פירוש על כלים 12:11

טבעת אדם – as for example the ring of a finger. But the ring that they established to gird his loins and to and to tie it between his shoulders is ritually pure, and that is a ring of vessels. And the reason is because Scripture did not include anything other than ornaments of a man, but not the ornaments of an animal and vessels.

A man's ring is susceptible to impurity. The ring that a man wears is susceptible to impurity, just as is a ring worn by a woman.

קורת החצים (beam of arrows) – there are those who interpret the dung heap that the arrows are placed upon. And there are those who interpret the target of the arrow.

A ring for cattle or for vessels and all other rings are clean. On its own and not used as jewelry, a ring is not considered a vessel. Therefore, if it is used for cattle or for other vessels, the ring is clean.

ושל אסירין (and that of prisoners) – that they make like a kind of notch in the beam to bring into it the foot of a man [and they place a long piece of wood on top of it] and one is not able to go out/escape. And in the language of Scripture, they call it a סד/stocks (Job 13:27 – though the verse is slightly misquoted by Bartenura who writes: וישם בסד רגלי – while the Biblical text writes): "ותשם בסד רגלי"/”that You put my feet in the stocks [and watch all my ways].” But the beams of arrows and of prisoners that are mentioned here are of metal and not of wood.

A beam for arrows is susceptible to impurity, but one for prisoners is clean. The beam described here is made of metal, and is used as a target for shooting arrows. It is susceptible because it is considered a vessel. On the other hand, the beam used to shackle prisoners is not considered a vessel and is therefore not susceptible.

קולר (prisoner’s chain/collar around the neck) – that they place on the neck of prisons. [And it closes]. The Aramaic translation of "ויתנהו בסוגר" (Ezekiel 19:9)/”With hooks he was put in a cage, [They carried him off to the king of Babylon and confined him in a fortress],” with the prisoner’s chain/collar around the neck, and because the prisoner’s collar was made that he would carry with him in every place that he goes, it is considered a usable vessel more than the beam of prisoners which does not move with it from its place. Therefore, the prisoner’s collar/chain is ritually impure.

A prisoner's collar is susceptible to impurity. The collar which is put on the necks of multiple prisoners is susceptible because it is considered a vessel.

שיש בה בית נעילה – they make for the chain a lock-piece [and place them on the foot of the horses, and close them with a key, and it is considered a vessel.

A chain that has a lock-piece is susceptible to impurity. But that used for tying up cattle is clean. A chain that has a place for a lock is susceptible, but if it is just used to tie up cattle it is not susceptible.

לכפיתה (for binding, color-band for animals) – chains that they bind with them the money and the cubs/young animals of small dogs. And they are made for the adornment/beauty and they are an ornament of animals and do not ritually defile.

The chain used by wholesalers is susceptible to impurity. That used by householders is clean. Rabbi Yose said: When is this so? When it attaches to one door, but if it attaches to two doors or if it had a snail[-shaped] piece at its end it is susceptible to impurity. Albeck explains that the chain used by the wholesalers was used to lock up their storehouses. It is susceptible because it is used as a means of locking up something. In contrast, the chain used by householders is only decorative and therefore it is not susceptible. Albeck explains that according to Rabbi Yose, if this chain attaches to only one door, then it is merely decorative, but if it attaches to multiple doors, it is susceptible. It is also susceptible if it has a vessel at its end (the snail-shaped piece). This vessel gives the entire chain the status of vessel. [I should note that I have explained this mishnah according to Albeck. There are other interpretations of the last section].

סיטונות (wholesale provision dealers – of wheat) – large merchants who sell in big measure. And they have a chain that they affix at one end of the measure, a Seah or a dry measure of three Kabs/Tarkab, and its second end they place in a ring that is I the door or in the beam and close it with a key in order that the measure not be stolen.

ושל בעלי בתים טהורים – for it is merely made for adornment/beauty and it is an ornament for the vessel.

מפתח אחד – from one link. People don’t make use of a chain in one link, and it is not a vessel.

או שקשר חלזון בראשה – like the image of snail which is a fish in the see that from its blood they dye the Tekhelet [for the ritual fringes of the Tallit]– he ties it by its head which is made of iron, and it is like a vessel.

קנה מאזנים של סרוקות (the beam of the balance of wool combers/dealers in hatchelled wool) – those who hatchel wool or flax, and sell it a number of liters/measures of capacity, when they want to weigh, they have a long wooden rod and it is suspended at its head like a ring from above., and hooks of iron are suspended from below in a chain, made like hooks and their heads are bent from above. And there is for that rod another ring that goes over the face of the rod and one is not able to go out from it, and it is like a polished block/bar of iron or of thick and heavy copper suspended in that ring, and when he comes to weigh a bag of wool or of yarn, e inserts the hook in the sack and holds the ring that corresponds to it above and raises it in the air, and the ring that has the bar/polished block of iron is suspended removed from the ring that holds it, and it weighs down on the beam until it comes straight and does not bend to any side more, and because the distance of the ring that contains bar/polished block of iron, he knows the number/accounting of the weight, which has symbols on a rod, until here is one Liter, until there, ten, until there – one hundred, and this is called in the language of Scripture פלס , as it is written (Isaiah 40:12): “And weighed the mountains with a scale [and the hills with a balance],” [and] (Proverbs 16:11): “Honest scales and weights are the LORD’s; [All the weights in the bag are His work].”

The beam of a wool-combers’ balance is susceptible to impurity on account of the hooks.
And that of a householder, if it has hooks is also susceptible to impurity.
The hooks of porters are clean but those of peddlers are susceptible to impurity. Rabbi Judah says: in the case of the peddlers' [hooks], [the hook] that is in front is susceptible to impurity but that which is behind is clean.
The hook of a couch is susceptible to impurity but that of bed poles is clean.
[The hook of] a chest is susceptible to impurity but that of a fish trap is clean.
That of a table is susceptible to impurity but that of a wooden candlestick is clean.
This is the general rule: any hook that is attached to a susceptible vessel is susceptible to impurity, but one that is attached to a vessel that is not susceptible to impurity is clean.
All these, however, are by themselves clean.
Most of this mishnah deals with the susceptibility of various types of hooks to impurity.
Section one: Wool-combers' hooks are used for hanging and weighing wool. Since the hooks are a vessel, they can receive impurity, and by extension, so can the whole beam.
Section two: Generally, the beam that a householder uses to weigh things doesn't have metal hooks. Therefore, it is not susceptible to impurity. However, if it does have metal hooks, it is susceptible.
Section three: The porters use a beam with hooks attached to carry their load. The hooks are metal and the beam is wood. These hooks are clean, because the main instrument is the beam, and since it is made of wood and has no receptacle, it is pure. In contrast, the hooks used by peddlers have receptacles in which to hang their wares. Therefore, they are susceptible.
Rabbi Judah says that only the front hooks are used to hang the peddlers' wares, and therefore only they are susceptible.
Sections four-seven: The general rule here explains the particular details in sections 4-6. In all of these cases, as long as the hook is attached to a susceptible vessel, the hook has the status of the vessel and it too is susceptible. However, if the hook is attached to something that cannot become impure (poles, fish-trap or wooden candlestick), it too is pure.
Section eight: When the hooks are not attached to something else, they are clean. There are two possible reasons: 1) they don't have their own name; 2) they are not usable unless attached to something else.

ושל בעלי בתים – they don’t regularly place in it hooks which are the hooks that they insert in a sake to raise it, but without hooks, they tie it with a rope and suspend it on a pole. We have the reading אונקליות but we don’t have the reading אונקיות.

אונקלי של כתפין (hooks of porters/carriers) – a long piece of wood like a kind of balancing pole/staff that the porter places on his shoulder and suspends on it two bags – one in front of him and another behind him with two iron hooks that are inserted in the balancing pole/staff on its two sides.

של רוכלין – those who sell spices and women’s perfumes.

טמאה – because it has a receptacle.

שלפניו טמאה – because he uses it.

ושלאחריו טהורה – that he doesn’t use it other than for protection, so that the burden will not fall from behind him, but the Halakha is not according to Rabbi Yehuda.

דרגש (footstool in front of a high bed/state bed with its footstool) – a small bed of leather and they suspend straps at the rim of the leather around and there are iron hooks along the length of the bed and when they wish to stretch it they intertwine/fasten by means of a loop with those hooks.

נקליטין (poles of the bedstead, connected by a cross-pole over which a net is spread to form a slanting cover/curtain frame) – two pillars/posts that they place in the middle of the walls of the bed, one from its head and the other from its feet, and it is forked/split at their head, and they place a beam from this side to that and spread over it a sheet. But sometimes the pillars are not forked/split, but it is like two hooks that they place at the top of the poles of the bedstead/curtain frame, and these are hooks.

שידה – a small chest.

אקון (reed basket) – a chest that hunters make to hunt fish with.

כל המחובר לטמא – a hook that is attached to a vessel that is susceptible to receive ritual impurity is impure.

לטהור – as for example, a wooden candelabrum which is ritually pure is pure.

אחת אחת בפני עצמה – every hook that is separated from tis vessel.

טהורה – because it doesn’t have a name of its own.

טני (metal cover of a box) – it is a metal vessel that holds three Kab. And it is from the language of "ושמת בטנא" (Deuteronomy 26:2): “put it in a basket.” And owners of homes use it when they place there the rubbish of fragments/shards from metal vessels.

The metal cover of a basket of householders: Rabban Gamaliel says: it is susceptible to impurity, The sages say that it is clean. According to Rabban Gamaliel, the cover of the basket is itself considered a vessel and therefore it is susceptible to impurity, even separate from the basket. The other sages hold that the cover is not a vessel, and therefore it is not susceptible.

רבן גמליאל מטמא – for he holds that thee cover is considered a vessel since it has a receptacle.

But that of physicians is susceptible to impurity. Since physicians would make use of the cover of a basket, it has the status of a vessel and it can become impure.

וחכמים מטהרין – for they hold that a cover is not considered a vessel. But the Halakha is according to the Sages.

The door of a cupboard of householders is clean but that of physicians is susceptible to impurity. Since the cupboard is not susceptible to impurity, its door is not either. However, physicians would use the door of their cupboard, draping the bandage over it before applying it to their patient. Therefore, it is susceptible.

ושל רופאים טמא – according to everyone. This is because doctors place drugs in them.

Tongs are susceptible to impurity but stove-tongs are clean. Metal tongs used to lift a hot pan off a stove and empty their contents elsewhere are susceptible to impurity. But tongs that come attached to the stove are not susceptible because they are considered to be attached to the ground.

מגדל – a storehouse of wood. In the foreign language ARMARIO. And in Arabic ALMENSAR.

The scorpion [-shaped] hook in an olive-press is susceptible to impurity but the hooks for the walls are clean. The scorpion-shaped hook is susceptible because it is attached to the beams used in the olive-press. However, the hooks which are attached to the wall of the olive-press are not susceptible because the wall itself is not susceptible.

ושל רופאים טמאה – because they place upon it a compress/rag and suspends on it the scissors.

יתוכין – tongs that they take the vessel with them when he cast/poured on it the silver to empty it into another vessel.

הפריכין (the bars of a grate through which poking is done) – in the Tosefta (see Tosefta Kelim Bava Metzia 2:10) it explains what are the bars of a grate through which the poking is done? That are established as iron tools for crowding olives into the vat. But my teachers did not explain it to me.

עקרב בית הבד(the iron-shod part of the pressbeam) – curved iron that is similar to a scorpion, that is affixed in the beam of the olive press when they press the olives.

אונקלי שבכתלים – iron hooks that are affixed in the walls to suspend vessels on them.

טהורים – for their use is only with the ground.

מסמר הגרע (the nail of the bloodletter) – the cutting tool/surgeon’s knife of an artisan who lets blood flow (i.e., old-time, low-class doctors), and he is called a blood letter because he diminishes the blood. But there are those who interpret the nail of blacksmiths for they had a nail affixed on the block, when they remove a piece of iron from the fire and they want to cut from it, they place it on a nail and beat it with a mallet and it is reduced.

Introduction Today's mishnah, as well as tomorrow's, deals with the purity of various types of "nails." When the Mishnah uses the word "nail" it does not refer only to building nails, but to various nail-like instruments used in a variety of ways.

אבן השעות (sundial) – a rock/stone that has upon it lines and inscriptions upon them of the names of the hours, and nails are inserted I it and through them, they determine the hours.

A blood-letters’ nail is susceptible to impurity. The word "nail" is used here, but we are probably talking about a small scalpel. It is considered a vessel and therefore is susceptible to impurity.

מסמר הגרדים (weaver’s nail/pin) – a long nail that the weaver brings into a thin reed and attaches yarn on the reed.

But [the nail] of a sundial is clean. Rabbi Zadok says that it is susceptible to impurity. Since the nail of a sundial is fixed in the stone that serves as its base, it counts as if it were attached to the ground, and things that are attached to the ground are not susceptible to impurity.

ארון של גרוסות (ark of the grist dealer) – those who make pounded beans in their millstones, they have a kind of wooden ark/chest.

A weaver's nail is susceptible to impurity. This "nail" is an instrument used to straighten out the thread on the loom. It is susceptible to impurity.

רבי צדוק מטמא – that ark/chest, for it has the law of a vessel upon it.

The chest of a grist-dealer: Rabbi Zadok says: it is susceptible to impurity, But the sages say that it is clean. Albeck brings two interpretations of the "chest of a grist-dealer." The first is that it refers to the chest itself. The second that it refers to the nail used to attach the chest to a wagon. Rabbi Zadok and the sages debate whether this nail is susceptible to impurity.

וחכמים מטהרין – for a wooden vessel is made for pleasure and is not made to be carried. But Rabbi Tzadok holds, sometimes, hey carry it to repair it. But the Halakha is not according to Rabbi Tzadok.

If its wagon was made of metal it is susceptible to impurity. If the wagon used to draw the chest is made of metal, then it (the wagon) is susceptible.

היתה עגלה – that the ark was placed upon it, of metal.

טמאה – for it is made for usage.

שהתקינו – that its head is curved or that he sharpened it in order that he would open and close it.

A nail which he adapted to be able to open or to shut a lock is susceptible to impurity. A nail which one bent to be able to open or close a lock is considered to be a vessel and it is susceptible to impurity.

העשוי לשמירה – as a sign to see if a person enters there or not, for if they don’t find it like he placed it, it is known that a person came there.

But one used for guarding is clean. However, a nail that is simply stuck in a door to close it and keep out cats or other animals is not sophisticated enough to be a vessel and it is clean.

עד שיצרפנו (until he smelted/forged it anew) – in fire for this purpose/need. And the Halakha is according to the Sages.

A nail which he adapted to open a jar: Rabbi Akiva says that it is susceptible to impurity, But the sages say that it is clean unless he forges it. According to Rabbi Akiva, if he bends the nail to be able to open up a jar, it is already susceptible to impurity. The other sages say that to turn a simple nail into a jar opener he must forge it again in the oven. It is not susceptible until he does so.

מסמר השלחני – a nail that is establish on a pillar that is in front of the moneychanger to set up the shutters of the store, and when they remove the shutters, the nail remains there. But the Rabbis declare it ritually pure because its use is with the ground. And the Halakha is according to the Sages (note: this is already taught in Tractate Eduyot, Chapter 3, Mishnah 8).

A money-changer's nail is clean, But Rabbi Zadok says: it is susceptible to impurity. The Rambam explains that the money-changer uses his nail to hang up his scale. Another possible explanation is that this nail was used in the daily set up of the money changers "table" (in Hebrew the money-changer is called "the table-man"). According to Rabbi Zadok this nail is a vessel and is susceptible, whereas the sages disagree.

There are three things which Rabbi Zadok holds to be susceptible to impurity and the sages hold clean: The nail of a money-changer, The chest of a grist-dealer And the nail of a sundial. Rabbi Zadok rules that these are susceptible to impurity and the sages rule that they are clean. This section and mishnah six were brought to Mishnah Kelim from Mishnah Eduyot 3:8-9. In the case of Rabbi Zadok, this section merely repeats that which we learned in the previous two mishnayot. It is interesting to note the different literary styles between the regular tractate, Kelim, which organizes its material by topic, and Eduyot, which organizes its material by name.

ותלוי המגרדות (hanger of a strigil) – in bathhouses, they hang metal strigils and those who enter there each take a strigil and rubs with it his feet.

Introduction Today's mishnah is found word for word in Eduyot 3:9. It is brought here due to the fact that it discusses the purity of vessels, and that the first vessel discussed is also mentioned above in mishnah three.

וגולמי כלי מתכות (unfinished metal vessels) – vessels that one needs to rub, to comb and to beat with a mallet, or if he is missing a rim of a vessel or a handle, they are not ritually impure according to the words of the Sages until their work is completed.

Rabban Gamaliel and the other sages dispute over the susceptibility of four items to impurity.

וטבלא שנחלקה לשנים – an earthenware tray that has a vertical rims/edges (by which a flat utensil is made into a vessel-like receptacle) and is made into two equal pieces. For not one of them is bigger than its neighbor. In this, Rabban Gamaliel and the Sages dispute. But the Halakha is according to the Sages.

There are four things which Rabban Gamaliel says are susceptible to impurity, and the sages say are not susceptible to impurity.
The covering of a metal basket, if it belongs to householders; See mishnah three for an explanation.

And the hanger of a strigil; A strigil was a type of comb used during baths to scrape off dead skin. All agree that the strigil itself is susceptible to impurity. They disagree about the small chain attached to the strigil to hang it on a hook. According to Rabban Gamaliel it too is considered a vessel and therefore receives impurity. According to the sages it does not.

And metal vessels which are still unshaped; Generally speaking, unformed vessels cannot receive impurity. However, when it comes to metal vessels that have not been fully finished, meaning they have not been polished, Rabban Gamaliel holds that they are susceptible to impurity, since they can be used. The sages insist that as long as they are not fully finished they cannot receive impurity.

And a plate that is divided into two [equal] parts. And the sages agree with Rabban Gamaliel in the case of a plate that was divided into two parts, one large and one small, that the large one is susceptible to impurity and the small one is not susceptible to impurity. According to Rabban Gamaliel, a plate broken in two can still receive impurity. The sages hold that broken vessels cannot generally speaking receive impurity. However, they agree with Rabban Gamaliel that if one of the pieces was large, that it still can receive impurity, since it is still useful. The small piece cannot receive impurity.

דינר שנפסל – that the kingdom defiled it or the country, or that it was lacking [its appropriate weight].

Introduction Today's mishnah deals with the susceptibility to impurity of invalidated coins that have put to a secondary purpose.

והתקינו – that he pierced it in order that he could suspend it on the neck or his son or his daughter.

If a dinar had been invalidated and then was adapted for hanging around a young girl's neck it is susceptible to impurity. A coin is not susceptible to impurity, but if it is invalidated and cannot be used and is then hung around a young girl's neck as jewelry, it is susceptible.

סלע – four Denarim.

So, too, if a sela had been invalidated was adapted for use as a weight, it is susceptible to impurity. A sela is a heavier, more valuable coin, worth four denars. If a sela was invalidated, but then used as a weight, it is susceptible to impurity.

והתקינה להיות שוקל בה – silver or gold. For these are a thing that is joined/affixed as for example meat and/or wine, for behold it is taught in a Baraita in the Chapter “He who sells a boat” (Tractate Bava Batra, Chapter 5) [folio 89b]: “They don’t make weights of metal to weigh on them a thing that is attached/affixed.”

How much may it depreciate while one is still permitted to keep it? As much as two denars. Less and he must be cut it up. It is forbidden for a person to hold on to an invalidated coin, lest he deceive people with it and exchange it for a real coin. However, if the coin is obviously defective, he can keep it because people will know that it is defective. Our mishnah therefore asks how much the coin can depreciate before he has to cut it up and get rid of it. The answer is that it can be up to two denars defective. Two denars is equivalent to a shekel. If it has depreciated more than this, he may not hold on to it, lest he try to exchange it for a shekel.

עד שני דינרים – which is one Shekel. And it is one-half of a Selah.

פחות מכאן יקוץ – so that people will not be deceived with it that they will think that it is a Shekel. And similarly, if it is more than a Shekel, it should also be cut up so that they don’t error with it and purchase it for a Selah.

האולר (a penknife) – like a kind of metal scissors that they prepare with it the writing pen/reed.

A pen-knife, a writing pen, a plummet, a weight, pressing plates, a measuring-rod, and a measuring-table are susceptible to impurity. All of the instruments in this section are metal vessels and are therefore susceptible to impurity. Pressing plates are used in pressing olive.

והקולמוס – of bronze and iron or of silver.

All unfinished wooden vessels also are susceptible to impurity, excepting those made of boxwood. Wooden vessels, unlike earthenware ones, are considered susceptible to impurity even if they are not completely finished. This is because they are usable even in their unfinished state. The exception is boxwood, because its bark is thick and vessels made of it are not considered vessels until they are finished.

מטוטלת (plumb-line) – iron and lead that is hanging from a rope that the builder holds in his hand to see that the wall will not come to be curved.

Rabbi Judah says: one made of an olive-tree branch is also clean unless it was first heated. Rabbi Judah adds that vessels made of olive-tree branches are not susceptible unless the branches were first heated up to remove their moisture.

והמשקלות – a liter or a half-liter.

והכירון (iron tool for crowding olives into the vat) – an iron vessel in which they insert the olives in an adze that they stop them in it. –

והכן והכנא (measuring rod/ruler and measuring table) – the cubit that they draw lines/rule on books/scrolls, and the table that is underneath it. So the Arukh explained.

גולמי כלי עץ (unfinished wooden utensils) – that their work [in forming them] was not completed. As for example that they are missing a rim or a handle, or their base when they sit upon it, or that tone needs to divide them and to compare them, they are called גולמים/unfinished.

חוץ משל אשכרוע (except for the ones made from boxwood/ebony) – We have this reading. And it is a kind of cedar, תאשור which we translate into Aramaic as boxwood/ebony. And unfinished vessels that were made from this wood, are pure, because its husk/skin is thick and hard, but they are not considered vessels until their husks are removed and the work [in creating/forming them] is completed. But the reading of the Tosefta is: חוץ משל פירשע/except for ebony or box wood (see Tosefta Kelim Bava Metzia 2:19), because they are lacking boiling [before they can be used]. And פירשע/ebony or boxwood is a resinous wood. But vessels made from it – their work is not [considered to be] completed other than through boiling, that we bring them into the fire and we remove seething, overboiled matter and furthermore, they are not fearful that perhaps they will split.

גרופית של זית (a vessel made out of a piece of an olive tree) – a branch of an olive is called a גרופית/a vessel made out of a piece of it, like that of a fig which is called a young shoot [of a fig tree]. But if they made a vessel from a piece of an olive tree, it is an unfinished product and it does not become accessible to receive ritual impurity.

עד שישלק – until we bring them into the fire that will remove their seething/overboiled matter. But the Halakha is not according to Rabbi Yehuda.