Le navi sacre non hanno [una distinzione, per quanto riguarda lo stato di purezza, tra i loro] esterni e interni, né hanno una [distinzione simile per il loro] luogo di detenzione. E non si possono immergere le navi all'interno delle navi [in modo tale che possano essere usate] per [maneggiare] cose sacre [cioè piuttosto ogni nave deve essere immersa in modo indipendente per raggiungere il livello richiesto di purezza]. Tutte le navi possono scendere all'impurità [status] attraverso il pensiero intenzionale, ma possono uscire dalla loro impurità solo attraverso un'azione che abbia effetto sul cambiamento; poiché un'azione può annullare [gli effetti di] un'azione o un pensiero intenzionale, ma un pensiero intenzionale non può annullare [gli effetti di] né un'azione né un pensiero intenzionale.
Bartenura on Mishnah Kelim
אין להם אחוריים ותוך – that a person who comes in contact with [a Holy Vessel] is like one who comes in contact with all of it. And they do have an outside and an inside as is taught in the Mishnah above (see Mishnah 7 of this chapter), and especially for heave-offering [for the Kohanim].
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English Explanation of Mishnah Kelim
Introduction
The final mishnah of chapter twenty-five gives a few general rules concerning the purity of vessels.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Kelim
ואין מטבילין כלים לתוך כלים – when both of them are ritually impure, because of the heaviness of an interposing vessel. And they were worried/concerned about Holy Things more than with the heave-offering.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Kelim
Holy vessels do not have outer and inner sides or a part by which they are held. The laws concerning holy vessels are more stringent than the laws governing regular vessels. Therefore, if one side of a holy vessel becomes impure, the entire vessel is impure. Similarly, the holding place is not considered separate from the rest of the vessel. If any part of the vessel is impure, even the holding place is impure.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Kelim
יורדים לידי טומאתן במחשבה (see also Tractate Kelim, Chapter 12, Mishnah 1) as for example, the ring of an animal is not susceptible to receive ritual defilement, if he thought to place it on the finger of a person, it receives ritual defilement from here onwards by this thought. But, the ring of a person that he thought about to give it to an animal, it always is susceptible to receive ritual defilement, until he performs a change of action to change its form.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Kelim
One may not immerse vessels within one another for sacred use. It is possible to purify multiple non-sacred vessels by immersing one vessel within another one in a mikveh. But the laws governing holy vessels are more stringent. Each vessel must be immersed separately.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Kelim
ומחשבה אינה מבטלת לא מיד מעשה ולא מיד מחשבה – if after he thought about the ring of an animal to make it for a person that it is susceptible to receive ritual impurity though this thought, he retracted and thought about returning it to the animal, this second thought does not lift it from the status of defilement that it descended to in the first thought.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Kelim
All vessels become susceptible to uncleanness by intention, but they cannot be rendered insusceptible except by a change-effecting act, for an act annuls an earlier act as well as an earlier intention, but an intention annuls neither an earlier act nor an earlier intention. This section contains a crucial general principle with regard to the purity of vessels. Generally, a vessel is susceptible to impurity once its manufacturing has been completed. However, a vessel can become susceptible to impurity merely by intention, even if its manufacturing does not seem to be complete. For instance, if one has not fully completed the manufacturing of a vessel, but then decides that he is not going to work on it anymore and that he is going to use it as is, it is susceptible at that point to impurity (see 22:2, 26:5, 7). But if he has a vessel that is already susceptible to impurity and then he decides to modify it into a vessel that is not susceptible, it remains susceptible until he actually changes it. In other words, intent to use something as a vessel is sufficient to make it susceptible to impurity, but intent to change a vessel into a non-vessel is not sufficient. The mishnah further clarifies physical changes wrought on a vessel can annul both the original manufacturing of the vessel or the intent the person had to use the vessel before it was ready. Put another way physically modifying a vessel can make it no longer susceptible to impurity (see 20:6, 26:9). However, intent cannot annul the original intent to use the vessel in a certain manner, or the original manufacturing. Intention is weaker than action (a good motto for life, if you ask me).
