Commentaire sur Oholot 18:9
הָאִצְטְוָנִיּוֹת, אֵין בָּהֶן מִשּׁוּם מְדוֹר הַגּוֹיִם. רַבָּן שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן גַּמְלִיאֵל אוֹמֵר, עִיר גּוֹיִם שֶׁחָרְבָה, אֵין בָּהּ מִשּׁוּם מְדוֹר גּוֹיִם. מִזְרַח קִסְרִין וּמַעֲרַב קִסְרִין, קְבָרוֹת. וּמִזְרַח עַכּוֹ הָיָה סָפֵק, וְטִהֲרוּהוּ חֲכָמִים. רַבִּי וּבֵית דִּינוֹ נִמְנוּ עַל קֵינִי וְטִהֲרוּהוּ:
Les porches n'ont pas [les lois] du lieu d'habitation d'un non-juif. Selon Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel, une ville de non-juifs qui a été détruite n'a pas [les lois] de la demeure d'un non-juif. Césarée orientale et Césarée occidentale sont des cimetières. East Akko était dans le doute mais les Sages l'ont purifié. Rebbi et sa cour ont voté sur Keini et l'ont purifié.
Bartenura on Mishnah Oholot
אצטבא (portico/colonnade, balcony) -made for beauty in front of the houses. But they don’t bury there non-viable births.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Oholot
Introduction
Our mishnah continues to deal with impurity of Gentile dwelling places and even gets into some specifics as to which cities are impure.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Oholot
עיר נכרים שחרבה – cities of the land of Israel where heathens liveג and they were destroyed/laid waste from the heathens.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Oholot
Colonnades are not [subject to the laws] of non-Jewish dwelling places. Collonades are roofed but open areas with many columns to support the roofs. Since non-Jews don't bury their miscarriages there, they are pure.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Oholot
אין בהן משום מדור עובדי כוכבים – that wild animals are found there and they remove all the aborted births that were buried there. But the Halakha is not according to Rabban Shimon ben Gamaliel.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Oholot
Rabban Shimon ben Gamaliel says: a non-Jewish city that has been destroyed is not [subject to the laws] of non-Jewish dwelling-places. Wild animals will circulate around in destroyed cities. Therefore, even if miscarriages were once buried there, the wild animals will eat them.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Oholot
קברות – it is known that they are graveyards.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Oholot
The east [side] of Caesaron and the west [side] of Caesaron are graveyards. Caesoron, also known as Caesarea Philippa is near the Jordan springs. Both sides of this ciry were used by non-Jews as graveyards and therefore they are impure.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Oholot
היה ספק – [there was doubt] if they are from the Land of the Nations, [or] if they are from the Land of Israel.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Oholot
The east [side] of Acre was doubtful, but the sages declared it clean. The sages weren't sure if there was a graveyard on the east side of Acre, but they declared it clean anyway. Very generous of them.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Oholot
וטיהרוהו – They (i.e., the Sages) considered it like the Land of Israel. Alternatively, there was doubt there were graveyard there or not, and they (i.e., the Sages) made them pure/clean, since they testified that there were no graveyards there.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Oholot
Rabbi and his law court voted [to decide] about Keni and declared it clean. Keni is on the southern edge of Israel, according to Albeck, near modern Eilat. Rabbi Judah Hanasi and his court actually had a vote about its purity, and they declared it clean.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Oholot
קיני – the name of a place. And they would have the practice there of defilement from doubt, until Rabbi [Judah the Prince] and his Bet Din decided/resolved upon it and made it pure.
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