should it not afford protection in the case of an earthenware vessel which is less consequential? Rabbi Eliezer argues his point by making an analogy with a corpse found in a building. If a corpse is in a building and the building has been divided by boards or curtains, the vessels found in sections of the building in which the corpse is not present are not considered contaminated. If, Rabbi Eliezer reasons, partitions protect against corpse impurity which is the most serious form of impurity, then the partition of the hive should also protect the food within it. In other words, even if the vessel is not complete, it should still count as a partition, just as do curtains and boards in a building.

אם הצילה במת החמור – for a defective bee-hive that is repaired with the stuffing of straw divides in the face of defilement that is in the tent of a corpse, but even though its defilement is more grave than the defilement to a person or to vessels for a seven day defilement [period].

They said to him: if it affords protection in the case of corpse impurity, this is because tents are divided, should it also afford protection in the case of an earthenware vessel which is not divided? The other rabbis reject his argument because the situations are not analogous. Tents, i.e. buildings, are commonly partitioned, and therefore their partition succeeds in dividing one section from the other. In contrast, as we learned in the first half of the mishnah, partitions within ovens are not typical and therefore they do not succeed in stopping the impurity from going to the other side. Here is a classic example where we can see that the laws of impurity are not purely physical but that they in some way describe reality. The material that is used to divide an oven or a house may be the exact same thing, but in one case it provides a barrier to the spread of impurity and in the other case it does not. The law conveys the reality that houses are divided into parts and ovens are not.

לא תציל בכלי חרס הקל – which does not defile other than foods and liquids.

שכן חולקים אהלים – for it is the manner for people to divide tents with partitions; therefore, the bee-hive is like a partition that saves/protects the tent of a corpse from defilement.

שאין חולקים כלי חרס – for there is no way to divide an earthenware vessel with a partition. Another explanation and essential: that we do divide tents for the dividing of tents with a partition has effect, for it is taught in the Mishnah in the Tractate Ohalot, in the Chapter סגוס עבה/A Thick Cloak (Chapter 15, Mishnah 4): “A house that was divided with boards or curtains, from the sides or from the roof beams – uncleanness is in the house; utensils that are within the partitioned-off area are clean.” But the division of the partition has no effect with earthenware vessels, for it is taught [in the Mishnah] regarding an oven here that was divided with boards or curtains, if an unclean reptile is found in one part, everything is impure. But the Halakha is not according to Rabbi Eliezer.

היתה שלימה – the bee-hive.

If the hive was complete, and so too in the case of a basket or a skin-bottle, and a sheretz was within it the oven remains clean. If the hive-vessel had not been broken, or alternatively the vessel placed into the oven was an unbroken basket or skin-bottle, the sheretz in the vessel does not defile the oven. Since this is a complete vessel it works as a barrier to keep the impurity away from oven.

התנור טהור – as it is written (Leviticus 11:33): “And if any of those (i.e., any article of wood, or a cloth or a skin, or a sack) falls into an earthen vessel, [everything inside it shall be impure and – the vessel – itself you shall break],” but not אל תוך תוכו/to what is inside of it [already], and we are speaking of when its mouth/topmost layer is above from the oven, for if all of it is sunk in the oven, it is like one thing within it.

If the sheretz was in the oven, any food in the hive remain clean. Similarly, if the sheretz was in the oven, the hive-vessel protects the food within it from becoming impure.

אוכלים שתוכה טהורין – as it is written (Leviticus 11:33): “everything inside it shall be impure,” and not שבתוך תוכו/what is already inside it.

If a hole was made in it: A vessel that is used for food must have a hole large enough for olives to fall through, If it is used for liquids the hole must be large enough for liquids to pass into it, And if it is used for either it is subjected to the greater restriction: the hole need only be large enough for liquids to pass into it. If one of these vessels was perforated with a large enough hole, it no longer counts as a vessel and therefore will not prevent impurity from going from the oven to the inside of the vessel and vice versa. The mishnah now repeats that which we learned in 3:1. The vessel is "annulled" from being considered a vessel if the hole is large enough to let out that which it normally holds. So if it normally holds food, if the hole is large enough to let olives fall through, it is no longer a vessel. If it holds liquids, it must be large enough to let liquids out. If it is used for both liquids and solids then we go by the stricter measure if the hole is large enough to let even liquids out, it is not a vessel and it does not serve as a barrier to impurity.

ניקבו – the perforation that purifies them from their impurities, furthermore they no longer have the status of a vessel and they don’t divide/separate whether it is an oven or whether what is inside of it, and how much is the perforation that purifies them from their defilements.

העשוי לאוכלים – its measurement is like bringing forth/removing olives.

העשוי לכך ולכך – for food and liquids.

מטילין אותו לחומרו (they subject it to its more stringent [measure]) – but if he made the incision according to the measurement of liquids which is less than the measurement that is made for foods, he further is not able to save it because of the defilement.

בכונס משקה (with the capacity to admit liquid) – when they place the vessel from the side of the perforation, the water enters through the perforation into the vessel, and it is larger than that which liquid leaves/is removed.

סרידא (stuffed matting used for stoppers of stones, bag) – a kind of small kneading trough that the baker uses to knead in it and it lacks a receptacle. But Maimonides states that it is a board of perforated earthenware thar is made like a kind of net-work/mat, a netting, which we translate in Aramaic as עובד סרדתא/a person who works in netting.

Netting placed over the mouth of an oven and slightly sinking into it, and having no frame: If a sheretz was in it, the oven becomes unclean; If the sheretz was in the oven, the food in the netting becomes unclean, since only vessels afford protection against an impurity in an earthen vessel. This netting is not considered to be a vessel because it does not have an "inside." Therefore it does not serve as a barrier for impurity vis a vis the oven. This means that if a sheretz was in it, it defiles the oven. And if a sheretz is in the oven, then the food in the netting becomes unclean.

גפיים – rims and handles.

A jar full of pure liquids placed beneath the bottom of an oven, and a sheretz in the oven – the jar and the liquids remain clean. If it was inverted, with its mouth projecting into the air-space of the oven, and a sheretz was in the oven, the liquid that clings to the sides of the jar remains clean. Since the jar is below the oven, the impurity of the oven doesn't spread into the jar. This is true even if the jar is open and there is a hole in the bottom of the oven. As long as the jar is not in the oven's airspace, it is not susceptible. If they put the jar on top of the oven and its mouth is open the liquid which remains in the jar is still pure. Again, this liquid is not in the airspace of the oven, rather above it. Therefore it remains pure.

שאין מצילים מיד כלי חרס (do not save from the power of earthenware vessels/utensils – lacking an inner part) – from being susceptible to defilement from the airspace of an earthenware vessel.

אלא כלים – and this, for since it does not have handles, it is not considered a vessel.

נחושתו של תנור (from the copper rim of the stove) – its bottom and lowest point. And similar to it is found in Ezekiel (16:36): “Because of your brazen effrontery/יען השפך נחשתך, [offering your nakedness to your lovers for harlotry – just like the blood of your children, which you gave to all your abominable fetishes].”

החבית והמשקין טהורים – that they did not enter into its (i.e., the unclean reptile’s) airspace, for they stand below the copper rim of the stove, and even if the jar is open and enters from the airspace of the oven at its mouth, the wine is not defiled through this, for the airspace of an earthenware vessel does not defile neither above nor below other than within.

היתה כפויה – the jug [was turned upside down] on its lip and placed on the lip of the oven which has an unclean reptile in it, and on the rim of the jar the moisture of wine that is in it, moist enough in order to moisten other objects, this moisture is not defiled on account of the airspace of the oven that enters into the jar, because the moisture of the wine was not within the oven.

הקדרה טהורה – and it is case where the unclean reptile did not see the airspace of the pot when it fell into the oven.

A pot which was placed in an oven if a sheretz was in the oven, the pot remains clean since an earthen vessel does not impart impurity to vessels. The sheretz in the oven does not defile the pot because it is not in the air-space of the pot, but rather in the air-space of the oven. And the oven's contact with the pot does not defile the pot because earthenware vessels do not defile other earthenware vessels.

נטמא – the liquid [is defiled if dripping liquid was in the pot] and it returned and defiled the pot, according to the law that all liquids are impure when they defile vessels.

If it contained dripping liquid, the latter contracts impurity and the pot also becomes unclean. It is as if this one says, "That which made you unclean did not make me unclean, but you have made me unclean." If there is liquid dripping off the pot, it is defiled by the oven which was defiled by the sheretz. In turn this liquid causes the pot itself to become impure because liquids can defile earthenware vessels. The mishnah personifies a dialogue between the pot and the liquid (think Mrs. Potts in Beauty and the Beast). The pot says to the liquid the oven which made you unclean didn't directly make me unclean. But you, Mr. Liquid, you made me unclean!

מטמאיך לא טמאוני (those things which made you unclean did not make me unclean) – the pot says to the liquids, the airspace of the earthenware vessel that you received the defilement from it did not defile me, for an earthenware vessel becomes defiled from the airspace of an earthenware vessel.

ואתה טמאתני – that he pot was defiled on account of the impure liquids.

ונפל אויר התנור טהור – all the time that the chicken is alive, the defilement was absorbed and does not defile.

If a rooster that swallowed a sheretz fell within the air-space of an oven, the oven remains clean; A source of impurity that is contained within a living being, such as a rooster, does not spread out and cause impurity to the vessel in which the rooster is found.

ואם מת טמא – and it (i.e., the unclean reptile/insect) did not tarry in order to be consumed from the time it was swallowed until it (i.e., the chicken) died. And the measurement in order for it to be consumed (i.e., fully digested) in fowl, is from the time of twenty-four astronomical hours.

If the rooster died, the oven becomes unclean. However, if the rooster dies, it can no longer contain the impurity of the sheretz and the impurity of the sheretz will escape and defile the oven.

הפת שבתוכו שניה – that we don’t view the oven like one that is filled with defilement and it is as if the unclean reptile came in contact with the bread, but rather, the oven is first degree, for the unclean reptile is a primary source of ritual defilement fell into inside and made it first-degree of ritual impurity. And the oven which is first degree, in turn, defiled the bread and made it second-degree of ritual impurity.

If a sheretz was found in an oven, any bread in it contracts second degree impurity since the oven is of the first degree. When a sheretz is found in an oven, contracts first degree impurity. The oven then imparts its impurity to the bread, which now has second degree impurity. We do not consider the air of the oven to be impure such that it directly defiles the bread. This would cause the bread to have first degree impurity. As we proceed we will learn about the practical differences between first and second degree impurity.

בית שאור המוקף צמיד פתיל (a clay leaven pot with an airtight lid) – we ae dealing with an earthenware vessel, that saves in the airspace of the oven with an airtight lid in the manner that it saves in the tent of a corpse (as only the space within an earthenware vessel can contract ritual impurity – and everything within it remains ritually pure), as it is written (Leviticus 11:34): “As to any food that may be eaten, [it shall become impure if it came in contact with water; as to any liquid that may be drunk, it shall become impure if it was inside any vessel,” but not all of the food, excluding that which is surrounded with an airtight lid on an earthenware vessel and placed inside the oven that does not become defiled from the airspace of the oven. But a vessel that requires only rinsing to be restored to Levitical cleanness (see Tractate Hullin 25a; Tractate Zevakhim 3b) does not save with an airtight lid on the foods that are within it, as this is taught in the Halakhic Midrash (Sifra) to the Book of Leviticus, [All] the food, including that which is surrounded by an airtight lid with a vessel that requires only rinsing to be restored to Levitical cleanness and placed within the oven, that it does not save it from the hand of an earthenware vessel [and makes it impure].

A leavening pot with a tightly fitting lid which was put in an oven, and there was some leaven and a sheretz within the pot, but there was a partition (of inedible between them, the oven is unclean but the leaven is clean. The mishnah describes a situation where a special pot used to leaven bread has a tight lid and was placed in an oven. Inside the pot there are two parts separated by a piece of inedible bread. On one side of the pot is some leaven and on the other side is a sheretz. The sheretz does not defile the leaven on the other side of the pot because it is totally separated, from the lid to the bottom. However, the lid does not stop the impurity from leaving the pot through its top. Therefore, the sheretz's impurity defiles the oven.

השאור והשרץ בתוכו והקרץ בינתים – as for example, that this vessel has two receptacles, and the partition that divides between receptacle and its fellow is called a קרץ/[squeezed-in] partition; it is the language of (Job 33:6): "מחמר קרצתי גם-אני"/[You and I are the same before God;] I too was nipped from clay,” and the partition reaches until its rim, and the leaven from one side and the unclean reptile/insect from the other and the partition is the divider that separates between them, but if the entire vessel is surrounded with an airtight lid, that it is found that the leaven and the unclean insect are surrounded by an airtight lid.

But if it was an olive's bulk of corpse, both the oven and the house are unclean, and the leaven remains clean. Similarly, if there is an olive's worth of corpse in the pot, its impurity escapes and defiles the entire house.

התנור טמא – on account of the unclean insect/reptile that is within the airtight lid. For the airtight lid saves/protects those pure things that are within from becoming susceptible to receiving ritual impurity, but it doesn’t save those unclean things found within from defiling other things.

If in the partition there was an opening of one handbreadth, all become unclean. If there is a hole in the partition at least one handbreadth wide, then the partition no longer separates the sheretz from the leaven, and even the leaven is impure.

והשאור טהור – for it is surrounded by an airtight lid by itself.

ואם היה שם פותח טפח – that the partition that was between the leaven and an olive’s bulk from a corpse was beached with an opening of a square handbreadth [in length, breadth and height].

הכל טמא – that a handbreadth by a handbreadth that is open brings in the defilement.

בעין של תנור – it is a hole similar to an eye that one makes in the oven to remove the smoke, and when they bring the bread into the oven, they stop up/close it so that they heat does not escape, and it is not considered as the inside of the oven.

A sheretz which was found in the eye-hole of an oven or of a double stove or of a single stove: If it was outside the inner edge, it is clean. The eye-hole of an oven is a hole made in the bottom of the oven or stove to let in air and let out smoke. It also could have been used to remove the ashes. If a sheretz was found outside of the inner edge of this hole, the oven remains pure. This is because the hole is not considered to be inside the oven or stove.

אם היה באויר – in an uncovered place that was not underneath the tent, even an olive’s bulk from the corpse is placed in the eye/vent/outlet, the oven is ritually pure, for the defilement does not enter into it since the eye/outlet/vent is not open a [square] handbreadth [in length, breadth and height].

If it [the oven] was in the open air, even if it was an olive's bulk of corpse it is clean. If the oven was outside in the open air, meaning it was not inside a house or other building, and a source of impurity is found in its eye-hole, the oven is pure because the impurity cannot enter the oven. And since it is outside, there is no "tent" through which an olive's bulk of corpse could convey its impurity to the oven (we will learn a lot more about this as we proceed). Thus the oven remains clean.

ואם יש בו פותח טפח – that the thickness of the rim of the outer eye/vent protrudes and overshadows on an olive’s bulk from the corpse by a square handbreadth.

If there was [in the eye-hole] an opening of one handbreadth, it is all unclean. However, if there was an opening the size of a handbreadth in the eye-hole (besides its main opening) then the impurity can enter through it into the oven, and the oven is impure.

הכל טמא – the eye/vent/outlet and the oven [are impure] for a square handbreadth of the tent brings in the defilement.

נמצא מקום הנחת העצים – the insect/unclean reptile is found in the place where they place in it the fire and the wood/logs in the portable stove with caves for two pots/כירה, and it is the place which they throw from it the fire from the lowest point of the hearth.

If a sheretz was found in the [place in a stove] where wood is put: Rabbi Judah says: if it was within the outer edge, [the stove] becomes unclean. But the sages say: if it was outside the inner edge [the stove] remains clean. Rabbi Yose says: if it was found beneath the spot where the pot is placed and inwards, the stove becomes unclean, but if beneath the spot where the pot is set and outwards, it remains clean. In this section a sheretz is found in the bottom part of a stove, where they put the wood to burn. Rabbi Judah says that the sheretz defiles the stove if it is found within the outer edge of the place where the wood is put and inwards, inside the stove. The other sages say that if the sheretz was outside of the inner edge, then the stove remains clean. In other words, the debate exists in a situation where the sheretz is found between the inner and outer edge. Rabbi Yose defines the place where the sheretz can defile the stove in a slightly different manner. If the sheretz is found directly below the place where the pot is placed on top of the stove, or anywhere within this area, it defiles the whole stove. But if it is outside this area, the stove remains clean.

מן השפה החיצונים ולפנים טמא – that the thickness of the walls of the portable stove with caves for two pots is considered as it is inside and as if it is within the double stove.

If it was found on the place where the bath-keeper sits, or where the dyer sits, or where the olive-boilers sit, the stove remains clean. It only becomes unclean only [when the sheretz] is found in the enclosed part and inwards. This mishnah now describes ovens upon which people sit: bath-keepers, dyers and olive-boilers. If a sheretz is found on this place, the oven remains pure. The mishnah explains that the sheretz defiles the oven only if it is found in the closed part of the oven. These workers sit on the outside part of the oven, where it is open to the air. Therefore, the sheretz does not defile the oven. However, Albeck notes that according to the Tosefta, if the sheretz comes into contact with the oven, the oven is impure. It does not convey impurity through entering the oven's air-space unless it is within the oven.

וחכמים אומרים – the thickness of the walls of the portable stove with caves for two pots is not considered other than like the outside, and it is not like the inside of the portable stove with caves for two pots. And the Halakha is according to the Sages.

מכנגד שפיתת הקדרה (from the place where the pot is placed and inside – towards the fire) – from the place where one begins to close up the airspace of the portable stove with caves for two pots.

נמצא – the insect/unclean reptile.

מקום ישיבת הבלן – in the place where the person who heats up the water for the bathhouse (i.e., the bathhouse attendant).

אין טמא אלא מן הסתימה ולפנים – from the stopped-up part of the pot which has water in it or the dyer or the olive seethers. But in the Tosefta (Tractate Kelim Bava Kamma 6:15) it is proven that it is not impure other than from the stopped-up part and inside, as it states here, that is, when the insect/impure reptile is suspended in the airspace but doesn’t make contact, but with the defilement of contact, it defiles, even from the stopped-up part and outwards.

בור שיש בו בית שפיתה (a smelting pot which has a bottom or foot on which it can rest – a hole in the ground with an arrangement for putting a pot over fire) – a person who digs in the ground and plasters over the spot over with clay/mud and the plaster can stand (or form a vessel) on its own, such as the oven the son of Dinai, as is taught in the Mishnah above in the chapter “A Baking Oven, its Beginning/"תנור תחלתו" (see Tractate Kelim, Chapter 5, Mishnah 10 at the conclusion- who, according to Bartenura, states that he was a robber and would bake his bread in an oven like this and make these kinds of ovens, or a place where trials took place frequently; see also Tractate Sotah, Chapter 9, Mishnah 9, where this name also appears). But there are those who have the reading of כור/smelting pot with the letter כ'/Kaf (and not the ב'./Bet – as found in our editions of the Mishnah) – and it is a utensil/vessel in which they smelt in it gold and the silver and metals, he language of an iron furnace/כור ברזל. But to me, it appears that it is an oven of a blacksmith.

A pit which has a place on which a pot may be set is unclean. The pit to which this section refers is an oven placed into the ground and attached to the ground with clay. There was a place on top where they could rest a large pot. Since it is an oven, and it can be used to make food, it can contract impurity.

פורנה (a stationary large baking oven) – a large earthenware oven and its opening is at its side like our eye. But it is pure, because it is used with the ground, as is taught in the Tosefta (Tractate Kelim Bava Kamma, Chapter 6, Halakha 17).

And so also an oven of glass-blowers, if it has a place on which a pot may be set, it is unclean. Since this oven can be used for cooking food, it too is susceptible to impurity, as long as it has a place on it upon which one could balance a pot.

לזבז – a thick rim.

The furnace of lime-burners, or of glaziers, or of potters is clean. The furnace used by lime-burners, glaziers or potters is not made for cooking or baking and therefore it is not susceptible to impurity, even if it has a place on which a pot can be placed. In other words, whereas the oven used by glass-blowers is also made to be used for cooking or baking the oven used by these three professions is not.

אסטגיות (rims, moldings around a stove) – perforations similar to those that they make for ovens.

A purna: If it has a frame is unclean. Rabbi Judah says: if it has coverings [for compartments.] Rabban Gamaliel says: if it has edges. A purna is an oven similar to the ovens that we use today. It has a hole in its side, and one doesn't stick the bread to the side as was typically done with ovens during the mishnaic period. Rather the bread was put into bottom of the purna-oven as we do today. There are three different opinions as to what the purna needs for it to be susceptible to impurity. The first opinion holds that if it has a frame around it upon which one could balance a pot, it is susceptible. If it has no frame, and only the ground part of the oven is used for cooking, then it is not considered to really be an "oven" and it is not susceptible. The second opinion holds that if it has covered compartments it is susceptible. The third opinion is that it needs edges upon which one could balance a pot. Without at least one of these three things, the purna is simply some clay attached to the ground to keep the heat in, and none of it is used for actual cooking. Such a simple oven is not susceptible to impurity.

שפיות – a thin rim. But the Halakha is according to the first Tanna/teacher. But my Rabbis explained that a לזבז/thick rim and אסאגיות/rims, moldings around a stove and שפיות/thin rims are all one [thing]. But they do not disagree other than that each one was different according to the language that he heard from his master, and a person is obligated to state [something] according to the language of his teacher (see also Tractate Eduyot, Chapter 1, Mishnah 3).

מגע טמא מת – a person who came in contact with something defiled by the dead and becomes first [degree of ritual impurity], that the person defiled through contact with the dead is a primary source of ritual impurity and makes the individual who has contact first [degree of ritual impurity], and liquids and foods that are in his mouth defile the oven when they entered into its airspace. But even though he himself does not defile them, for a vessel does not become susceptible to receive ritual impurity other than from a primary source of ritual impurity. Behold this person states: “what rendered you unclean did not defile me, but you defiled me,”(see also Tractate Kelim 8:4)) as it is taught in the Mishnah in Tractate Parah ]Chapter 8, Mishnayot 2-7], that the Rabbis decreed regarding liquids that they would defile vessels, as a degree because the משקה זב וזבהliquid of a person with gonorrhea/זב and woman suffering from a flux/זבה as was stated in the Tractate Shabbat (which I could not locate. But using the Bar Ilan Responsa Project 25 plus, I was able to locate one mention of a passage with the words"משקה זב וזבה"are found only in Tractate Bekhorot 38a. I stand to be corrected). But the [word] “foods” that is taken here, it (i.e., the Mishnah) refers to it just by the way, without specific reason, for food does not defile a vessel, but only liquids defile vessels. But the closing of his lips does not save [from contracting defilement] for an airtight lid does not save/protect from the defilement that is within from defiling others as is taught in the Mishnah above (see Tractate Kelim, Chapter 8, Mishnah 6), and outside from the law , that which is taught in the Tosefta of Tractate Kelim [Bava Kamma, Chapter 6, Halakha 5]: “Everything affords protection from the power of a clay utensil, even a utensil made of dung or a utensil made of stones or a utensil made of dirt – except for man” (see The Tosefta, Jacob Neusner, Volume 2). Therefore, something pure that food and liquids were inside of its mouth and he brought his head into the airspace of the oven which is [ritually] impure, were defiled. But a man cannot save with an airtight lid from the earthenware vessel/utensil.

Introduction This mishnah deals mostly with the purity of food or liquids that are found in a person's mouth.

בידים מסואבות – hands which are second-degree of ritual impurity and which invalidate the heave-offering/Terumah.

If a person who came in contact with one who has contracted corpse impurity had (food liquids in his mouth and he put his head into the air-space of an oven that was clean, they cause the oven to be unclean. When a person comes into contact with another person who has contracted corpse impurity, the second person contracts first degree impurity. The liquids that he has in his mouth are impure. If he puts his head into an oven (not sure why one would do this, but let's just forget about that for a moment) the liquids cause the oven to be impure. This is because liquids can defile vessels. The person himself, who has first degree impurity, does not defile the vessel, because people don't defile vessels unless they have a higher form of impurity. We should note that Albeck explains that the word "foods" is not really relevant here because only liquids defile vessels. Foods cannot. The word "foods" is, however, relevant in the subsequent clauses.

הכניס ידו לתוך פיו – to take the pit that is in his mouth or everything.

If a person who was clean had food or liquids in his mouth and he put his head into the air-space of an oven that was unclean, they become unclean. If a pure person has pure food or liquid in his mouth, and he puts his head into an impure oven (didn't learn the first time) then the food or liquids are defiled by the oven.

ר' מאיר מטמא – the cake of ground figs. For since his hands are unclean/repulsive, the spittle was defiled to become first [degree of ritual impurity] because it is liquid, and the spittle defiled the cake of ground figs, for something that is first-degree [of ritual impurity] makes something else second in non-holy things.

If a person was eating a pressed fig with impure hands and he put his hand into his mouth to remove a small stone: Rabbi Meir considers the fig to be unclean But Rabbi Judah says it as clean. Rabbi Yose says: if he turned it over [in his mouth] the fig is unclean but if he did not turn it over the fig is clean. This person's hands are impure, although the rest of his body is not (this is a concept which we will deal with when we learn Tractate Yadayim). If he puts his hand in his mouth to take something out, and at the same time he has a fig in his mouth, Rabbi Meir considers the fig to be impure. His hands defile the spit in his mouth, and it in turn defiles the fig. Rabbi Judah disagrees because he holds that the spit in his mouth is not considered to be a liquid. Rabbi Yose says that the spit in his mouth is considered a liquid only if he moved the fig around in his mouth, thereby uprooting the spit from its original space. In other words, if one gathers up his spit, it is considered a liquid and is susceptible to impurity, but the mere moistness of his mouth is not.

ור' יהודה מטהר – he holds that all the while that the spittle did not leave from the mouth, it is not considered liquid.

If the person had a pondion in his mouth, Rabbi Yose says: if he kept it there to relieve his thirst it becomes unclean. Rabbi Yose has another qualification for when spit can be considered a liquid. If he has a small coin, a pondion, in his mouth in order to cause him to salivate and thereby feel less thirsty, then his spit is considered to be a liquid and it can be impure. As an aside, I have heard of people putting small stones in their mouths on fast days. They say it helps one get over being thirsty.

ור' יוסי מטמא – that he turned over the cake of ground figs from this side to the other side within his mouth, that the spittle was uprooted. And it purifies without turning it over [in his mouth], whenever it is not uprooted, it is not considered liquid. And the Halakha is according to Rabbi Yossi.

האשה שנטף חלב מדדיה – and she is [ritually] impure, and the milk that drips from her breasts is like liquid that came in contact with her and became first-degree [of ritual impurity] (See also Tractate Tevul Yom, Chapter 2, Mishnah 1).

Introduction This mishnah deals with various liquids that come from an impure woman and defile an oven.

שהמשקה מטמא לרצון ושלא ברצון – but even though that the milk that drips from her breasts it was not by her intent/desire, for it is not satisfactory to her, nevertheless, the oven is defiled. But with regard to the fitness of seats we especially require that is satisfactory to him, but not to defile.

If milk [of an impure woman] dripped from a woman's breasts and fell into the air-space of an oven, the oven becomes unclean, since a liquid conveys impurity regardless of whether one wanted it there or not. Liquids convey impurity whether or not one wanted them to end up where they end up. As we shall see, there are other purity laws concerning liquids that work differently, namely when does a liquid make a food susceptible to impurity. In any case, assumedly the woman did not want her breasts to leak onto the oven. Nevertheless, if this impure milk (impure because she is impure) falls into the oven, it defiles the oven.

היתה גורפתו – that she was sweeping the impure oven out to remove its ashes.

If she was sweeping it out and a thorn pricked her and she bled, or if she burnt herself and put her finger into her mouth, the oven becomes unclean. If she is sweeping out the oven and she pricks her finger and bleeds into the oven, her blood defiles the oven, even though she certainly didn't want it there. Similarly, if she burns herself and puts her finger in her mouth, covering it with spit, and then puts her finger back into the oven, the spit on her finger defiles the oven, even though she wanted the spit on her finger, not on the oven. In all cases, if an impure liquid enters an oven, it defiles it.

והכה קוץ ויצא ממנה דם – and the blood of the wound is considered liquid.

ונתנה אצבעה תוך פיה – in the manner that those who are burned in their fingers that they place their fingers in their mouths.

נטמא – we have as a reading. Meaning to say, the oven is defiled on account of the spittle and the blood.