Komentarz do Ohalot 8:7

יש מביאין את הטומאה – that if they overshadowed over the defilement and humans and/or vessels bring the defilement on a person and on the vessels, and even though they didn’t come in contact/touch the defilement.

Introduction Our mishnah introduces the theme of the entire chapter: what things can act as tents to bring uncleanness from a corpse (or part thereof) to other vessels also found underneath and what objects can prevent impurity from spreading by acting as a barrier.

וחוצצים – if the defilement is below them, they protect persons and vessels that are upon them. Because they do not interpose in the face of the defilement. And similarly if the defilement is upon them from the outside, it protects vessels that are underneath them.

Some things bring forth uncleanness and [also] a protect [against it]; [Some things] bring forth uncleanness but do not protect against it; [Some things] protect but do not bring forth; [Some things] do not bring forth nor do they protect. The following bring forth and protect against [impurity]: This whole section is a typical introduction to the laws that will be taught in several mishnayot.

שידה (chest) a large wooden box like a kind of ark.

A chest, a box, a cupboard, a beehive of straw, a beehive of reeds, or the water-tank of an Alexandrian ship, such of which [objects] have [flat] bottoms and can contain [at least] forty seahs liquid measure or two kors dry measure. The objects in this section are large containers. If they are large enough such that they themselves cannot become impure (see Kelim 15:1) then they can both bring forth impurity, if a piece of corpse is found inside and other vessels as well, and act as a barrier to impurity (if vessels are found inside, they are not defiled by impurity outside).

תיבה – small similar to tables.

[Also] a curtain, a leather apron, a leather bedspread, a sheet, a matting underlay or a mat when made into tents. This section refers to hanging things that are used to form a tent. Even though these items are susceptible to impurity, they also form a barrier against impurity. Obviously, if a corpse (or piece thereof) is found underneath, they will cause the impurity to travel to clean vessels also found underneath.

מגדל (turret/cupboard) – of wood made for storage.

A herd of cattle, unclean or clean, packs of wild animals or birds, a resting bird, a [shady] place that [a woman] makes for her son among the ears of corn; A herd of domesticated animals or a pack of wild animals or birds can serve as an ohel both to bring impurity and protect against it. This would mean that if a source of corpse impurity is found under one animal and that animal is tightly packed into a herd with other animals, the vessels found underneath another animal will be impure. Also if there is impurity below one of these animals, the vessels above are protected. The same is also true with regard to a tent of shade that a woman might make for her son among ears of corn.

כוורת הקש – large baskets made from straw or from willow or branches of palm trees.

The iris, the ivy, squitting cucumber, Greek gourds and clean foodstuffs. Rabbi Yohanan ben Nuri did not agree with regard to clean foodstuffs except in the case of a cake of dried figs. This section lists some leafy plants that can form ohalot both to bring and protect against impurity. There is a debate with regard to clean food, whether it brings and forms a barrier against impurity. According to the first opinion, all clean food can perform this function. Rabbi Yohanan ben Nuri says that this is true only with regard to cakes of dried figs. Since it was customary to sit underneath such cakes (for shade) they bring impurity and form a barrier to it. But other foodstuffs do not act in this way because it is not customary to sit underneath them.

כוורת הקנים – like baskets that are made from reeds.

ובור ספינה אלכסנדרית (tank of sweet water in a ship of Alexandrian merchantmen) – the large ships that they go to see on the large ocean (i.e., Mediterranean Sea), they make within it a large wooden vessel like a cistern that the place in it sweet water that is appropriate for drinking.

והן מחזיקין ארבעים סאה כלה – for since they are large in this measure, they furthermore are not susceptible to receive defilement, and they interpose in the face of defilement.

סקורטיא (a leather bed-sheet) – a hide that the tanners wear at the time of their work.

קטבליא (hide used as a spread) - a hid that they spread over the bed and lie upon it, and we call it NETA in Arabic.

שהן עשויין אהלים – hanging over similar to a tent. And the leather-bed sheet/סקורטיא and the קטבליא/hide used as a spread and the sheet and the matting and the mat are vessels and susceptible to receive ritual defilement, anyway when they are hanging over like tents they interpose before the defilement, for a tent even though it receives defilement interposes in front of the defilement.

ועדר בהמות – when they are standing and not walking and the head of this one is between the legs of that one.

ומכונות חיה ועוף – nests of wildlife and birds. It is the language of (Exodus 15:27): “The place You made to dwell in.”

והעוף ששכן – that was tied on the wall or on the tree.

והעושה מקום לבינה בשבלים – that cover the ears of corn/spike (i.e., the sheaves), a place that is similar to a house.

האירוס והקיסום ודלעת יונית וירקת חמורים (the lily with an aromatic root, the ivy, the Greek gourd and the ass-herbs) – all these are kinds of vegetables whose leaves are wide.

חוץ מן העיגול של דבילה – because that underneath the shade of the pressed cake of figs, they would regularly sit more than the rest of the foods. And this is taught in the Tosefta (Tractate Ohalot, Chapter 9, Halakha 5). But the Halakha is not according to Rabbi Yohanan ben Nuri.

הזיזין (projections from door frames serving as a shed over the entrance – or a molding projecting from a window-sill serving as a bracket) – a piece of wood or an individual stone that protects out from the wall is called a זיז.

Introduction Our mishnah continues to list things that both serve as a barrier against impurity and bring impurity.

גזריות – like [the word]גזוזטראות /balconies). A building of stones or of wood that project from the wall.

Projections from a wall, balconies, dovecotes, crevices and crags, grottoes, [overhanging] pinnacles, interlaced boughs and protruding stones as long as they are cable of sustaining thin plasterwork, the words of Rabbi Meir. These are mostly naturally formed protrusions that either jut out from walls or are carved into them.

והשובכות – of doves.

But the sages say a medium plasterwork. According to Rabbi Meir, for the interlaced boughs and protruding stones to both bring impurity and protect against it, they must be close enough together such that if thin plaster was poured on top it would not drip through. Other commentators interpret Rabbi Meir differently. Rabbi Meir holds that as long as the boughs and stones are strong enough to hold a thin layer of plasterwork, they can bring impurity and protect against it.

והשקיפים והסלעים – we explained this above at the conclusion of chapter 3 [of this tractate] (i.e., clefts in the stones and rocks – one made by the rain and the other made on its own).

What are interlaced boughs? A tree which casts shade over the ground. Protruding stones? [Stones] that project from a wall. Just as there were two interpretations of Rabbi Meir, there are two interpretations of the sages who disagree with him. According to the first interpretation, as long as the boughs and stones can prevent plaster-work of medium thickness from dripping through, they bring impurity and protect against it. According to the second interpretation, the stones and boughs must be strong enough to hold a medium layer of plasterwork to bring and protect against impurity.

גהרים (projection, jetty) - kind of holes that from there comes the light. And there are those who explain it as kinds of caves and thorns.-

This section defines what interlaced boughs and protruding stones are.

והשננים (pointed rocks/cliffs) – teeth of the rock.

מעזיבה רכה – as for example that they make from willow and reeds and place upon them a bit of plaster.

מעזיבה בינונית – but if they are not able to endure other than a soft concrete of stone chippings, they don’t bring the defilement and do not interpose. And the Halakha is according to the Sages.

אילן מיסך -the language of (Exodus 25:20): “shielding the cover with their wings.”

והפרעות היוצאות מן הגדר (the case of protruding boughs on one of which is an uncleanness – which protrudes from the hedge) – it is the manner of a fence that we place on its top thorns and thistles, and they are more abundant on the fence and protrude outward. And [the word] פרעות/long, entangled growth (i.e., protruding boughs). The language of (Numbers 6:5): “[the hair of his head] left to grow untrimmed.”

ואין מחזיקים ארבעים סאה בלח – for since they are susceptible to receive ritual defilement, they do not interpose.

The following bring [impurity] but do not protect against it: Today's mishnah deals with objects that bring impurity but do not serve as a barrier against it.

שאין עושיין אהלים – they are not insert/planted similar to a tent, but rather are flattened/spread according to the aperture in the roof looking to the ground floor.

A chest, a box, a cupboard, a beehive of straw, a beehive of reeds, or the water tank of an Alexandrian ship, such of which [objects] have [flat] bottoms but cannot contain forty se'ahs of liquid measure or two kors dry measure. This is the same as the list in mishnah one except the boxes are smaller. Since they cannot contain forty seahs of liquid or two kors of dry goods, they are susceptible to impurity. Things that are susceptible to impurity do not act as barriers to impurity.

מוסף עליהם הריחים של אדם – that is the hand millstone, which are carried and susceptible to receiving ritual impurity. This excludes the millstone of cattle that are not carried and are not susceptible to receiving ritual impurity.

A curtain, a leather apron, a leather undercover, a sheet, a matting underlay or a mat when not made into tents. This is also the same list as in mishnah one except here the curtains are are laying flat over the hatch between an upper story and a bottom floor and they are not set up as a tent. As we learned in 7:2, in such a situation these things can bring impurity, but they do not act as a barrier against it.

Cattle or wild animals when they are dead, and foodstuffs that are [liable to become] unclean. Since these animals or foods are unclean, they do not protect against impurity.

In addition to these, a human-powered mill. Hand-mills which can be carried from place to place are susceptible to impurity, and therefore cannot act as a barrier. In contrast, mills operated by animals are heavy and immovable. Therefore they can act as a barrier against impurity.

מסכת פרוסה (the spread web – i.e., the web hanging from the transverse beam) – the threads of the warp/longitudinal direction like they are spread out in a weaver’s vessel prior to weaving the cloth. If they were spread out over an aperture in the roof looking to the ground floor that is between the house and the upper room and the defilement is below it, it protects upon the vessels that are above, but if it overshadows the corpse or on the vessels, it does not bring the defilement, for it is not considered a tent until it is woven.

The following protect [against impurity] but do not bring it: A loom [with the woof] spread out, the ropes of a bed, waste baskets, and window-lattices. The items listed in this mishnah can act as a barrier against. For instance if one of them covers the hatch between a bottom floor and an upper story, the contents of the upper story are protected. But they don't bring impurity if they overshadow both a piece of corpse and vessels. The loom has the warp spread out over it, but it can't act as an ohel till it is fully woven. The ropes of a bed are tied tight to support the mattress. The waste baskets have small holes in them, enough so that they can't act as an ohel.

וחבילי המטה (the rope-work of the bed) – ropes of he better when it the straps are drawn in bedsteads.

והמשפלות (wicker baskets carried on a pole over the shoulder) – baskets that they remove the manure In them.

והסריגים שבחלונות (and the window lattices) – network/matting that they make in the windows, interposes, for the defilement does not pass to one side. And as long as there will not be in all of them an incision like is open to a handbreadth, for an incision/hole that is open to a handbreadth brings in the defilement.

ירקות שמנו – those that are taught in the Mishnah at the beginning of this chapter (Mishnah 1), The lily with the aromatic root/אירוס, and the ivy and the vegetables of ass-herbs and Greek gourd. And these are when attached, for if they are detached, if they became susceptible to receive ritual impurity, they don’t interpose, for something that is susceptible to receive ritual impurity does not interpose in the face of defilement. But if they were among those that were not susceptible, that is pure foods.

Today's mishnah discusses things that act neither to bring uncleanness nor as a barrier for it, even if they are found in a position of overshadowing.

כפת הברד (hailstones) – a piece of the hail. It is the language of (Psalms 147:17): “He tosses down hail like crumbs.” Alternatively, hail that is made like an arch.

The following neither bring [impurity] nor protect against it:
Seeds, plants [still] attached to the ground, except for the plants mentioned above, Plants (this doesn't include trees) attached to the ground generally do not act as ohalot to bring impurity or protect against it. The exceptions were the very leafy plants mentioned in 8:1. We should note that this is all in reference to plants attached to the ground. Once detached from the ground plants can, under certain circumstances, act as an ohel.

והכפור(frost) – water that flows/runs and comes down when it is frozen.

A lump of hail, snow, frost, ice and salt. All of these items cannot act as an ohel because they melt. The salt will crumble when rained upon.

גליד – the frozen water of rivers (i.e., ice).

[Anything] that hops from one place to another, or leaps from one place to another, a flying bird. Animals or people that are moving do not form an ohel. To "overshadow" the living thing must be stationary.

והמלח – all of these they don’t bring and they don’t interpose. Because they melt and do not endure.

A loosely-flapping garment, or a ship floating [freely] on the water. A ship or garment that is moving around also does not act as an ohel.

דולג (which hops/skips) – animals and wild life, and jump at humans. But there are those who say, that hopping and jumping – both of them refer to humans, but rather hopping where his one foot is placed on the ground and he hops with the second; and jumps, with both feet.

If the ship were tied with something that can keep it steady, or a stone were [placed so as] to hold down the garment, it can bring uncleanness. Once the ship is tied down so that it doesn't move around, or the garment is held down by a stone, it can again act as an ohel.

וטלית המפנפת (a sheet suspended as a banner) – that when the wind waves it and it stands in the air like an arched compartment.

Rabbi Yose says: a house on a ship cannot bring uncleanness. Although relative to the ship the house is stationary, it does not act as an ohel if the ship is moving. Another interpretation is that Rabbi Yose is referring to a make shift sort of house, one that will be uprooted by a common wind. Since such a house will not last long, it does not act as an ohel.

כבש את האבן על גבי הטלית (presses the stone on top of the cloak) – that there was a stone placed on one end of the cloak and the wind blew the second end and it became like a kind of tent.

מביאה את הטומאה – if it overshadowed over the corpse or on vessels, it brings the defilement o the vessels.

הבית שבספינה – as for example, that the house at the top of a ship and it overshadows on the vessels that are on the ship and on the corpse that is in the sea at the time that it is travelling. Another explanation, the house that is on the ship and it is not able to withstand the wind that is found, and even if it overshadowed on the corpse and the vessels that are on the ship do not bring the defilement, and it is not considered a tent. But the Halakha is not according to Rabbi Yossi.

בשני חצאי זיתים – half an olive’s bulk in this one, and half in that one.

Two [earthenware] jars in which there are two pieces of corpse the size of half an olive, sealed with tightly fitting lids, lying in a house, they remain clean, but the house becomes unclean. I bet you read this situation and said to yourself, yes, that's happened to me. Two tightly sealed jars, with two pieces of corpse less than the size of an olive in each, sure, common situation ☺. In all seriousness, the tightly sealed jar does not prevent impurity from coming out in an ohel. Since between the two jars there is the necessary olive's worth of corpse, the house is unclean. However, each jar remains clean because a tightly sealed lid prevents impurity from defiling an earthenware jar.

הבית טמא – that a tightly-fitting cover does not protect on the defilement that is under it so that the house would defile the house, but even though that they are in two jars, for since both of them are in the house they combine to the measurement to defile the house. But the jars are ritually pure, for the defilement of one-half an olive’s bulk that is in its companion jar enters into it, sine it is surrounded with a tight-fitting cover.

If one of them was opened, that [jar] and the house become unclean, but the other remains clean. If one jar was opened, that jar is unclean by virtue of being in the house. However, the other jar remains pure. The house is unclean as it was in section one.

וכן שני חדרים שהן פתוחים לבית – and their doors are locked, and there is a half-olive’s bulk in this room and a half-olive’s bulk in that room, the house is impure, for ultimately the defilement exits, but the rooms are ritually pure, for there is no pay for the defilement to enter in.

A similarly with to two rooms that open into a house. If there is half of an olive's worth of corpse in each room, and the doors to the house are both locked, they join together to defile the house, because eventually these pieces of corpse will be brought out through the house. However, the rooms themselves remain pure because there is less than an olive's worth in each.