Commento su Ohalot 2:10

אלו מטמאין באוהל, המת וכזית מן המת -and if this is difficult, an olive’s bulk of a corpse defiles, from that which is defiled from contact with the dead, all the more so, this matter is resolved in the Gemara in [Tractate] Nazir [50a, it is needed only for [the case of] a premature/non-viable birth whose limbs were not connected with sinews as it lacks an olive’s bulk of flesh.

Introduction Our mishnah lists what things cause impurity through overshadowing (an ohel). These things defile even if they are not touched or are not carried. Below I have explained only terms that are not clear through translation.

נצל (decayed matter – liquid and coagulated portions of a corpse) – the flesh of a corpse that swelled up like a kind of ill-smelling secretion.

c) Nezel refers to flesh from a corpse that has begun to decompose. It can also refer to liquid that was emitted from the dead body that has begun to congeal. Hope you're not reading this while eating! d) Corpse-mold is a later stage of decomposition. The amount required to defile is greater than that for regular flesh or nezel. e) The spine or the skull causes impurity even if there is no flesh on it. g + h) Bones can cause impurity even without the flesh on them as long as one of two requirements is met. 1) There is a quarter kav (about half of a liter) of bones collected from the structural or numerical majority of the body. The "structural majority" refers to the large leg bones, the ribs and the spine. In other words, it doesn't include most of the smaller bones. 2) The structural or numerical majority is actually present, even if there is not a quantity of a quarter of a kav of bones.

מלוא תרוד (A tarvad/spoon-full of dust) – a spoon, and its measurement is two handfuls.

How many [bones] form the numerical majority? One hundred and twenty-five. The mishnah assumes you're not too good at math, so it lets you know that a majority of 248 is 125. Thanks!

רקב – the body of a corpse when its moisture has departed and it becomes like a kind of dust. But a handful of a a mass of earth from a grave containing parts of a decaying human body doesn’t defile other than from a corpse that was buried naked in a coffin/bier of marble and covered with a covering of marble, until it is known with certainty that there is combination of decayed matter of cloth or wood or other dirt. But a corpse that was buried in its covering or in a wooden ark or in dust, has no decayed matter. And similarly, a corpse that was buried missing a limb has no decayed matter.

אבר מן המת ואבר מן החי – as it is written (Numbers 19:16): “[And in the open, anyone who touches a person who was killed or who died naturally,” a limb that the sword separated from the living is like the corpse.

ורובע עצמות – one quarter of a Kab (i.e., 24 egg-bulks) of bones.

מרוב המנין או מרוב הבנין – My Rabbis/Teachers explained, that they are small/minute from having in them the majority of the number [of bones] and/or the majority of the frame, for even though that they don’t have the majority of the number [of bones] nor the majority of the frame, they defile.

ורוב בנינו ורוב מנינו (the greater portion of a corpse as to the size of limbs and the greater number of joints/limbs)– the majority of the frame of the body, or the majority of the number of the bones even though it is not the majority of the frame of the body, they defile, and even though there isn’t a quarter [of a Kab] in them. And the majority of the frame, such as the legs and the thighs/haunches, and the ribs [and the spine]. And the greater number of joints/limbs, such as the tops of the fingers of the hands and the feet, and similar kinds of things to them, and provided that there will be one-hundred and twenty-five limbs, they defile.

רביעית דם (a quarter-LOG of blood) – that all of it left [the body] after death.

Introduction Our mishnah continues to list substances that defile through overshadowing.

ורביעית דם תבוסה (a quarter LOG of blood that flows from a person at the time of his death or afterwards – which has the status of a corpse) – that part of a quarter [of a LOG] of blood while living and after death. And further ahead in Chapter 3 [Mishnah 5], it explains this.

[The following likewise defile:]
A quarter [of a log] of blood, A quarter of a log is about 1/8 of a liter. Less than half a can of coke, for those of you who drink the stuff (coke, not blood).

תבוסה – it is the language of (Ezekiel 16:6): “[When I passed by you and saw you] wallowing in your blood, [I said to you: [Live in spite of your blood’].” And the quarter [of a LOG] of blood all of which exited [the body] after death, is from the Rabbis, as it is written (Numbers 19:13): “[Whoever touches] a corpse, the body of person who has died.

A quarter [of a log] of mixed blood from one corpse. Rabbi Akiva says: [even] from two corpses. Mixed blood is a mixture of blood from a corpse with blood from a living person (that doesn't defile). If there is a quarter of a log of such blood, it too defiles. Rabbi Akiva says that even blood that comes from two different corpses defiles, if there is a minimum mixture.

But [the concept] of דם תבוסה/that part of a quarter [of a LOG] that flows from a person at the time of his death or afterwards. For the Rabbis hold that there is "יש אם למסורת" /the consonantal text of the Torah is authoritative [when looking at Leviticus 21:11): "ועל כל נפשות מת לא יבא"/He shall not go in where there is any dead body,” [the word] נפשת/dead, is written defectively (i.e., without the letter “Vav” In it).

[With regard to] the blood of a child that has completely flowed forth: Rabbi Akiva says: [it defiles] in even the smallest quantity, But the sages say: [there must be] a quarter [of a log]. A small child does not have nearly as much blood as an adult. Therefore, Rabbi Akiva says that even the smallest quantity of blood will cause impurity. However, the other rabbis do not make such a distinction. There must always be a quarter of a log for it to cause impurity through an ohel.

רבי עקיבא אומר משני מתים – one-half of a quarter [of a LOG of blood] from this dead person and one-half of a quarter [of a LOG of blood] from another dead person, defiles in the tent, for he (i.e., Rabbi Akiba) holds, "יש אם למקרא"/the vocalized text of the Torah is authoritative, [as the Biblical verse from Leviticus 21:11) is pronounced: "נפשות מת"/any dead body, implying two souls and one measurement, for since it does not state [in Scripture] "נפשות מתים"/dead bodies. But the Halakha is not according to Rabbi Akiba.

[With regard to] an olive-sized [portion] of [corpse] worms whether alive or dead: Rabbi Eliezer declares [it] unclean, like the flesh, But the sages declare [it] clean. You're going to love this one. According to Rabbi Eliezer, the worms that come and out of a corpse are treated as if they were part of the corpse itself and if there is the minimum amount, they convey impurity like the corpse. The other rabbis say that these worms are clean (but you might still want to wash your hands after handling them).

ר' עקיבא אומר כל שהוא – just bones defile with the majority of the number of bones and the majority of the frame, even though one-quarter of a Kab which is the designated measurement for bones, so also, it is defiled if the blood of minor – all of which exited the body, even though it doesn’t have the quarter [of a LOG] which the designated measure for blood.

[With regard to] the ashes of burnt persons: Rabbi Eliezer says: the [minimum] quantity [for defilement is] a quarter [of a kav]. But the sages declare [them to be] clean. Rabbi Eliezer holds that even the ashes of human remains can defile, if there is the same minimum amount as there is of flesh. But the other rabbis disagree. They seem to hold that burning the body obliterates the source of impurity. Perhaps we could even extend this opinion and explain that according to the rabbis burning destroys any of the once-alive spirit that remains in the body (perhaps this is also at least one of the reasons that cremation is prohibited.) We should also note that Rabbi Eliezer seems to hold what we have deemed elsewhere a "realistic" position. The corpse is found in the worms, therefore they defile. The ashes contain the corpse, therefore they too defile. The rabbis hold more of a "nominalistic" position. The worms are not considered by definition to be a corpse, nor are ashes.

וחכמים אומרים רביעית – if you were to say that with the bones that it is known that all of them are in front of you, shall you say regarding the blood that I state that there remains a drop of any amount and that not all of it has come out? But the Halakha is according to the Sages.

A ladleful and [a little] more of grave-dust is unclean. Rabbi Shimon declares [it to be] clean. In yesterday's mishnah we learned that a ladleful of corpse mold transmits impurity. According to Rabbi Shimon, a ladleful plus a little more of earth taken from under a corpse will contain a ladleful of corpse. Therefore, it transmits impurity.

כזית רמה –[a olive’s bulk of a worm] that was born in the flesh of the corpse.

A ladleful of corpse-mold mixed with water is not [regarded as] joined [into one mass] for [the purposes of] defilement. This section contains a special rule concerning a ladleful of corpse mold. The pieces of corpse in such mold are considered to be separate from each other, even if they have been mixed in with water. Therefore, if one touches such mold he is not impure, because he has touched a piece of corpse that is less than an olive's worth. However, the ladleful still transmits impurity through overshadowing and carrying because there is a total amount of corpse sufficient to transmit impurity.

מטמא כבשרו – that a room that comes out from the corpse even while living, is considered to be like the flesh of a corpse, because, a person while alive is called a worm, as it is written (Job 25:6): “How much less man, a worm, [the Son of man, a maggot].”

וחכמים מטהרים – And the Halakha is according to the Sages.

אפר שרופים – a person that was burned and became ash, and the ash of wood was not combined in it.

שעורו ברובע – [a quarter] of a Kab of ash, defiles.

וחכמים מטהרי – And the Halakha is according to the Sages.

עפר קברות – dirt that the blood and moistness of the corpse is mixed in. And a spoonful of dust and a bit more is impure, because it is impossible to fill a spoon and a bit more so that there would not be in it a spoonful (i.e., two handfuls) of the body of a corpse when its moisture has departed, that it stated above (i.e., in Mishnah 1 of this chapter) that this is impure, But here, it also speaks of a corpse that is buried naked in a marble coffin/bier which has other dirt mixed into it.

ר' שמעון מטהר – But the Halakha is not according to Rabbi Shimon.

אימנו חיבור לטומהא – for if it had overshadowed over part of it, it is not as if it overshadowed over all of it. And similarly, regarding the matter of contact/touching.

עצם שעורה – defiles through contact and through carrying, as it is written (Numbers 19:18): “[A person who is clean shall take hyssop, dip it in the water, and sprinkle on the tent and on all the vessels and people who were there,] or on him who touched/ועל הנגע [the bones or the person who was killed or died naturally or the grave,” but there it does not state, "בעצם אדם"/human bone (as we find in Numbers 19:16). [This comes] to teach about the bone the size of a barleycorn that defiles through contact even though it is not recognized that it of a human being. But in the tent, it is written (Numbers 19:14): “When a person dies in a tent,” and with regard to a bone for the matter of defilement through overshadowing in a tent, we require that it is recognized that it (i.e., the bone) is of a human being, for in another place (Numbers 19:16) it (i.e., the Torah) states, “or human bone”/או-בעצם אדם.

Introduction Our mishnah deals with elements of a corpse that have a lower degree of impurity, and can only defile through contact and carriage but not through overshadowing.

וארץ העמים – Everything that is outside of the Land [of Israel] is called ארץ העמים/the land of the nations [which is ritually impure]. And here we are speaking of a clod/lump of dust that comes from outside the Land which defiles through contact and through carrying but does not defile though overshadowing in a tent. But a person who enters the land of the nations, even if he did not touch nor carry anything, as for example, that he was riding upon a horse, is impure, but on the airspace of the land of the nations they (i.e., the Rabbis) also decreed.

a) A single bone does not defile by overshadowing, but as long as there is the size of a barleycorn, it does defile by contact and carriage. b) According to tradition, Yose ben Yoezer and Yose ben Yohanan, two Second Temple sages decreed that foreign lands defile. Our mishnah teaches that even dust from a foreign land defiles, although not through overshadowing. c) A bet peras is a cemetery that has been plowed over. We will learn more about the bet peras in chapter seventeen. d) A spine or a skull that are complete defile through overshadowing. If they are deficient, they still defile through contact and carriage.

בית הפרס (area in which uncertainty exists concerning the location of a grave or a corpse) – a field in which a grave was plowed and the bones of the corpse were broken and threshed in the dirt of that field. [And the word] פרס from the language of פרוסה/a broken piece (Isaiah 58:7): “It is to share your bread with the hungry.”

How much is [considered] a deficiency in the spine? Bet Shammai say: two vertebrae, But Bet Hillel say: even one vertebra. Bet Shammai and Bet Hillel argue about how much of a spine or skull has to be deficient for it to no longer defile in an ohel. In both cases Bet Hillel is more lenient (meaning the amount they require for the defiency is less).

כמה חסרון בשדרה (how much is a sufficient lack in the backbone) -that it will not be defiled [through overshadowing] in the tent, but rather through contact and through carrying.

And in the skull? Bet Shammai say: [the size of a] hole [made] by a drill, But Bet Hillel say: as much as would be taken from a living person and he would die. According to Bet Shammai if there is a hole in a skull the size of a drill, the skull no longer defiles in an ohel. The type of drill of which they are speaking will be explained in section four. Bet Hillel holds that if the hole is large enough such that the person would die, then the skull is deficient.

כמלא מקדח (as large as the hole made with the large carpenters’ borer/drill) – as wide as the incision that they make with an awl.

Of what drill did they speak? Of the small one [used] by physicians, the words of Rabbi Meir. But the sages say: of the large one in the Temple-chamber. It is interesting to note that in this section, the sages and Rabbi Meir disagree concerning the proper interpretation of Bet Shammai's opinion. It is possible that in this case, both hold that the halakhah is according to Bet Shammai. Rabbi Meir says that the drill is the one used by a physician. [I don't think I would want to be on the receiving end of that drill]. The other rabbis say that the drill is the drill used in the Temple. The size of this drill is explained in Kelim 17:12.

כדי שינטל מן החי וימות – and the Sages estimated the loss as equivalent to a Sela.

בקטן של רופאים – with a small awl that the doctors open up the wounds.

בגדול של לשכה (concerning the large one of the chamber) – that the Sages estimated as an incision like the size of a Pundiyon.

הגולל (the stone placed on top of a burial cave/top-stone) – a large and wide stone that they seal/stop up the mouth of the grave from above. [This is] from the language of (Genesis 29:3): “[When the flocks were gathered there,] the stone would be rolled [from the mouth of the well and the sheep watered.]”

Introduction In mishnaic times burials were often done in caves. Our mishnah discusses the stones used to cover up the graves.

דופק (the frame supporting the movable stone of a tomb -against which the turning body knocks) -two large stones, one from this side and the another from the other side, so that the stone placed on top of a burial cave rests upon them.

The covering stone and the buttressing stone [of a grave] defile by contact and overshadowing but not by carriage. Rabbi Eliezer says: they do defile by carriage. Rabbi Joshua says: if there is grave dust beneath them, they defile by carriage, but if not they do not defile by carriage. The covering stone is the stone rolled over the grave to seal it up. It transmits impurity by overshadowing and contact but not by carriage, probably because it is not something that is generally carried. Note that impurity by contact is stated explicitly in Numbers 19:16. However, Rabbi Eliezer says it does defile by carriage. Rabbi Joshua notes that if there is grave dust underneath them, then they do defile by carriage because the grave dust is assumed to contain dust that originates with the dead body. But if there is no grave dust, the stones themselves do not transmit impurity through carriage.

מטמאין במגע ובאהל – as it is written (Numbers 19:18): “or on him who touched the bones or the person who was killed or died naturally or the grave,” just as the corpse defiles through contact and through overshadowing in a tent, even the grave defiles through contact and through overshadowing in a tent.

What is the buttressing stone? That upon which the covering stone is supported. But the stone that serves as buttress to the buttressing stone is clean. The buttressing stone is that upon which the covering stone rests. Some explain that there were two such stones, one on each side. These stones themselves are governed by the same rule that governs the actual covering stone. But the stones that support the supporting stones are clean. They are far enough removed from the grave that they don't count as the grave itself.

ואינן מטמאין במשא that we expound (Numbers 19:16): “And in the open, anyone who touches a person,” to include the stone placed on top of the burial cave and the frame supporting the movable stone of a tomb (i.e., גולל ודופק), and it is written: (Numbers 19:16): “anyone who touches,” because of contact he defiles, but he does not defile because of carrying

אם יש תחתיהן עפר קברות – which defiles through movement, because of the dirt that is moved with them when it defiles through carrying, because of the holding of the corpse. And the Halakha is according to Rabbi Yehoshua.

דופק דופקין (but the frame supporting the frame stones) – near the frame supporting the movable stone of a tomb, they sometimes place another stone to support it and the stone placed on top of the burial cave is not leaning upon it, and this called דופק דופקין/the buttress/frame stone of buttressing stones.

ואלו אם חסרו טהורים – for they lack the according to the measurement.

These are clean if they are deficient:
An olive-sized [portion] of a corpse;
An olive-sized [portion] of nezel,
A ladleful of corpse-mold,
A quarter [of a log] of blood,
A bone of the size of a barley-corn,
And a limb [severed] from a living person, the bone of which [limb] is deficient.
Our mishnah refers to some of the defiling agents that have been mentioned in other mishnayot in this chapter and notes that if these things do not have the prescribed measure, they are not impure at all. This is different from the skull and vertebrae that are still impure, even if they are not intact (see mishnah three).
Most of the mishnah is self-explanatory, so I have only commented where necessary.
Section two: On the meaning of "nezel" see 2:1.
Section six: If a limb is separated from a living person, and part of the bone itself is missing, the bone is pure, no matter the size. However, if part of the flesh is missing, it is still impure (see mishnah three).
And if the limb came from a dead body, the bone is impure as long as there is an amount the size of a barley-corn, as we learn here and in mishnah three.

כזית מן המת – for such is the beginning of the creation of a human with an olive’s bulk.

ורביעית דם – since but at the beginning of the creation of a minor, he has less than a quarter [of a LOG] of blood.

ואבר מן החי שחסר עצמו (the limb of a living person that is missing his bone) – even a marrow-bone/thigh-bone that is missing from him any part of it does not defile because a limb from a living being, but if is missing from his flesh, it always defiles until he is lacking enough to produce new flesh [on a healing wound]. But a limb from a corpse, is an olive-bulk’s worth of flesh that separates from him, is impure, and a wone like that of a barley-corn that separates from him is also impure.

השדרה והגולגולת משני מתים – half of the vertebrae of the spine from this corpse and half of the vertebrae of the spine from another corpse, the skull.

A backbone or a skull [made up from the bones] of two corpses,
A quarter [of a log] of blood from two corpses,
A quarter [of a kav] of bones from two corpses,
A limb of a corpse from two corpses,
And a limb [severed] from a living person, [such a limb being made up] from two persons,
Rabbi Akiva declares [the all] unclean
But the sages declare them clean.
In mishnah two we learned that Rabbi Akiva holds that a quarter of a log of blood mixed from two corpses is impure, even though there is not the requisite amount of blood from one corpse.
In all of these cases we have the amount of corpse stuff required to transmit impurity, but it is composed (or should I say, decomposed) of material from two different corpses. To be honest, I don't know how one puts together a limb that comes from two different people, whether it has to be attached or not. It seems like the two limbs are placed together such that they look as if they are attached.
Rabbi Akiva says that in all of these case, the limb, blood or bones defiles in the same way that a limb, blood or bones from one corpse does by contact, carriage and overshadowing.
The other rabbis say that these things are clean. What this means is that they do not defile through overshadowing. However, they do defile through contact and carriage, for even a bone the size of a barley-corn defiles in these manners.

ואבר מן החי משני אנשים – half of a limb that is torn off from this living person and half of a limb that is torn off rom another living person, and they appear as one limb.

וחכמים מטהרין -from defilement by overshadowing in a tent. But they defile through contact and carrying because of a bone the size of a barleycorn. And the Halakha is according to the Sages.

שנדקדקו (that were crushed/powdered) – that were ground. It is the language of (Exodus 30:36): “Beat some of it into powder, [and put some before the Pact in the Tent of Meeting].”

A bone the size of a barley-corn that is divided into two: Rabbi Akiva declares it unclean But Rabbi Yohanan ben Nuri declares it clean. Rabbi Yohanan ben Nuri says: they did not say 'bones’ the size of a barley-corn, but ‘bone’ the size of a barley-corn. For a bone to convey impurity in an ohel it must be the size of a barley-corn. Rabbi Akiva says that even two bones can combine together to add up to this size. This is consistent with his opinion in yesterday's mishnah. Rabbi Yohanan ben Nuri disagrees. From the statement in mishnah three that "a bone the size of a barley-corn" conveys impurity he derives that there must be a single bone that size. The rabbis said "a bone" and not "bones." Therefore, one bone must be the size of a barley-corn.

ר' שמעון מטהא – from all defilement. And they do not defile neither through contact nor through carrying nor through overshadowing in a tent.

A quarter [of a kav] of bones crushed fine, and there is not a single [bone] the size of a barley-corn: Rabbi Shimon declares it clean But the sages unclean. In this case bones have been crushed up and there is no single bone the size of a barley-corn. Rabbi Shimon says that they are clean. Even though there is a quarter of a kav, \the minimum measure in which multiple bones convey impurity, since they are crushed up they no longer defile. The other sages disagree and hold that they do convey impurity since there is a quarter kav.

וחכמים מטמאין – with all of them [they defile], as there is a quarter [of a LOG].

A limb [severed] from a living person which has been divided into two is clean. Rabbi Yose declares [it] unclean; But he agrees that if it is taken from a living person by halves it is clean. A whole limb severed from a living person is unclean. Rabbi Yose says that if it is divided in two, it still defiles. The other sages disagree and are consistent with their opinion concerning the bone in section one. Rabbi Yose agrees that if the limb is removed from the person in halves, then it is clean because it was never a "full limb from a living person."

אבר מן החי שנחלק לשנים טהור – and even if he went back and reconnected them, but the connections of a man are not a connection/attachment.

שניטל חצאים (if it was taken away by halves) – that it was taken from the living person by halves, but not taken from him a complete limb as one, for there was never a measurement for it. But the Halakha is not according to Rabbi Yossi.