Komentarz do Kelim 11:10

כלי מתכות פשוטיהן טמאים (metal vessels: their flat parts are impure) – for there is no analogy to a sack (see Leviticus 11:32; “And anything on which one of them falls when dead shall be impure: be it any article of wood, or a cloth, or a skin or a sack – any such article that can be put to use shall be dipped in water and it shall remain impure until evening; then it shall be pure; also see Tractate Kelim, Chapter 2, Mishnah 1: “Vessels of wood, and vessels of leather, and vessels of bone and vessels of glass: when they are flat, they are clean, and when they form receptacles, they are [susceptible of becoming] unclean.”).

Introduction Chapters eleven through fourteen deal with purity issues related to metal vessels.

חזרו לטומאתן הישנה – The Sages made a decree regarding metal vessels that he melted them and made from them new vessels, that they return to their former defilement/uncleanness. This is a decree lest they say that the breaking of these utensils purifies them and their immersion [in a Mikveh] purifies them. Just as their breakage does not require the coming of sunset, for behold, we use them the entire day that they were defiled and he broke them and he returned and made of hem new [vessels], so [also] their being immersed does not require the coming of sunset, and it comes to make the heave offering and Holy Things in vessels that their sunset had not as yet arrived (see Talmud Shabbat 16b – this is the ordinance of Shimon ben Shetach).

Metal vessels, whether they are flat or form a receptacle, are susceptible to impurity. Metal vessels are susceptible to impurity whether or not they have a receptacle. This distinguishes them from other material (wood see 2:1) which needs to have a receptacle.

לא לכל טומאה אלא לטומאת נפש – Rabban Shimon ben Gamaliel holds that the reason that they (i.e., the Rabbis) decreed regarding metal vessels that they return to the former uncleanness is not other than a decree lest the law of the waters of purification be forgotten from the vessels, for there isn’t a person that waits seven days but rather he breaks them immediately and makes from them (i.e., the vessels) anew, therefore, they didn’t decree other than regarding defilement from a corpse alone that requires sprinkling [of a mixture of ashes of the red heifer with special water] on the third and seventh days (see Numbers 19:12: “He shall purify himself with it on the third day and on the seventh day, and then be pure.”). But the Halakha is not according to Rabban Shimon ben Gamaliel.

On being broken they become clean. If they break such that they are no longer usable, they become pure again.

If they were re-made into vessels they revert to their former impurity. If they are re-fashioned, their original impurity is restored to them. In other words, they don't only become susceptible to impurity, they actually get their old impurity back. In the Talmud, it is explained that this was a rabbinic decree made by Shimon ben Shetach, a Second Temple sage. According to the rules of the Torah, once the metal vessel has been broken, it does not go back to its former impurity.

Rabban Shimon ben Gamaliel says: this does not apply to every form of impurity but only to that contracted from a corpse. Rabban Shimon ben Gamaliel limits this rabbinic decree to a case where it had contracted corpse impurity. If it had been defiled in some other, less significant way, then it does not revert to its former impurity.

שיש לו שם בפני עצמו – that is known and recognized and unique with its name.

Every metal vessel that has a name of its own [is susceptible to impurity,] As long as a metal vessel has a name of its own, and its name is not based on another vessel, it is susceptible to impurity.

טמא – whether it has a receptacle or it doesn’t have a receptacle [it is impure].

Except for a door, a bolt, a lock, a socket under a hinge, a hinge, a clapper, and the [threshold] groove under a door post, since these are intended to be attached to the ground. The exceptions are various parts of doors. These are not susceptible to impurity because they are meant to be attached to the ground, and any vessel that is attached to the ground is not susceptible to impurity (see 8:9).

הנגר (door-bolt, pin fitting into sockets top and bottom) – an iron peg whose one head one wedges into the ground and the other head in back of the door. Alternatively, it is similar to a pillar that closes and bolts the door from one end to the other.

מנעול – anything that locks and closes the door is called מנעול /a lock. And its example in Scripture is in the Song of Songs (5:5): “על כפות המנעול”/”Upon the handles of the bolt.”

פותה (socket of the door-pin/the hole under the hinge) – it is similar to small cup of iron that they affix in the ground and the hinge of the door surrounds it in order that it is easy to open and to close. And an example of this in Scripture (I Kings 7:50): “and the hinge sockets for the doors on the innermost part of the House”/".והפותות לדלתות הבית הפנימית"

והצינור (door-socket/pivot) – KANALI in the foreign tongue.

שנעשו לקרקע – to use the ground. For everything that is attached to the ground is like the ground and is not susceptible to receive ritual impurity.

העשת (wrought metal) –a piece of iron when they remove it from the quarry/mine.

If vessels are made from iron ore, from smelted iron, from the hoop of a wheel, from sheets, from plating, from the bases, rims or handles of vessels, from chippings or filings, they are clean. Rabbi Yohanan ben Nuri says: even those made of pieces of vessels. Vessels that are made from any of these materials are pure (unless they contract impurity). We need not be concerned that they come from material that was at one time impure because all of the things that are listed here are not "vessels" and therefore they are not susceptible to impurity. In other words, if a vessels comes from recycled material that could never have been impure, it is itself pure. "Pieces of vessels" are pieces that are cut off of the raw metarl material when vessels are being made. Rabbi Yohanan ben Nuri rules that these too cannot be impure, and therefore vessels made of them are pure.

חררה (a ball of iron ore before it is smelted) – after they smelt the iron they make of it a round mold/loaf like a cake.

From [vessels that are made] of fragments of vessels, from pieces of old vessels, or from nails that were known to have been made from vessels, are unclean. In this case the older vessels may have been impure before they were broken and recycled. Therefore, the new vessels made from them must also be treated as impure, for when the old vessels were forged into new vessels, they return to their former state of impurity (see mishnah one).

סובב על גלגל (the iron hoop of a wheel) – the wheel of a wagon of wood, they make around it a foil or other plating material of iron that won’t break on the stony/rugged ground or rocks.

[If they were made] from ordinary nails: Bet Shammai says: they are unclean, And Bet Hillel says that they are clean. In this case, we don't know whether the nails were once parts of vessels, in which case they are susceptible to impurity, or were from nails that were never parts of vessels, in which case they are not susceptible to impurity. Bet Shammai rules strictly and renders them unclean lest they came from vessels that were once impure. Bet Hillel rules leniently, reasoning that there is a double-doubt in this case. The nails may not have ever been part of vessels, and even if they were, there is the possibility that the previous vessel was clean.

טסין (foil, plate) –(Exodus 39:3): “They hammered out sheets of gold,” which we translate into Aramaic: “And they beat out/hammer foils of gold.”

כני כלים – the bases of utensils. The language of "את כנו" /”and its stand” (Exodus 30:28), which we translate into Aramaic, “and its stand.”

הוגני כלים (basin/אוגני of vessels) – like a necklace/chain that surrounds the rim of the vessels.

אזני כלים – handle that they grab hold of the vessel.

השחלת (metal filings/shavings) – what remains from the vessel after it is made. The language of כמשחל בניתא מחלבא/(One’s death is like) drawing out hair from milk – /in Berakhot 8a and we translate [into Aramaic the passage](Exodus 2:10): “I drew him (Moses) out of the water,” I drew out the lion from the water.

גרודות – that is scraped from the utensil at the time that it is made. The language is stated from Job 2:8): "[ויקח-לו חרש] להתגרר בו [ישב התוך-האפר]."/”[He took a potsherd] to scratch himself [as he sat in ashes].”

טהורים – for we are not concerned in all of these that perhaps they came from an impure vessel and he returned and made from them [another] vessel, they returned to their earlier defilement, for all of these did not appear to be able to receive defilement ever, because they are unfinished vessels [lacking a receptacle], and unfinished metal vessels are not susceptible to receive defilement. And this is taught in the Tosefta (see Tosafot Yom Tov on this entry which referred me to Kelim Bava Metzia 2:17: “And what are the unfinished wooden objects which are unclean? Whatever one is destined to smooth, to scrape, to hollow out or to plane. [If] they lacked a cup, a border, an ear, or a hand, they are unclean. [If] they lacked hollowing, they are clean” (see also Tractate Kelim, Chapter 12, Mishnah 8). And which are those unfinished metal vessels? That which are destined to smooth, to adorn with designs, to scrape/plane, to make a rim by hollowing out the center/rounding off, and to beat with a mallet, that which is missing a chain surrounding the rim of the vessel or a handle is pure.

אף מן הקצוצות (even from the cut metal, strip, wire) – if he cut the vessels in pieces, the vessels that are made from those pieces did not return to their earlier defilement. But the Halakha is not according to Rabbi Yohanan ben Nuri.

גרוטאות – vessels that were broken because of their usage and were made into small pieces after their aging are called גרוטות /fragments of vessels. But they are smaller than shards of vessels/shattered iron.

ומן המסמרות שידוע שנעשו מכלים (and from nails known to have been made from other vessels) – even though we don’t know if they came from pure vessels or from the impure ones.

טמאין – the vessels made from them are impure, for we are concerned that perhaps they came from impure vessels and returned to their former state of impurity.

מן המסמרות – undefined. That we don’t know if they were made from utensils or from the wrought iron.

בית שמאי מטמאין – that they decreed that these are on account of those.

ובית הלל מטהרין – that they didn’t decree.

ברזל טמא – that came from shards of vessels.

If unclean iron was smelted together with clean iron and the greater part was from the unclean iron, [the vessel made of the mixture] is unclean; If the greater part was from the clean iron, the vessel is clean. If each was half, it is unclean. The unclean iron comes from vessels that were unclean, and the clean iron comes from vessels that are clean. The status of the new vessel follows the majority of the material used. If both materials are used in equal amounts the law is strict and the new vessel must be treated as unclean.

שבללו – that he mixed/scraped with each other and smelt them and made from both of them a vessel.

The same law also applies to a mixture of cement and cattle dung. Cement is susceptible to impurity, whereas cattle dung is not. If one makes a vessel by mixing these two materials together, the vessel's susceptibility to impurity depends on which material composes the majority, as in the previous section.

ברזל טהור – that came from the wrought iron or from the ball of iron ore, etc.

A door bolt is susceptible to impurity, but [one of wood] that is only plated with metal is not susceptible to impurity. The susceptibility of the type of door belt referred to here depends upon whether it is made of metal, in which case it is susceptible, or of wood which is only plated with metal, in which case it is not susceptible.

אם רוב מן הטמא טמא – that it returns to its original impurity.

The clutch and the crosspiece [of a lock] are susceptible to impurity. These two pieces of the door are susceptible to impurity.

חלמא (a sort of cement used for making vessels) – plaster that cleaves like the white of an egg.

A door-bolt: Rabbi Joshua says: he may remove it from one door and hang it on another on Shabbat. Rabbi Tarfon says: it is like all other vessels and may be carried about in a courtyard. These laws relate to the door-bolt mentioned in section three. According to Rabbi Joshua one can remove it from one door and drag it to another door on Shabbat. But he can't directly carry it, because it is not a vessel and one is not allowed to handle non-vessels on Shabbat. This opinion flows or at least accords with the opinion above, that the door bolt is not a vessel. Rabbi Tarfon says that the door-bolt is a vessel and can be carried about in the courtyard, as can vessels in general on Shabbat. Since it is a vessel, it is also susceptible to impurity. Rabbi Tarfon disagrees with the opinion in section three.

ומן הגללים – that he combined the plaster with the excrement of cattle and made from them vessels and smelt them in a furnace/kiln. If a majority are from a sort of cement used for making vessels. For utensils of excrement are not susceptible to receive defilement.

קלוסטרא (fastening, lock/bar) – the door-bolt/pin of the door. And it is a peg that they lock the door with as was explained above, it is customary to make at its head like a kind of apple/door-bolt and it is called a גלוסטרא. But if it was made from iron, it is impure, as it returns to its original state of impurity, because it is appropriate to crush the garlic in the mortar.

מצפה טהורה (plated wood with metal) – if it was from pure iron and covered with impure metal, it is pure, for we follow after that which is essential but not after the covering that is of impure metal.

הפין והפורנא (pivots and the skeleton-key /clutch and cross-piece) – the fixed teeth in the lock (i.e., socket and pivot) and the pivot goes into the lock.

שומטה מפתח זה ותולה בחבירו – through dragging alone, for it is carrying from the side. But complete carrying is not [permitted]. But Rabbi Tarfon permits even complete carrying like his guest, but perhaps the Tanna comes to teach us that here, with the impure lock that is taught in the first clause of the Mishnah, is not the opinion of all but rather the dispute between Rabbi Yehoshua and Rabbi Tarfon, for according to Rabbi Yehoshua it is pure, for in order that he does not compare it [to a vessel] with regard to the Sabbath, so here too, he does not compare it [to a vessel] with regard to defilement.

עקרב של פרומביא (bit of the halter/bridle) – reins and the bridle and the halter are one thing. And the iron that enters in the mouth of the animal is called the עקרב/bit.

The scorpion [-shaped] bit of a bridle is susceptible to impurity, but the cheek-pieces are clean. Rabbi Eliezer says that the cheek-pieces are susceptible to impurity. But the sages says that the scorpion-bit alone is susceptible to impurity, The two pieces of equipment mentioned here are used in bridling an animal. According to the Rambam, the scorpion-shaped bit is susceptible because it has its own name, whereas the cheek-pieces do not. Rabbi Eliezer holds that since the cheek-pieces are made for people to use and they are part of the bit, they too are susceptible.

ולחיים (the cheeks) – that are attached to the bit like two embroidered foils, one from here and one from there on the cheeks of the animal that are made for beauty. And they are pure when they are on their own, for they are the decorations of the animal, and the decorations of the animal are not susceptible to receive defilement.

When they are joined together it is all susceptible to impurity. The sages agree that if the cheek-pieces are attached to the bridle, they too are susceptible to impurity.

פיקה (whorl/spindle knob) – like a small ball that is perforated in the middle that women place at the top of the spindle when they spin with it in order that it becomes heavy.

A metal spindle-knob:
Rabbi Akiva says it is susceptible to impurity But the sages say it is not susceptible. If it was only plated [with metal] it is clean. A metal-spindle knob is placed on top of the spindle used in spinning wool. According to the sages, it does not have its own name and therefore it is clean. Rabbi Akiva holds that it does have its own name, so it is susceptible. Rabbi Akiva agrees that if it is only covered with metal, it is considered a simple wooden vessel, and it is not susceptible.

רבי עקיבא מטמא – for it is a metal vessel that has a designation/name of its own, and it is ritually impure, as it is taught in the Mishnah at the beginning of the chapter (Tractate Kelim, Chapter 11, Mishnah 2).

A spindle, a distaff, a rod, a double flute and a pipe are susceptible to impurity if they are of metal, but if they are only plated [with metal] they are clean. All of these vessels have their own name and therefore they are all susceptible to impurity, if made of metal. However, if they are only covered with metal, but their base is wood they are not susceptible, because they do not have a receptacle.

וחכמים מטהרין – that it doesn’t have a designation/name of its own but rather an epithet, a spindle knob of reed used as a spindle, or a spindle knob of a that same thing that it uses. And the Halakha is according to the Sages.

If a double flute has a receptacle for the wings it is susceptible to impurity in either case. If the double-flute has a receptacle in which to receive "wings" which somehow make other types of musical noises, then it is susceptible even if it is made of wood. Wooden vessels are not-susceptible only if they have no receptacle.

ומצפה (and if it is overlaid) – if it was of wood and it is overlaid with metal, it is ritually impure.

טהורה – that after the essence we follow, but not after the covering/overlaying which is of metal which is ritually impure.

כוש – a spindle that the women spin on.

והמקל (and the staff) – of metal which is rituall impure, for since a person chastises the animal with it, it is considered like a vessel that is made for the use by a person.

סמפוניא (a wind instrument) – a kind of musical instrument, as it is written in Daniel (3:5): "פסנתרין סומפניה [וכל הני זמרא]"/”psaltery, bagpipe, [and all other types of instruments].”

וחליל – even it is a kind of musical instrument, and it is hollowed out and its sound is heard from a [great] distance.

ומצופין אהורים – if it is of wood and is overlaid with ritually impure copper, it is [considered] ritually pure. For we follow after the essence of the vessel which is of wood. And if it has a receptacle, it is not considered, even though it is hollow, since it is not made for the receptacle. ‘

אם יש לה בית קיבול כפנים (if it has a receptacle for the wings [= bags of the bagpipe]) – small thin vessels in the image of wings, which we put into the wind instrument (i.e., bagpipe), that assist in projecting the sound of the music, if they made it within the place of the receptacle of these wings (i.e., the bags of the bagpipe), it is considered a receptacle.

ובין כך ובין כך – whether it is overlaid or whether it is not overlaid, it is ritually impure.

קרן עגולה וקרן פשוטה (a round metal horn and a plain, straight horn) – a trumpet from the horns of cattle that are made attached section by section, but rather that one of them is made round and the other is [made] straight. But the connection of the sections of the round metal horns is hard and requires an artisan more than the connection of the sections of the plain, straight horn, and because of this, they (i.e., the Sages) said that a person who returns a round metal horn on the Sabbath is liable for sin-offering, which is not the case with a plain, straight horn.

A curved horn is susceptible to impurity but a straight one is clean. A curved horn (perhaps a type of shofar, although some explain this to be a wood instrument) is susceptible to impurity because it contains a receptacle in which it would be possible to receive liquids. But the straight one is not susceptible, as is the rule with vessels made of bone or wood.

קרן עגולה טמאה – that it has a receptacle. But the plain, straight horn is ritually pure, for it lacks a receptacle. And the horns have the law of the boney utensils, for their flat, level surfaces are ritually pure like flat wooden implements.

If its mouthpiece was covered with metal it is unclean. If parts of the horn are covered with metal, it may be susceptible to impurity. If the mouthpiece is covered with metal, it is considered a metal vessel and is susceptible whether or not it is curved.

מצופות (overlaid mouthpiece of a musical instrument) – the place where the mouth is placed, and it is the narrow part of it. It is from the language of "עומדים צפופים" /standing crowded together (see Tractate Avot, Chapter 5, Mishnah 5).

If its broad side [is covered with metal]: Rabbi Tarfon says it is susceptible to impurity But the sages say it is clean. There is a debate over whether the straight horn is susceptible if its broader side is covered with metal. According to Rabbi Tarfon, this is sufficient to turn it into a metal vessel, whereas the sages say that it is not. Only if the mouthpiece is covered with metal is it susceptible.

טמאה – for we consider it as a metal vessel, and even though it is plain/straight, it is susceptible to receiving ritual impurity.

While they are joined together the whole is susceptible to impurity. If the mouthpiece is joined together with the broad side, making one seamless whole, then if any part is susceptible, it is all susceptible.

הקב שלה (the cavity, the lower part of the trumpet/horn) – the wide side that is on it, if it is made of metal.

Similarly: the branches of a candlestick are clean. And the cups and the base are susceptible to impurity, But while they are joined together the whole is susceptible to impurity. Similar rules apply to a candlestick. Its branches are not susceptible when they are separated from the whole, because they do not have their own names. The cups and base are susceptible because they contain receptacles. But if they are all joined together, all of the parts are susceptible.

ר' טרפון מטמא וחכים מטהרים – But the Halakha is according to the Sages.

קני מנורה טהורים – that they lack a name a name of their own, and it is taught in the Mishnah at the beginning of this chapter (see Tractate Kelim, Chapter 11, Mishnah 2), that metal vessels that have a name of its own is ritually impure.

הפרח – the place where the candle sits that is at the top of the candelabrum, is called by the name of פרח/calyx (an ornament in the shape of a flower).

בסיס – the feet of the candelabrum/Menorah that it sits on them (i.e., the base).

קסדא – the bronze hat that the men of war place on their heads.

Introduction Today's mishnah deals with the purity of weapons and jewelry. It is interesting to note that the Mishnah often juxtaposes these topics, as if to create an analogy weapons are adornments to men, as jewelry is an adornment to women.

ולחיים – tin foil or other plating material of bronze that they place on their cheeks.

A helmet is susceptible to impurity but the cheek-pieces are clean, But if they have a receptacle for water they are susceptible to impurity. The helmet has its own name and is therefore susceptible to impurity, but the cheek-pieces do not have their own name, and therefore they are not susceptible unless they also have a receptacle for water.

ואם יש בהן בית קיבול מים – that they drink water in them during war.

All weapons of war are susceptible to impurity: a javelin, a spear-head, metal boots, and a breastplate are susceptible to impurity. Weapons of war are all susceptible to impurity because they are made of metal.

כידון (light spear/javelin) – a small spear that is in the hands of the officers and the kings.

All women's ornaments are susceptible to impurity: a golden city (a, a necklace, ear-rings, finger-rings, a ring whether it has a seal or does not have a seal, and nose-rings. Similarly, women's jewelry is made of metal and therefore it too is susceptible to impurity. The ring need not have a receptacle for a seal for it to be susceptible. Note that "a golden city" this refers to a "Yerushalayim shel Zahav," or any other city.

ניקון (iron point of a javelin) – like a canon. It is the language of (II Samuel 21:16): “[And Ishbi-benob tried to kill David – He was a descendant of the Rapha (a race of ghosts)]; his bronze spear [weighed three hundred shekels and he wore new armor].” And it is the bronze that is within the spear.

If a necklace has metal beads on a thread of flax or wool and the thread broke, the beads are still susceptible to impurity, since each one is a vessel in itself. A whole the necklace is susceptible, as we learned in section three. If the thread breaks, the beads are still susceptible because each is considered its own vessel.

מגפיים (metal leggings, greaves) – bronze upper part of the leg that men of war carry [into battle].

If the thread was of metal and the beads were of precious stones or pearls or glass, and the beads were broken while the thread alone remained, it is still susceptible to impurity. If the thread is metal, it is susceptible even if the beads that served as its adornments broke and fell off.

תכשיטי נשים – even though they are not made for work but rather for beauty/ornamentation, we derive from Scripture as it is written (Numbers 31:23): “and anything that cannot withstand fire you must pass through water.”

The remnant of a necklace [is susceptible] as long as there is enough for the neck of a little girl. Rabbi Eliezer says: even if only one ring remained it is unclean, since it also is hung around the neck. If a chain necklace breaks, it is still susceptible as long as enough remains to serve as a necklace for a young girl. If it is smaller than that, it is not susceptible. Rabbi Eliezer says that as long as one ring in the chain remains it is still usable because a person might hang that ring on another chain around her neck. Therefore it is still susceptible.

עיר של זהב – like a diadem/tiara that women place on their heads in the shape of Jerusalem.

קטליות (necklace – a chain the links of which are of metal and strung on a linen or woolen thread) – golden threads that they (i.e., the women) place around the neck. But because the woman chokes herself with them in order that she should appear with much flesh, therefore, we call them קטליות (that act as something that kills).

ונזמים – there are those of them that are nose rings and there are those of them that are earrings.

בחוט של פשתן – that the links of which are perforated and they filled from them the thread.

החוליות טמאות – each one of them is considered on its own as a working vessel.

של אבנים – that there were jewels/pearls and stones perforated and they filed from them the thread.

טמא – the thread, since it is of metal.

כמלוא צואר קטנה – encompass the neck of a small girl.

כקדרה מלמטה (like a pot-shape from the bottom) – wide from below and it has a receptacle.

Introduction Today's mishnah deals with the purity of earrings.

וכעדשה מלמעלה – on the top of the earring from the above, it has a globule/kernel of gold or of silver made like a lentil.

If an earring was shaped like a pot at its bottom and like a lentil at the top and the sections fell apart, the pot-shaped section is susceptible to impurity because it is a receptacle, while the lentil shaped section is susceptible to impurity in itself. The earring described here has two parts: the top is shaped like a lentil and the bottom like a pot (maybe someone should go into designing Talmudic jewelry might make a good business). When the earring is whole, all of it is of course susceptible to impurity. If it falls apart both parts are still susceptible to impurity. The bottom part is no longer considered a piece of jewelry, but since it has a receptacle, it is still susceptible. The top part has no receptacle, but it is still susceptible because it is still considered a piece of jewelry.

ונפרק (dislocated) – the lentil from the pot.

The hooklet is clean. However, the hooklet thread used to attach the earring to the ear is pure.

הקדירה טמאה – for it has a receptacle. But not because it is women’s ornaments, for it is not worthy of being an ornament as it is.

If the sections of an ear-ring that was in the shape of a cluster of grapes fell apart, they are clean. The individual pieces of this type of earring are not considered to be jewelry, and therefore when it falls apart they are clean. To summarize: if the parts of a larger piece of jewelry are considered to be jewelry in their own right, they are still susceptible to impurity.

צינורא (hook of a detached earring) – the top of the earring that enters into the incision in the ear or the incision of the nose. And because it is made like a fork, it is called a צנורא. The Aramaic translation of מזלגותיו (see Exodus 27:3)/flesh hooks is צנורייתיה/its hooks.

טהורה – because it does not have a name of its own.

העשוי כמין אשכול – an earring made like four or five globules/kernels one on top of another like a kind of cluster.

ונפרק טהור – because each globule/kernel does not have a name of its own and it is not worthy of use from when it became detached.