פירוש על כלים 21:7

הנוגע בכובד העליון (he who touches the upper beam from which the warp depends) –the weaver has two round pieces of wood, the first that the warp (i.e., longitudinal) thread is wrapped around, and the second that is in front of it that all the while that he continues to weave, he wraps the woven curtain. And because they are heavy, they are called כובד. And the upper beam from which the warp depends is what is in front of him, and the lower beam (כובד התחתון – the roller on which the web is wound as it advances) is distant one from him for all the warp (longitudinal thread) is wrapped on it.

Introduction Our mishnah deals with a situation where a completed unclean woven garment is on a loom and a person touches various parts of the loom. Parts that are considered to be connected to the woven garment defile the person who touches them, whereas parts that are not considered to be as connected do not. I am not all that familiar with looms. I did find a decent illustration on the web of a "treadle loom" that seems to be the type referred to in the Mishnah. I will try my best to describe some of the parts. The main issue is the principle, which should be clear after the mishnah is learned.

הנירין (the cross-beam of the loom – the leashes or thrums to which the threads of the warp are attached) – they are the woven threads on the reed, and for them, they raise slightly the threads and make a path that the weaving of the thread goes.

One who touches the upper beam, the lower beam, the harnesses, the sley, the thread that is drawn over purple material, or a spool which is not to be shot back, remains clean. A loom has two beams, an upper and a lower one. These are used to move the warp up and down. The heddles are the strings attached to the reeds laid across the loom. The sley is a reed used to straighten the warp. When making purple cloth, weavers would pass a string over the cloth and then remove it. A spool that is not shot back refers to strings that will not be brought back and woven into the garment. All of these things are not considered to be attached to the garment. Therefore, one who touches them is pure, even if the garment is unclean.

קירום (the row of slips or thrums in the loom to which the threads of the warp are attached) – comb/strigil that one strikes on the weaving and fastens the threads

If he touches the woof, the standing warp, the double thread that is drawn over purple material or a spool which is to be shot back, he becomes unclean. The "woof" refers to the strings of the woof that have already been put into the warp strings but have not yet been straightened out properly. The "standing warp" refers to the strings of the warp stretched out between the upper and lower beams. The double string passed over the purple cloth will not be removed. And the spool that will be shot back is attached to a string that will be part of the garment. One who touches any of these things is defiled, because these are connected enough to the garment to be considered already as being part of the garment.

בחוט שהעבירו על גבי ארגמן – after the embroidered garment is made, they place threads on it that it should not become soiled, and those threads were not attached to the cloth.

If one touches the wool that is on the distaff, or on the spool, he remains clean. The wool that is on the distaff or on the spool is not considered to be connected, and therefore one who touches it is pure.

ובעירא (white substance, undyed wool or cotton – this is the "אירא" /undyed wool or cotton that is mentioned in the first chapter of [Tractate] Shabbat [11b]: "ולא גדרי באירא שבאזנו"/nor a common weaver with undyed wool in his ear. And this is a small piece, from wool or flax or from wool of the vine that they weave within the wraps for beauty, and he throws it into the warp/longitudinal direction of the latitudinal direction/woof that is wrapped within it, and there are some of them that are black and red, and if it will not be eventually restored, such as for example that it is red and now he wants to bring in undyed black wool, and even those it has not split the cloth, there was no attachment/combination.

If he touches the spinner: Before it was uncovered he is unclean, After it was uncovered he remains clean. If the spindle was impure, one who touches the spinner on the head of the spindle is impure if he touches it before he removes the string and uncovers the spinner. But if he touches it after the string was removed and the spinner is uncovered, remains clean.

בנפש המסכת (the woof) – the threads of the woof/latitudinal direction that go within the warp/longitudinal direction within the body [of the garment], and every thing that the weaver places within the woof to repair his weaving is called "נפש" /the soul of the woof, and when he comes in contact with them it is coming into contact with the clothes – which is attachment.

שתי העומד (the warp of the standing loom) – that he needs still for the clothing and stands to be woven.

וככפול שהעבירו על גבי ארגמן (the double/folded over thread which one passed over fine purple) – a piece of the cloth that they sew on the purple so that it doesn’t become soiled, it is like it is attached to the cloth.

עירא שעתיד להחזירה (the spool which is going to be returned [to the web]) – as I have explained above.

בצמר שעל האימה (with the wool that is on the distaff) – there are those who have the reading [of the word אימה as] עימה with an "ע" and it is all the same. And it is a long staff or a reed that the women tie up the wool and spin.

באשוויא (the staff around the which the wool is put, spool) – the wool that is on the spool, and the distaff and/or the spool both of them are made for spilling, but each is different from the other in their shape/form.

טהור – for it is not attached.

פיקה (whorl, spinner) – a kind of small round piece of metal that has an incision, that the women put into the top of the spindle/distaff to make it heavy, and they call it a POSROLAV in the foreign language.

עד שלא פירעה (until they didn’t lay it bare) – before releasing it.

משפירעה – once he released it.

קטרב (cross-piece in front of yoked animals; the pin fastening the ropes of the yoke to the pole) – it is explained above in Chapter “Metal Vessels” (Tractate Kelim, Chapter 14, Mishnah 4) which are two pieces of wood from two sides of the yoke in which incisions have been made , and they bring into this incision a piece of wood called a קטרג /cross-piece in front of yoked animals/the pin fastening the ropes of the yoke to the pole, and tie it so that the cattle will not become detached/slip away.

Introduction Today's mishnah is similar to yesterday's except that it discusses instruments connected to the plow.

בעין (ring-shaped pad around the animal’s neck – a halter of soft material) – a woolen or leather pad or sack that they tie on the neck of the animal and the yoke is upon it.

One who touches the yoke, the crossbar, the collar-piece, or the thick ropes, even when they are being used, he remains clean. These are all pieces of the plow that are not considered to be connected to it, so if the plow is impure, the person who touches one of them is still pure.

עבות (chain or rope for fastening the yoke of the animal to the plough – the pole tied to the yoke by means of a knotted rope) – a long and thick piece of wood tha tis in the plough, that enters into the yoke.

If he touched the tail piece, knee or handle, he becomes unclean. These are all pieces of the plow itself, and not just things that connect the plow to something else. Therefore one who touches them is unclean.

החרב (the sword-shaped handle of a plough) – a piece of wood made in the shape of a sword that catches in the wild-growing bushes.

If he touched the metal rings, the guides, or the flanks, he becomes unclean. Rabbi Judah says that he remains clean if he touched the guides since they only serve to increase the soil. The "guides" are two pieces of wood used to bring the soil into contact with the plow, to "increase the soil" in the words of Rabbi Judah. The "flanks" are made to crush the soil. With regard to the metal rings and the flanks, all sages agree that one who touches them is unclean. There is a debate with regard to the "guides." The first opinion holds that they are considered connected to the plow, whereas Rabbi Judah says that they are not really part of the plow. Their sole function is put more soil into contact with the plow. Therefore, one who touches them remains pure.

והכורך (part of a plough containing a receptacle out of which the seed falls during the ploughing) – a curved piece of wood similar to a saddle/handle of a saddle and it is sunk in the ground at the time of the ploughing.

ביצול (in the cross-piece or handle of the plough) – a piece of wood that the person who ploughs holds in his hand, and he strikes the plough on each side when he wants. The explanation of – [the word] "יצול" – is a staff [as in] (Deuteronomy 16:19): “you shall not judge unfairly,” which we translate into Aramaic, “you shall not pervert the law.”

עין של מתכת – the metal ring.

לחיים (cheek pieces/plough guides) – two pieces of wood that are in the incisions of the yoke.

עריים (iron-tipped ploughshare) – made like a kind of vessel of chiseling stones and with it breaks up clods of dirt. And it is called עריים from the language of (Jeremiah 51:58): “[Babylon’s broad wall] shall be knocked down,” (Psalms 137:7): “Strip her, Strip her to her very foundations!” But the Halakha is not according to Rabbi Yehuda who declares the cheek pieces/plough guides to be pure [used to increase the soil].

מגרה (saw) – iron filled with notches that we saw with it the tablets and boards. And in the foreign language it is SIGA. And the saw has two pieces of wood, one from this side and another from the other side, and through them the carpenter/artisan captures wood and at the time that he saws the tablets, and these pieces of wood are a handle for the saw. But if the saw became defiled, a person who comes in contact with/touches them is impure, for they are handles to it.

One who touches the handle of a saw at either end becomes unclean; The handles of a two-handled saw are both considered to be part of the saw. Therefore, one who touches either of them is unclean.

בחוט ובמשיחה (the string and the rope of the saw) – at the top of these pieces of wood which are handles, they tie a string or a rope or a rope’s length that goes over the length of the saw and attaches between its teeth and preserves it.

[If he touched] its string, cord, cross-piece or side-pieces, a carpenter's vice, or the bow-handle of a bow-drill, he remains clean. Rabbi Judah says: so too he who touches the frame of a large saw remains clean. The string or cord run from one handle of the saw to the other to keep them attached. A cross-piece is a piece of wood connecting the handles on a saw. The side-pieces support the handles of a saw. The carpenter's vice is made of two boards, between which the carpenter places bent pieces of wood to straighten them. If one touches any of these things, he remains clean. Rabbi Judah adds that the same is true with regard to the frame of a large saw.

באמה (crosspiece) – a long piece of wood that is the middle of these two pieces of wood and goes throughout the length of the saw is called an אמה".”

One who touches the bow-string or the bow, even though it was stretched, he remains clean. The different parts of the bow (as in bow and arrow) are not considered to be connected to one another. Therefore, if one touches the bow-string when the bow is unclean or the bow when the arrow is unclean, he is not unclean. This is true even if the arrow is taut in the bow.

בסניפין (the side-pieces of the saw which hold the blade, and the wedge with which the cord is twisted) – a small piece of wood that is placed from the string and the rope of the saw until the crosspiece, and upon it, it twists and makes a fringe of the string and the rope of the saw, and one head is within the thread and the other is within the crosspiece, and sometimes he would put two there.

A mole-trap is clean. Rabbi Judah says: when it is stretched, the separate parts are [regarded as] connected. The various parts of a mole trap are not considered to be connected one to the other. If one is unclean, and a person touches the other part, he is still clean. Rabbi Judah says that when the mole-trap is stretched, ready to trap the mole, the separate parts are considered to be connected. They are considered unconnected only when the trap mechanism is relaxed.

מכבש (carpenter’s vise for straightening wood) – it is a place that the carpenter has for wood that he presses and detains the curved pieces of wood and the curved tablets/boards and the crooked pieces in order to straighten them, and similarly, he detains there the wood and the boards that they should not move this way or that until he repairs them for his work.

קשטנית (bow=shaped handle of a borer, “bow-drill”) – like a kind of small bow of wood that they insert in it the iron of a borer when he wants to bore/penetrate into it, but when a person holds the bow and rolls the iron in it, but if the iron is impure, the bow is not defiled, for it is not considered an attachment, for it was their practice to not attach the bow to the iron.

מסר הגדול – large saw that is made to saw beams, and they make it like a kind of square from thin pieces of wood and the saw is in the middle and that square is called a frame.

טהור – the part that is impure is only that of the place of the holding of the handle alone. But the Halakha is not according to Rabbi Yehuda.

יתר (bow-string) – the cord of the bow. It is the language of (Psalms 11:2): “they set their arrow on the string.”

אע"פ שהיא מתחוה (even though it is stretched out) – even though the arrow in the bow-string and in the bow is stretched to shoot it, and the arrow is is defiled, the bow and the bow-string are not defiled, for the arrow is not connected/attached to the bow and the bow-string.

אישות (mole) – it is a creature that has no eyes. And the owl, we translate into Aramaic as moles, and we hunt it because it destroys the fields.

טהורה – that it is not considered a vessel.

כל זמן שהיא מתוחה – and an iron arrow is in it. If the arrow is defiled, the [mole] trap is defiled. Ut the Halakha is not according to Rabbi Yehuda.