Commento su Parah 4:4
כָּל הָעֲסוּקִין בַּפָּרָה מִתְּחִלָּה וְעַד סוֹף, מְטַמְּאִין בְּגָדִים, וּפוֹסְלִים אוֹתָהּ בִּמְלָאכָה. אֵרַע בָּהּ פְּסוּל בִּשְׁחִיטָתָהּ, אֵינָהּ מְטַמְּאָה בְגָדִים. אֵרַע בָּהּ בְּהַזָּיָתָהּ, כֹּל הָעוֹסֵק בָּהּ לִפְנֵי פְסוּלָהּ, מְטַמְּאָה בְגָדִים. לְאַחַר פְּסוּלָהּ, אֵינָהּ מְטַמְּאָה בְגָדִים. נִמְצְאָה חֻמְרָהּ, קֻלָּהּ. לְעוֹלָם מוֹעֲלִים בָּהּ, וּמַרְבִּין לָהּ עֵצִים, וּמַעֲשֶׂיהָ בַיּוֹם, וּבְכֹהֵן, הַמְּלָאכָה פוֹסֶלֶת בָּהּ, עַד שֶׁתֵּעָשֶׂה אֵפֶר, וְהַמְּלָאכָה פוֹסֶלֶת בַּמַּיִם, עַד שֶׁיַּטִּילוּ אֶת הָאֵפֶר:
Chiunque sia coinvolto con la giovenca dall'inizio alla fine [da quando ha macellato alla raccolta delle ceneri], i suoi vestiti diventano impuri e la invalida [la giovenca] con [qualsiasi altra] opera [che si impegna durante il rituale] . Se si verifica una invalidazione con il suo massacro, l'abbigliamento non diventa impuro. Se si verifica con l'aspersione, l'abbigliamento di chiunque sia coinvolto prima dell'invalidazione diventa impuro e l'abbigliamento di coloro che sono coinvolti dopo l'invalidazione non diventa impuro. Scopriamo che la severità fornisce una clemenza [in quanto una severità che invalida agisce come una clemenza rispetto al fatto che l'abbigliamento sia reso impuro]. C'è sempre me'ilah con esso [me'ilah è la trasgressione di beneficiare della proprietà santificata, vedere il tracate Me'ilah per i dettagli], e si può aggiungere legna [alla pira mentre viene bruciata], e [il rituale ] viene eseguita durante il giorno e da un sacerdote. [Altro] lavoro [svolto dal prete contemporaneamente] lo invalida, fino a quando non viene trasformato in cenere. E [altro] lavoro [svolto allo stesso tempo] invalida l'acqua [in cui vengono mescolate le ceneri] fino a quando le ceneri vengono versate.
Bartenura on Mishnah Parah
כל העסוקין בפרה – the red [cow] in one of its acts of Divine Service, whether at the beginning, whether at the middle whether at the end.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Parah
Introduction
Numbers 19:7-10 states, "The priest shall wash his garments and bathe his body in water; after that the priest may reenter the camp, but he shall be unclean until evening. 8 He who performed the burning shall also wash his garments in water, bathe his body in water, and be unclean until evening. 9 A man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the cow and deposit them outside the camp in a clean place, to be kept for water of lustration for the Israelite community. It is for cleansing. 10 He who gathers up the ashes of the cow shall also wash his clothes and be unclean until evening."
Most of our mishnah deals with who must wash their clothing.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Parah
מטמאין בגדים – as it is written (Numbers 19:6): “[And the priest shall take cedar wood, hyssop and crimson stuff, [and throw them into the fire consuming the cow,” and near/adjacent to it (Numbers 19:7): “The priest shall wash his garments,” but in its burning, it is written (Numbers 19:8): “He who performed the burning shall also wash his garments,” but the person who person who throws the hyssop defiles clothing, doesn’t the person who does all the more so [defiles his clothing]? But rather, the verse comes and teaches us on all who engage with the cow/heifer from the beginning to the end require the washing of clothing.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Parah
All who are occupied with the preparation of the [red] cow from the beginning until the end, defile their clothing, and they also render it invalid by [doing other] work. The mishnah rules that anyone who performs any aspect of the red cow service has defiled their clothing. They also render the red cow invalid if they do some other type of work while occupying themselves with the red cow. No multi-tasking while burning the red cow (so put away your cellphones ☺).
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Bartenura on Mishnah Parah
ופוסלין אותה במלאכה – as it is written (Numbers 19:3): “[It shall be taken outside the camp] and slaughtered [in his presence,” but not that another labor should be done with it at the time of is slaughtered. And similarly with regard to its slaughter it is written (Numbers 19:5): “[The cow shall be burned – in his sight], but not that another labor should be done with its burning, we learned that the labor invalidates it from the time of its slaughter until it becomes ashes.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Parah
If some invalidity occurred while it was being slaughtered, it does not defile clothing. If the cow turns out to be invalid while it is being slaughtered (for instance the slaughtering is not done correctly) then it doesn't count as a red cow ritual and the person's clothes will not be made impure.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Parah
אירע בה פסול בשחיטתה – not that it became ritually forbidden by unskillful slaughtering, for if so, it defiles clothing because of being an animal not slaughtered according to the ritual rules, but rather it is invalid on account of the labor, similar that if an invalidation occurred to it through its sprinkling.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Parah
If it occurred while the blood was being sprinkled, for all who were occupied with it before the invalidity occurred, it defiles their clothing, but for those who were occupied with it after it had become invalid it does not defile their clothing unclean. Thus it follows that the stringency turns into a leniency. The basic principle here is that if the person is occupied with the red cow ritual after it is already invalid, his clothes are not defiled. But if he was occupied with it after it was slaughtered but before it was invalidated, his clothes are defiled because the cow did count, at least for a time, as a red cow because it had been slaughtered properly. The result is that the stringency (the red cow has been invalidated) turns into a leniency (the clothes are not defiled).
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Bartenura on Mishnah Parah
אינה מטמאה בגדים – for since that its slaughter was with an invalidation, if so, nothing was yet done to it for the sake of the heifer’s fitness, but if an invalidation happened to it while sprinkling, the slaughtered had already taken place in fitness/being kosher.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Parah
It is always subject to the rules of trespassing. "Trespassing" is the illicit use of a sacred property. Any use of the red cow is considered trespassing, no matter when it is done.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Parah
לעולם מועלין בה – a person who benefits from it whether prior to its burning whether after its burning, is liable for the sacrifice of unlawful use of sacred property, until the ashes are made, but after the ashes are made, there is nothing in the ashes coming as a result of unlawful use of sacred property, as it is written (Numbers 19:9): “it is for purification”/"חטאת היא".
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English Explanation of Mishnah Parah
Wood may be added to the fire. It is permitted to add wood to the fire to help it burn. However, this is true only before it has become ash. If one adds wood after the cow has been turned to ash, he invalidates the ash.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Parah
ומרבין לה עצים- also especially until the ashes are made.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Parah
The service must be performed by day and by a priest. The entire service must be performed during the day and by a priest.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Parah
ומעשיה ביום – In the Tosefta (Tractate Parah, Chapter 4, Halakha 11) it explains, except for the gathering of its ashes and drawing [of water] and the mixing [of the ashes and the water], that they are able to gather the ashes of the cow/heifer at night, and to draw the water from the well and this is called the drawing of water/מילוי, and the putting into the ashes and this is called קידוש/mixing of the ashes in the waters of lustration, and all of this is permitted to be done at night. And all the actions concerning the cow/heifer are with a Kohen [only], except for the gathering of the ashes, and the drawing of the water and the mixing of the ashes in the waters of lustration and the sprinkling, which are appropriate for a non-Kohen/foreigner. The gathering of the ashes, as it is written (Numbers 19:9): “A man who is pure [shall gather up the ashes of the cow],” teaches that the gathering of the ashes is appropriate for any man. And [regarding] sprinkling, it states (Numbers 19:19): “The pure person shall sprinkle it upon the impure person [on the third day and on the seventh day],” whether he is a Kohen or whether he is not a Kohen.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Parah
Work renders it invalid. Work renders it invalid as we learned above in section one.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Parah
והמלאכה פוסלת במים – as it is written (Numbers 19:9): “to be kept for water of lustration for the Israelite community. [It is for purification],” just as the sin-offering is invalidated with work [done by those involved in the ritual], as we have written above, so also the waters are invalidated through work [done by those involved in the ritual] from the time of the drawing of the water.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Parah
[All of this is only] until it becomes ashes These words relate to everything that was taught in sections four through seven. Those rules apply only until it has been turned into ash. After it has been turned into ash, the rules of trespassing do not apply: one cannot add wood and the service does not need to be performed during the day or by a priest.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Parah
And work causes the water to be invalid until the ashes are put into it. Doing work with the water set aside for the sprinkling ritual renders it invalid, but only until the ash has been added.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Parah
עד שיטילו את האפר – that they cast in the water from the ashes of the cow/heifer according to the measure that the ashes will be seen in the water and from them he sprinkles upon the impure individual, but if after they cast the ashes into the water he performed another task at the time of the sprinkling, he did not invalidate it.
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