Commento su Ohalot 6:5
טֻמְאָה בֵין הַקּוֹרוֹת וְתַחְתֶּיהָ כִקְלִפַּת הַשּׁוּם, אִם יֶשׁ שָׁם פּוֹתֵחַ טֶפַח, הַכֹּל טָמֵא. אִם אֵין שָׁם פּוֹתֵחַ טֶפַח, רוֹאִין אֶת הַטֻּמְאָה כְּאִלּוּ הִיא אֹטֶם. הָיְתָה נִרְאֵית בְּתוֹךְ הַבַּיִת, בֵּין כָּךְ וּבֵין כָּךְ, הַבַּיִת טָמֵא:
Se c'era un'impurità tra le travi e [la partizione] sottostante era [sottile] come una buccia d'aglio, se c'è uno spazio di un soffio a mano, tutto è impuro. Se non c'è spazio di un soffio, vediamo l'impurità come se fosse bloccata. Se è visibile all'interno della casa in entrambi i casi la casa è impura.
Bartenura on Mishnah Oholot
טומאה בין הקורות – between the beams of the ceiling that there are boards on them and the concrete of stone chippings/clay covering the ceiling of the lower story and serving as flooring of the upper story/מעזיבה of their back. And our Mishnah is according to Rabbi Yehuda who stated: All of the concrete of stone chippings/clay are with the upper chamber (see previous Mishnah). And now it states that if there was defilement in the beams that are underneath of the concrete of stone chippings/clay, and a partition that is thin like the peel of garlic, it interposes between the defilement to the house so that the defilement is not seen in the house. אם יש במקום הטומאה פותח טפח – that is the that there is a cavity of one-handbreadth in the place of the defilement.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Oholot
[In the case of] uncleanness among the roof-beams, [with a covering] beneath it thin as thin as garlic-skin, In this case the source of impurity is within the roof-beams, and not within the plastering or the walls. Therefore, the impurity is not part of the building. Separating the impurity from the house is a thin partition, even as thin as the skin of a piece of garlic.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Oholot
הכל טמא – the house and the upper chamber.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Oholot
If there is a space within of a cubic handbreadth, everything becomes unclean. If the source of impurity is found in a space that has the dimensions of a cubic handbreadth, then it spreads to the rest of the house and to the upper story as well. As we shall see, this is a general principle when it comes to the space in which a piece of impurity is found. If the corpse impurity is in a space that has an opening the size of a cubic handbreadth, then it spreads up and down (and all around). But if it is sealed up, the impurity does not spread, at least not as easily.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Oholot
רואים את הטומאה כאילו היא אוטם (we regard the Levitical uncleanness – between the rafters – as if it was locked up/an obstruction) – and the defilement does not descend to the house but rather bursts through and ascends/rises.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Oholot
If there is not a space of a cubic handbreadth, the uncleanness is considered plugged up. As stated, if the impurity is found in a space that is smaller than a cubic handbreadth, then it does not spread to both the house and the upper story. Rather, in this case it would be considered part of the upper story, and only the contents of the upper story will be impure.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Oholot
היתה נראית לתוך החבית – that there isn’t under it like the peel of garlic.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Oholot
If the uncleanness was visible within the house, in either case the house becomes unclean. If the garlic thin separation is not sufficient to hide the source of impurity from being seen in the house, then it doesn't matter whether the space in which the impurity is found. The contents of the house are defiled in both cases, as if the impurity was in the house itself.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Oholot
בין כך ובין כך – whether there is an opening of a handbreadth wide or whether there isn’t an opening of a handbreadth wide.
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