Commento su Kelim 1:3
לְמַעְלָה מֵהֶן, בּוֹעֵל נִדָּה, שֶׁהוּא מְטַמֵּא מִשְׁכָּב תַּחְתּוֹן כָּעֶלְיוֹן. לְמַעְלָה מֵהֶן, זוֹבוֹ שֶׁל זָב וְרֻקּוֹ וְשִׁכְבַת זַרְעוֹ וּמֵימֵי רַגְלָיו, וְדַם הַנִּדָּה, שֶׁהֵן מְטַמְּאִין בְּמַגָּע וּבְמַשָּׂא. לְמַעְלָה מֵהֶן, מֶרְכָּב, שֶׁהוּא מְטַמֵּא תַּחַת אֶבֶן מְסָמָא. לְמַעְלָה מִן הַמֶּרְכָּב, מִשְׁכָּב, שֶׁשָּׁוֶה מַגָּעוֹ לְמַשָּׂאוֹ. לְמַעְלָה מִן הַמִּשְׁכָּב, הַזָּב, שֶׁהַזָּב עוֹשֶׂה מִשְׁכָּב, וְאֵין מִשְׁכָּב עוֹשֶׂה מִשְׁכָּב:
Più in alto di questi: uno che ha rapporti sessuali con una niddah [una donna che ha le mestruazioni o ha mestruato, ma non si è ancora immerso], poiché rende impuro [lo strato] inferiore di ciò che sta sotto di lui in modo simile verso l'alto. Più in alto di questo: lo scarico genitale anormale di uno zav [uomo con uno scarico genitale anormale], il suo sputo, il suo seme e la sua urina e il sangue delle mestruazioni, poiché trasmettono impurità sia per contatto che per trasporto. Più in alto di questi: l'impurità di una sella, perché trasmette impurità anche a ciò che giace sotto una pietra pesante. Più in alto di una sella: ciò su cui ci si trova, poiché il contatto con essa equivale a portarla. Superiore a quello su cui ci si trova: uno zav ; poiché uno zav trasmette impurità a ciò su cui si trova, mentre ciò su cui si trova non trasmette lo stesso livello di impurità a ciò su cui giace.
Bartenura on Mishnah Kelim
בועל נדה – It is written concerning them (Leviticus 15:24): “[And if a man lies with her,] her menstrual impurity is communicated to him/ותהי נדתה עליו; [he shall be impure seven days, and any bedding on which he lies shall become impure],” we learned that he, like a menstruating woman, defiles surfaces designated for lying and sitting, and it is written after this (Leviticus 15:24): “and any bedding on which he lies shall become impure/כל משכב אשר-ישכב עליו יטמא,” but it is not necessary to state this, but rather it comes to explain, “her menstrual impurity is communicated to him,” of the first clause [of the Mishnah], and this is what he said: this [phrase], “her menstrual impurity is communicated to him,” that I stated to you, I did not say other than in regard to the matter that he would be a primary source of ritual impurity like a menstruating woman, that just as she defiles a person and an earthenware vessel, even he defiles a person and an earthenware vessel, but [also] to make a surface designated for lying and sitting [impure], that “and any bedding on which he lies shall become impure,” but that he does not defile a person and vessels like the bedding of a menstruant woman who defiles a person and vessels/utensils, but he has the first degree of defilement that he defiles food and liquids alone.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Kelim
Introduction
We continue moving up the line of defiling agents.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Kelim
משכב תחתון כעליון (the lower surface upon which one lies is like the upper one)– that is to say, the lower surface upon which the man who has intercourse with a menstruating woman is like the upper one of a person with gonorrhea, that just as the upper surface of a person with gonorrhea, and that is vessels that are above the person with gonorrhea, such as ten couches one on top of the other and all of them are on top of the person with gonorrhea, whether the person with gonorrhea was in contact with them or not are ritually impure and they defile food and liquids but not humans nor vessels, so also the lower surface of a person who has intercourse with a menstruating woman, that is, the couches that are under him defile food and liquids but not humans and utensils/vessels. Whereas the lower surface below a person with gonorrhea or a woman with a flux or a menstruating woman or a woman after childbirth, even ten couches one on top of the other, and one of these defiled [couches] are above, all of them that are below/the lower surface are impure and defile humans and utensils/vessels.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Kelim
Above them is one who had intercourse with a menstruant, for he defiles the bottom [bedding] upon which he lies as he does the top [bedding]. The impurity of a man who has sex with a menstruant is referred to in Leviticus 15:24: "And if a man lies with her, her impurity is communicated to him; he shall be unclean seven days, and any bedding on which he lies shall become unclean." The rabbis interpret the end of this verse to mean that no matter how much bedding lies beneath him, they are all impure. The bedding will have first degree impurity, which means it defiles food and drink, but not other people or vessels.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Kelim
למעלה מהן זובו של זב כו' – because these that are important and move defile I ay amount through contact and lifting, but a person having sexual intercourse with a menstruating woman does not defile until he raises [her] entirely, because of this it is taught [in the Mishnah], “above them/למעלה מהן,” meaning to say that these are considered are above/more important than someone who has intercourse with a menstruating woman because they defile with any amount, what is not the case with someone who has sexual intercourse with a menstruating woman.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Kelim
Above them is the issue of a zav, his spit, his semen and his urine, and the blood of a menstruant, for they convey impurity both by contact and by carrying. Fluids which come out of the zav (spit, semen and urine) and menstrual blood convey impurity to a person by carrying and contact, such that he in turn conveys impurity to his clothing. This is different from the impurities mentioned above in mishnah two, which through contact do not defile a person such that he defiles his clothing. And a person who has sex with a menstruant does not defile others by being carried.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Kelim
שהם מטמאים במגע ובמשא – that their contact is equivalent to their lifting, that whether through contact or through lifting, they defile humans to defile clothing and vessels other than a person and vessels.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Kelim
Above them is an object on which one can ride, for it conveys impurity even when it lies under a heavy stone. If a zav sits on a heavy stone, and underneath the stone there is a vessel used for riding (such as a saddle) the vessel is impure even though the stone cannot become impure. This is a special characteristic of something that is ridden upon.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Kelim
מרכב (riding) – the piece of wood fastened to a saddle, which is grasped on mounting of the saddle is called מרכב/riding – that the saddle itself that a person rides upon is impure because of sitting, and its piece of wood fastened to the saddle, which is grasped on mounting of the saddle is impure because of מרכב/riding.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Kelim
Above the object on which one can ride is that on which one can lie, for contact is the same as its carrying. Something that a zav lies upon (and is a vessel used for lying down, such as a bed) is even more serious in its impurity than something upon which he rides, in that the former conveys impurity through both contact and carrying. Furthermore, if someone has contact with something upon which the zav lay, he will himself further convey impurity to clothing. In contrast, one who has contact with something upon which the zav rides, does not defile clothing.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Kelim
שהוא מטמא תחת אבן מסמא (that it defiles underneath a stone used for closing a pit – that the corpse was put on a closing – immovable-stone – under which there is a cavity- see Tractate Niddah 69b) – a large and heavy stone, as it is written (Daniel 6:18): “A rock was brought and placed over the mouth of the den; [the king sealed it with his signet and with the signet of the nobles, so that nothing might be altered concerning Daniel].” But if there was a large stone on top of the piece of wood fastened to a saddle, which is grasped on mounting of the riding and a person with gonorrhea grabs hold of it, even though the weight of the person with gonorrhea is not recognized on the riding seat, the piece of wood fastened to the saddle that is under the stone is defiled because of the riding seat.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Kelim
Above the object on which one can lie is the zav, for a zav conveys impurity to the object on which he lies, while the object on which he lies cannot convey the same impurity to that upon which it lies. The zav himself can cause anything upon which he lies to become a defiling agent. However, the thing upon which he lies does not itself cause other bedding to become a "father of impurity." Rather, anything it touches just has "first degree impurity." We will learn more about the implications of being either a "father of impurity" or merely a "first" or lower degree of impurity as we proceed.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Kelim
למעלה מן המרכב משכב – for the stone used for closing a pit that the corpse was put on a closing (immovable) stone defiles lying as it does riding. And more stringent than this is that its coming in contact/touching is equivalent to carrying it to defile a person which defiles his clothing. His coming in contact/touching is explicitly written (Leviticus 15:5): “Anyone who touches his bedding shall wash his clothes, [bathe in water, and remain impure until evening].” And his carrying, that after Scripture mentioned the law of touching by lying and the law of touching by riding it states (Leviticus 15:9-10): “[Any means for riding that one with a discharge has mounted shall be impure; whoever touches anything that was under him shall be impure until evening;] and whoever carries such things shall wash his clothes, [bathe in water, and remain impure until evening],” so we see that regarding lying, whether through contact/touching – whether through carrying, requires the washing of clothing, but concerning riding, Scripture divides between coming in contact with/touching and carrying as it is written (Leviticus 15:9): “Any means for riding that one with a discharge has mounted shall be impure,” whereas that he should wash his clothes, is not written.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Kelim
ואין משכב עושה משכב – as it is written (Leviticus 15:4): “Any bedding on which the one with a discharge lies shall be impure,” the man with a discharge/gonorrhea makes the bedding [impure] but the bedding does not make the bedding [impure]. Therefore, if the bedding of person with gonorrhea touched/came in contact with vessels/utensils, they are not other than first degree of ritual defilement. It is found that the man with gonorrhea is [on a] higher [level of impurity] than that of bedding.
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