פירוש על כלים 14:10

כלי מתכות – that became defective/cracked or broken.

Introduction Today's mishnah deals with the minimum size that broken pieces of metals vessels need to be in order for them to be susceptible to impurity or for them to still retain the impurity that they already have.

כמה הוא שיעורן – how much will be the measurement of the break/fracture that remains from them and that he can call it that it is doing of the nature of its labor and will be considered as vessels to be [susceptible to be] made impure.

What is the minimum size of [broken] metal vessels [for them to be susceptible to impurity]? A bucket must be of such a size as to draw water with it. A kettle must be such as water can be heated in it. A boiler, such as can hold selas. A cauldron, such as can hold jugs. Jugs, such as can hold perutahs. Wine-measures, such as can measure wine; and oil-measures, such as can measure oil. A bucket is used to draw water, therefore if a piece remains that is large enough to do so, it is still susceptible. A broken piece of a kettle must still be large enough to heat up water. A boiler must still be large enough to hold the hot stones that are thrown in to aid in heating up its contents. A cauldron was a large pot used to hold smaller jugs. The broken pieces of the jugs must be large enough to hold perutahs, which are small coins. Wine and oil measures must still be large enough to hold either wine or oil. We can see that the general rule is quite simple: the broken piece must still be able to perform at least some of its former functions.

מיחם (usually, a vessel for heating water – but here used for keeping coins in it – see Tosefta Bava Metziah 4:1) – that they warm up water in it. But it is larger than a kettle.

Rabbi Eliezer says: the size for all these is such as can hold perutahs. Rabbi Eliezer rules differently and more strictly. With regard to any of these vessels, as long as they can hold perutahs, meaning as long as what remains of them is large enough to hold basically anything, they are still susceptible.

כדי לקבל סלעים – for each Selah is four denarim.

Rabbi Akiva says: a vessel that lacks trimming is susceptible to impurity, but one that lacks polishing is clean. Rabbi Akiva says that if the broken vessel lacks decorative aspects, then it is still susceptible to impurity because the decoration is not necessary for its functioning. However, polishing is necessary for a metal vessel to be used. Therefore, if the broken piece of metal vessel needs to be polished it is clean.

הלבס (a cauldron) – And there those who have the reading הלפס . And it is a larger copper vessel that they boil water in it and place in it small ladles to rinse them in it.

כולן בפרוטות – in all of them they estimate if they have in their crack/broken part enough to receive coins. But the Halakha did not according to Rabbi Eliezer.

המחוסר הגפה טמא (missing the fragment of a vessel in order to be used/trimming) – Rabbi Akiva is speaking of the beginning of the formation of the vessels, and is speaking of, that vessels lacking their coverings are ritually impure, for they are called as having been completed for their usage. [The word] הגפה from the language (Nehemiah 7:3): “let the doors be closed and barred.” And there are many in the Mishnah [where this word appears – specifically in Tractate Avodah Zarah, Chapter 5, Mishnayot 3, 4 and 5]: “[time sufficient] to open [the jar] and stop it up and for the clay to dry.” Even if he corked them, he didn’t acquire them, that is in Tractate Maaser Sheni [Chapter 3, Mishnah 12], it explains, that he covered them with a bung/cork.

ומחוסר לטישה טהור – that it is considered unfinished metal vessels that are not susceptible to receive ritual impurity. [The word] לטישה/hammering, furbishing, is the language of (Genesis 4:22): “who forged all implements of copper and iron.”

חזינא (a cane with a metal knob) – it is the practice to make at the top of a staff [something] like a ball of iron and it is called a חזינא. And all the servants of the king of Egypt today carry in their hands these staffs. And we call them ALDBOM in Arabic. But sometimes when they stick in them nails, in order that they would strike with them a hard and mighty blow.

Introduction Our mishnah deals with various metal objects that are attached to a wooden staff. The wooden staff itself has no receptacle and is therefore not susceptible to impurity. The question is: does the metal instrument attached to it cause it to be susceptible.

שלשה סדרים – [three rows] of nails, and then it is considered a vessel. But the Halakha is not according to Rabbi Shimon.

A staff to the end of which he attached a nail like an axe is susceptible to impurity. I have translated the word for the instrument describe as being affixed at the end of the staff as "axe" but there are other explanations. The Rambam, for instance, says that it was a round piece of iron that looked like a pomegranate. In any case, as long as this vessel has some function, it is susceptible.

שעשאן לנוי (which one affixed for ornament) – as for example, that he made it with thin, sculpted nails in order to make the staff beautiful.

If the staff was studded with nails it is susceptible to impurity. Rabbi Shimon ruled: only if he put in three rows. The staff studded with nails is clearly a weapon. According to Rabbi Shimon it must have a minimum of three rows of nails for it to be susceptible.

טהור – it is metal that serves the wood, as it is taught above [Tractate Kelim, Chapter 13, Mishnah 6: “metal that serves the wood] is pure.” But when he made them to beat and/or to strike, this is wood that serves the metal, and it is ritually impure.

In all cases where he put them in as ornamentation the staff is clean. In all of the above cases, if the metal vessels were attached to the wooden staff only for decorative purposes, the staff is still clean. There must be some functional reason they were adjoined for it to be susceptible.

מניקת (metal siphon) – like a kind of metal tube and inserted the staff in it.

If he attached a tube to its end, and so also in the case of a door, it is clean. If it was once an independent vessel and then it was fixed to the staff, it remains susceptible to impurity. The metal tube was attached to the end of the staff for decorative purposes, and therefore the staff is still pure. Similarly, if one attaches a tube to a door so that the door doesn't get worn down by the ground, the metal tube is pure. This is a case where a metal vessel serves a wooden vessel and as we learned in 13:6, such metal vessels are pure. If the tube was once an independent vessel, used for instance to pour liquids (see 9:6) and then he attached it to the staff, it retains its ability to become impure.

וכן בדלת – under the door in order that it not eat into the ground.

When does it become pure? Bet Shammai says: when it is damaged; And Bet Hillel says: when it is joined on. This section is a continuation of section four. When does a tube that was once an independent vessel and was now attached to a staff lose its susceptibility to impurity? Bet Shammai says that it must be damaged sufficiently so that it can no longer be used. Bet Hillel says that as soon as it is attached to the staff or door, it is susceptible. Interestingly, it seems that the opinion in section four is closer, if not identical to Bet Shammai, for Bet Hillel holds that as soon as the tube is attached to the door or staff, it is pure.

היתה כלי – that this tube was a vessel on its own, and he attached it to the staff and after that it was attached, it is appropriate to use it as a vessel.

[טמאה – it is susceptible to receive ritual impurity, and it is impure as it was].

מאימתי היא טהרתה – the metal siphon that was defiled, from when does it become pure and leaves its [state of] defilement.

משיחבל (from the moment he batters – the tube, for fitting it into the top of the staff) – from when he ruins it and lessens its form/shape.

משיחבר – from when he attaches it to the door or to a staff and affixes it with nails, that it will no longer be used on the vessel, it has already cancelled the name of a vessel from it, and it has left its [state of] spiritual uncleanness.

הקנטר של בנאי (te builder’s pronged tool, bit or auger) – they explained it that it is a iron rod or staff that the builders cut the wall with.

A builder's staff and a carpenter's axes are susceptible to impurity. Since these are metal tools, they are susceptible to impurity.

הדקור (the chisel of carpenters) – peg. Like “he would dig with a pronged tool/mattock and covers it up [i.e., the blood] as it is taught in the Mishnah in the first chapter of [Tractate] Betzah [Mishnah 2 – expressed by the School of Shammai].

Tent-pegs and surveyors’ pegs are susceptible to impurity. Tent pegs are considered utensils and are therefore susceptible to impurity. Surveyors' pegs are put into the ground and strings are attached to them to measure the ground. They too are susceptible.

חרש – carpenter.

A surveyor's chain is susceptible to impurity, but one used for wood is clean. A chain used by surveyors to measure the length of the ground is susceptible to impurity, just as are the pegs. However, if the chain is used to bundle up wood, it is not susceptible because it is not considered a vessel.

יתדות אוהלים – they wedge-in iron pegs in the ground and extend/stretch tents and tie cords with pegs. But this is not usage via the ground, for it is for movables that hey are using it.

The chain of a big bucket [is susceptible to impurity to a length of] four handbreadths, and that of a small one [to a length of] ten handbreadths. Up until four handbreadths, the chain attached to a large bucket is considered to be part of the bucket and it is susceptible to impurity. However, the large bucket does not need a chain any longer than this, and therefore if the chain is longer, the remainder is not susceptible. Smaller buckets have longer chains and therefore the chain is susceptible to impurity up to a length of ten handbreadths.

ויתדות המשוחות (pegs of land measurers/surveyors) – measurers of the ground for the division for the brothers, they wedge-in pegs in the ground and tie a rope to them and measure.

A blacksmith's jack is susceptible to impurity. The blacksmith's jack is the iron base which he uses to forge his vessels. It itself is considered a vessel and is susceptible to impurity.

שלשלת של משוחות טמאה (surveyors’ measuring chains) – since through the measuring of a cord there is perversion/fault. Sometimes that it stretches to this side more than to that, therefore, they regularly make a chain to measure it.

A saw whose teeth were made in a hole susceptible to impurity, but if they were turned from below upwards it is clean. In this section I am following the Rambam's interpretation. If a person made a saw by inserting teeth into the holes in the saw, the saw is susceptible to impurity. However, if he turns the teeth in such a way that he cannot use the saw, it is clean.

עשויה לעצים – to tie with it a bundle of wood, or to measure wood with it, for there are places where they sell wood with the measurement of as much as cord. But the special chain for this is ritually pure, for it is metal that serves the wood.

All covers are clean except that of a boiler. Generally, metal covers are pure because they are not considered vessels. The exception is the cover of a boiler, which is on occasion used independently of the boiler.

ארבעה טפחים – but more than this is not considered a handle.

חמור של נפחים (the smiths’ ass –on which the smith sits while using its head as an anvil) – the wood smithy rides upon is called a חמור. That is how my Rabbis explained it. But in another place I found that it is an iron vessel like the form of a donkey, and the artisan rides upon one end and beats/strikes the other end, and they do this when they want to strike all the large vessels whose rims are tall and very large.

מגרה (saw) – a tool with rough edges or teeth that they plane/saw boards with, that became defiled, and they put its teeth into the hole of the door, it did not leave its state of ritual impurity, for it is impure as it was, until they affix the door with a nail. And this is how it is explained in the Tosefta )Tractate Kelim Bava Metzia 4:10).

עשאה מלמטה למעלה – that he revised it and placed it upside-down in the hole of the door.

טהורה – even though he did not affix it with a nail.

כל הכיסויין טהורין – because the coverings do not have their own name.

חוץ משל מיחם – and all those similar to it, that have a name of their own, and we use them on their own, like the covering of the physician’s medicine box as is taught above in [Tractate Kelim] Chapter 12 [Mishnah 3] “The Ring of the Man” which is ritually impure according to everyone, because it leaves dyes/artist’s materials.

העול של מתכת טמא – that flat metal vessels are susceptible to receive ritual impurity.

Introduction The next two mishnayot deal with the parts of an ox-pulled wagon that are susceptible to impurity and the parts that are not.

קטרב (a cross-piece in front of yoked animals or the pin fastening the ropes of the yokes to the poles) – there are two pieces of wood – from this side from the yoke and from that side from the yoke, and they are perforated, and they bring into that perforation a piece of wood which is called a קטרב, and they tie it so that they cattle will not be detached/loosened. But Maimonides explained, that a קטרב is wood hat that is stretched on the two sides of the animals, and the yoke is in the middle.

The parts of a wagon that are susceptible to impurity: the metal yoke, the cross-bar, the side-pieces that hold the straps, the iron bar under the necks of the cattle, the pole-pin, the metal girth, the trays, the clapper, the hook, and any nail that holds any of its parts together. Rather than explain what each of these things exactly is (I'm not even sure I could explain), I think it is better to simply point out that all of these vessels serve indispensable functions on the wagon. Without them, the wagon will not function properly. Therefore, they are all susceptible to impurity. In other words, functional and necessary vessels are susceptible to impurity.

והכנפיים (wings/side pieces that hold up the straps) – they are two ends of a קטרב. From the language of על כנפי בגדיהם/”on the corners of heir garments”(Numbers 15:38) and they are of iron.

המקבלות את הרצועות – that is to say, if the ends of the קרטב were made to receive the straps, they are ritually impure, for they are considered a vessel. But if they were made for adornment, they are ritually pure, because it is metal that is servicing the wood.

והברזל שתחת צוארי בהמה – they tie iron on the necks of the animals in order that they should not choke with the cord that they tie upon it the קטרב.

הסומך (the pin for attaching the pole to the wagon – or the ring suspended from the yoke and pulled over the front end of the pole) – in the middle of the yoke there is a kind of large ring, and through it enters the head of the plough/strigil and the head of the wagon, and that ring is called a סומך.

מחגר (the rope around the neck of the animal tied to the wagon – or the prin fastening the yoke to the pole to prevent the wagon from vacillating) – a cord that they tie underneath the neck of the ox. And there are those who have the reading והמסגר (enclosure), and it is a peg that they place at the end of the yoke in order that the wagon not deteriorate/be perverted because of the length of the yoke.

תמחויות (the partitions in a wagon for freight or baggage; a cavity in the yoke) – like a kind of small dishes of the yoke and they are called תמחויות.

ענבל (clapper of a bell) – it is the iron that strikes within the body of the bell/clapper.

צנורא (hook, pin) – a hook that they insert in a load that is on the wagon so that it doesn’t fall.

ומסמר המחבר את כולם – that is to say, every nail that is made to attach the sections/links of the wagon one to the other. This excludes the nails that are not made to attach, but are only for adornment. For those do not defile.

העול המצופה – [the yoke that is plated] with iron. It is ritually pure, because it is metal that services the wood.

The clean parts of a wagon are the following: the yoke that is only plated [with metal], side-pieces made for ornamentation, tubes that give out a noise, the lead at the side of the necks of the cattle, the rim of the wheel, the plates and mountings, and all other nails, all of these are clean. This section is the opposite of yesterday's mishnah. The objects mentioned here are either ornamental or not absolutely necessary for the functioning of the wagon. The yoke that is made of wood but is covered with metal is considered to be a wood vessel and the metal parts serve the wood. Therefore it is clean.

ושפופרות – like a kind of tube of a hollow reed that they customarily make from metal to produce sound.

Metal shoes of cattle are susceptible to impurity but those made of cork are clean. Metal shoes made so that animals don't slip are susceptible but not simply because they are shoes. They are susceptible for soldiers, in time of need, use them for drinking. But cork shoes are not used for drinking, and therefore they are not susceptible.

והאבר – lead that they place on the side of the neck of animals for adornment.

When does a sword become susceptible to impurity? When it has been polished. And a knife? When it has been sharpened. The mishnah now returns to discuss the topic of when the manufacturing of certain objects is considered to have been completed such that they are susceptible to impurity. A sword is used only after it has been polished, and therefore it is susceptible only then. In contrast, a knife is susceptible as soon as it has been sharpened.

והסובב של גלגל (the iron hoop of a wheel) – the wooden wheel of a wagon that they make surround it with iron so that it doesn’t break on crags and on rocks.

טסין – small boards. Golden plates and we translate it in Aramaic as golden plates.

סנדל בהמה של מתכות טמאין – because they are made to have the fighting men drink from them during war.

שעם (bamboo) – a kind of reed-grass/bulrushes.

הסייף מאימתי מקבל טומאה – we are speaking of a sword that was brought up rust/mold, which is ritually pure, but when is it susceptible to receive ritual defilement?

משישופנו (from when one polished it) – the goldsmith/smelter and those metal artisans who have vessels that are called הצורפים/smelters, goldsmiths in the language of Scripture, and its Aramaic translation is שופינא and they smelt and smooth the vessels that had rust come upon them to remove their rust.

משישחיזנו (from when he whetted it) – with his whetting implement of stone or wood to remove its rust.

כיסוי של טני של מתכת (covering of a metal basket) – of house owners, is ritually pure, according to the words of Sages who dispute on that of Rabban Gamaliel above in Chapter 12 [Mishnah 6] (of Tractate Kelim). But if he cleansed it and polished it and made from it a mirror, ר' יהודה מטהר – for he holds that a mirror is not worth to him anything.

A metal basket-cover which was turned into a mirror: Rabbi Judah rules that it is clean. And the sages rule that it is susceptible to impurity. Had it not been made into a mirror, all would agree that this metal basket-cover is pure because it is a metal object used for the purposes of a wooden object (see 12:6). As we learned, in such cases the vessel has the status of being made of wood. However, if he polishes it and makes it into its own vessel to be used as a mirror, it is susceptible, according to the sages. Rabbi Judah holds that it is still not considered a vessel and it is still pure.

וחכמים מטמאין – for a mirror is worth to him something. And the Halakha is according to the Sages.

A broken mirror, if it does not reflect the greater part of the face, is clean. If the broken mirror cannot show most of a person's face, it is no longer susceptible to impurity because it is really not usable. But if it can still reflect most of the face, it is still usable.

כלי מתכות מיטמאין ומהרין שבורים – metal utensils/vessels that were defiled through [contact with] a corpse and were broken, and he returned and made [new] utensils/vessels on that selfsame day, that they returned to their former [status of] ritual impurity, since he sprinkled [on the third and seventh days ashes from the red heifer mixed in water] upon them while they were whole and they became broken, one does not have to wait until the second sprinkling until the seventh [day], but rather even on one day, he sprinkles twice, one prior to breaking [them] and one after breaking [them] and they are ritually pure immediately. For Rabbi Eliezer holds like Rabban Shimon ben Gamaliel, who said above in Chapter 11 [Mishnah 1] that they didn’t say that the returned to their former [status of] ritual impurity, but rather, only [those] vessels that were defiled through the uncleanness of the soul alone, and the reason for this decree is because of the fence of the waters of the sin-offering as was explained above, therefore, they were not concerned other than that there would be here two [ritual] sprinklings [of the mixture of the water and ashes of the red heifer]. But however, while they are still broken, [ritual] sprinkling is not effective, for sprinkling is not connected with broken [utensils]. But it also requires that the breaking interrupts between each [ritual] sprinkling, because here is an interruption of days between the sprinkling of the third [day] and the sprinkling of the seventh [day]. But they did not want to be stringent in the return of the former ritual defilement which is according to the Rabbis, and they were lenient so that the sprinkling would be effective even that both sprinklings occurred on one day.

Introduction Metal vessels can be purified by having hatat waters (the water that contains the ashes of the red heifer) sprinkled on them on the third and seventh days from their impurity. Metal vessels also can become clean by being broken. Our mishnah deals with how these two ways of becoming pure work (or don't work) together.

ר' יהושע אומר אין הזאה פחות משלישי ושביעי – for they established it like that of the Torah [legislation]. And the Halakha is according to Rabbi Yehoshua.

Metal vessels remain unclean and become clean even when broken, the words of Rabbi Eliezer. Rabbi Joshua says: they can be made clean only when they are whole. Rabbi Eliezer basically says that just as a whole metal vessel found in a tent with a dead body is unclean and can be purified by the sprinkling of the hatat waters, so too broken metal vessels can become impure and clean in such a manner. Rabbi Joshua disagrees and holds that metal vessels can be made impure and then made clean only when they are whole. If they are broken they can't be made clean and if they are made unclean when whole and then broken they cannot be purified until they are repaired. Note that this doesn't mean that they are impure. It means that if he repairs them, they are still impure until the water is sprinkled upon the.

How so? If they were sprinkled upon and on the same day they were broken and then they were recast and sprinkled upon on the same day, they are clean, the words of Rabbi Eliezer. Rabbi Joshua says: there can be no effective sprinkling earlier than on the third and the seventh day. The words "How so?" usually imply that section two is an illustration of section one. However, Albeck and some other traditional commentators, claim that in this mishnah section two is an independent debate between Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Joshua and that the words "How so?" should not be there. We will explain accordingly. According to Rabbi Eliezer, once the metal vessel was broken and then repaired, there is no need to wait for the seventh day for the second sprinkling. Since their breaking also purifies them, they do not need to wait for a full period. Rabbi Joshua is consistent with his opinion in section one. Once the process of purification has begun, it must be completed on a whole vessel. The sprinkling is only effective if done on the third and seventh days.

מפתח של ארכובה (a key with a joint – broken at the joint) – that is scraped/cut at the knee/joint with the leg, that is made like our bent [letter] Nun. And most of the keys that are in the Land of Israel are like this.

Introduction Our mishnah deals with the purity of keys.

רבי יהודה מטמא – But the Halakha is not according to Rabbi Yehuda.

A knee-shaped key that was broken off at the knee is clean. Rabbi Judah says that it is unclean because one can open with it from within. The first opinion holds that if a knee-shaped key is broken off at the knee, the key is pure because it can no longer be used to open the door. Rabbi Judah says it still retains some function. The key can be used from the inside to unlock the door, but from the outside, the key would not reach the lock. Because it still has some use, it is still susceptible.

ושל גם – like the Greek [letter] gamma which is like the inverted [letter] Nun.

A gamma-shaped key that was broken off at its shorter arm is clean. This key is similar to the Greek letter gamma. If it is broken off such that he can no longer handle it, it is clean.

היו בו חפין (if it had teeth – of the bit) – when it was broken within its junction, if there remained in it teeth of the bit and gaps/holes, the חפין are the teeth, the gaps/holes are what the teeth of the lock enter into, that sometimes the key has teeth and they enter into the gaps of the lock and open up [the door], and sometimes there are holes in the key and he brings those gaps/holes into the teeth of the lock and opens up [the door].

If it retained the teeth and the gaps it remains unclean. If the teeth were missing it is still unclean on account of the gaps; if the gaps were blocked up it is unclean on account of the teeth. If the teeth were missing and the gaps were blocked up, or if they were merged into one another, it is clean. This mishnah discusses keys in general, and not just the gamma key mentioned in section two. A key has teeth and gaps both are necessary to open the lock. Obviously, if both remain, the key is functional and susceptible to impurity. However, even if only the teeth or gaps are still there, the key is still susceptible to impurity. The key only becomes clean when both the teeth are missing and the gaps are blocked up.

או שפרצו זה לתוך זה (or merged one into the other) – that the teeth were not removed and the gaps/holes were not blocked, but rather that they merged, as for example, when the teeth were curved or the gaps/holes widened and they touched each other.

If in a mustard-strainer three holes in its bottom were merged into one another the strainer is clean. If there were three holes in a mustard-strainer that joined together to form one large gap, the strainer is no longer usable and it is clean.

מסננת של חרדל (mustard mixture in the strainer – see also Tractate Shabbat, Chapter 20, Mishnah 2) – a kind of metal winnow that the mustard is placed in it and it strains and collects the refuse.

A metal mill-funnel is unclean. The metal mill-funnel that is used for pouring wheat into the mill is considered a vessel and is susceptible to impurity.

מלמטן – in the rim of the strainer from when three holes merged and all three of them became one hole/gap, more than this, it is not appropriate to filter/strain in it.

אפרכס (clepsydra) – a vessel of the millstone that is wide from above and gradually narrows from below, and we place it wheat in it and it issues them bit by bit in the millstone.