Comentário sobre Tebul Yom 1:6

המכנס חלות - that they set aside from the started dough, and placed from them a lot, this on top of that, until they became attached to each other, and his intention was from the outset to separate them one from the other.

Introduction The first mishnah in Tevul Yom deals with the issue of whether things that are loosely connected to each other are considered to be one thing, such that if a tevul yom touches one side the whole thing is impure, or many independent things, such that the other side is pure. The issue of "connectives" is something we saw several other times in the Mishnah, including chapters 18-21 of Kelim.

ונשכו (and they stuck together)- that they became so attached/stuck together until that when he came to separate them, they adhere one to the other, meaning to say, that when a part was detached from one of them and [the rest] goes up with its neighbor.

If one had collected hallah [portions] with the intention of keeping them separate, but in the meantime they had become stuck together: Bet Shammai say: they are connected in the case of a tevul yom. But Bet Hillel say: they are not connected. A priest collects pieces of hallah that he has been given by other people. He intends to keep them separate and bake them separately. However, they end up getting stuck together. According to Bet Shammai, since they are stuck together, if one of them is touched by a tevul yom, then they are all impure. Bet Shammai looks at the situation purely by what is going on physically. Since the pieces of hallah are touching each other, they count as one piece of dough. If the tevul yom touches one of them, they are all disqualified. Bet Hillel, in contrast, takes the person's intention into account. Since he intended to bake them separately, the fact that they temporarily made contact with each other does not mean they count as being connected. Only the piece that the tevul yom actually touched is impure.

בית שמאי אומרים חיבור בטבול יום -if a Tevul Yom/one who immersed himself that day [in a Mikveh] came in contact with one of them, all of them are made invalid as if they are one body. For a person who immersed himself that day [in a Mikveh] invalidates priest’s due/heave-offering, and the priest’s share of the dough (i.e., Hallah) has the law of Terumah/heave-offering/priest’s due.

Pieces of dough [of terumah] that had become stuck together, Or loaves that had become joined, or one who bakes a batter-cake on top of another batter-cake before it could form a crust in the oven, or the froth on the water that was bubbling, or the first scum that rises when boiling groats of beans, or the scum of new wine (r. Judah says: also that of: Bet Shammai say: they are connected in the case of a tevul yom. But Bet Hillel say: they are not connected. In all of the cases described here there are two or more things that could be looked at as connected or not. In all of these cases, the substance is of terumah and the question is if part was touched by the tevul yom, is it all impure? Some of these require a bit more explanation: Or one who bakes a batter-cake on top of another batter-cake before it could form a crust in the oven: This person will definitely separate the cakes because they will form a crust better when they are separate. Or if there was froth on the water that was bubbling: This refers to a case of a watery dish which is boiling and has bubbles rising from it. Since the dish is watery, the bubbles don't count as being attached to the dish, at least according to Bet Hillel. Or the first froth that rises when boiling groats of beans: the beans were crushed and made into groats. When they are boiled for the first time, a froth comes up. Rabbi Judah says: also that of rice: Boiled terumah rice. In all of these cases Bet Shammai says that all of the parts are considered to be connected. If a tevul yom touches one part, for instance the froth, the whole thing is disqualified. Bet Hillel says that they are considered separate and therefore the part that wasn't touched remains valid terumah.

ובית הלל אומרים אינו חיבור – since it is his intention to separate them, and that [piece] that the person who immersed himself that day [in a Mikveh] touched is invalid, but the rest are ritually pure.

They agree [that they serve as connectives] if they come into contact with other kinds of uncleanness, whether they be of minor or major grades. The disagreement between Bet Shammai and Bet Hillel is with regard to the tevul yom. As I stated in the introduction, the rabbis (at least Bet Hillel) treated a tevul yom somewhat leniently, since he had already been to the mikveh. However, when it comes to other forms of impurity, both serious and lenient forms, all of the things listed in this mishnah are considered to be connected. Bet Hillel was lenient only with regard to the tevul yom.

מקרצות (pieces of dough, separated from the main dough in the trough) – pieces of started dough that were cut into and detached from large pieces/clumps of started dough, are called מקרצות. It is the [Biblical] language (Jeremiah 46:20): “A ‘gadfly’ (i.e., a pinch – from BDB Dictionary) from the north is coming.” And all of these that are considered here. They are established/stand for the dispute of the School of Shammai and the School of Hillel of the concluding clause [of the Mishnah], for that which is not considered the priest’s share of the dough explicitly, because according to the School of Hillel, the priest’s share of the dough is not deemed connected, neither for a person who immersed himself that day in a Mikveh (i.e., a Tevul Yom) and not for other defilements, but these regarding a person who immersed himself that day in a Mikveh, they (i.e., the School of Shammai and the School of Hillel) are explicitly in dispute, but concerning the rest of the defilements, they agree, as is taught in the concluding clause [of the Mishnah].

חמיטה (a batter of which flat cakes are made) – a thin cake.

עד שלא קרמו בתנור – for since that they became stuck together/attached when they were started dough, their form has been lost if you place them when attached, therefore, they certainly will be separated in the future.

וקולית של מים (a hollow ball/globule of water) – the foam/froth and effervescence that comes up in the water is called קולית, and if a person who immersed himself that day [in the Mikveh] came in contact with that effervescence, according to the School of Hillel, it is not a connection/junction and the waters were not made unfit.

מחולחלת (loosely put in, hollow, blown up)- when the effervescence/froth/scum is hollow from underneath it, and it doesn’t touch the water other than its edges.

הראשונות – that the first boiling/effervescence of pounded beans are not attached on to the beans.

ר' יהודה אומר אף ברתיחה של אורז – The School of Shammai and the School of Hillel also dispute if it is an attachment/connection for a person who immersed himself that day [in the Mikveh] (i.e., Tevul Yom), and if he came in contact with/touched the effervescence, if is as if he came in contact with the rice.

ומודים – the School of Hillel [agrees].

בשאר כל הטומאות – that it is an attachment/connection.

בין קלות בין חמורות – in [cases of] minor [sources of uncleanness], he is first degree of ritual uncleanness; in major [sources of uncleanness] he is a primary source of ritual defilement. And specifically, they dispute concerning a person who immersed himself that day [in a Mikveh], because he had already ascended from his defilement and is not lacking anything other than his sunset [arriving].

המכנס חלות – this one on top of that one.

Introduction Today's mishnah contains mostly the opposite scenarios of yesterday's mishnah objects that are considered to be connected, such that if the tevul yom touches one of them, they are all defiled.

על מנת שלא להפריש – that he would not separate them one from the other.

If one had collected pieces of hallah without the intention of separating them afterwards, Since he didn't intend to separate them, they count as connected.

משקרמו בתנור – that after their form/shape is not lost and the remain as wafers as they were, he places them attached and further does not ever separate them one from the other.

or a batter-cake that had been baked on another after a crust had formed in the oven, Since the crust had already formed he won't separate them so that they bake better.

ושל שמן לעולם – whether new or old.

or froth had appeared in the water prior to its bubbling up, Prior to boiling the froth is considered connected to the water.

טופח (an aquatic plant, bean) – a kind of legume. But Maimonides states that we call it KORTEMAN in Arabic (according to Jastrow, he defines it as a seed similar to barley). But the Halakha is not according to Rabbi Yehuda.

or the second scum that appeared in the boiling of groats of beans, The second scum that rises on the surface of boiling groats is connected to the dish.

טמאין בטבול יום – because of the concluding clause [of the Mishnah] that teaches “and it is not necessary to say, By all [other] sources of uncleanness”/"ואין צריך לומר בכל הטומאות", it took [the phrase]: "טמאים בטבול יום"/”are made unclean by a person who immersed himself that day/Tevul Yom,” and even though defilement/uncleanness does not belong regarding a person who immersed himself that day/Tevul Yom, because he doesn’t defile, but rather invalidates heave-offering/priest’s due/Terumah alone.

or the scum of old wine, The scum on top of old wine is considered connected only the new scum was considered separate.

or that of oil of all kinds, The scum that emerges on the top of boiling oil is always considered connected to the oil.

or of lentils, Rabbi Judah says: also that of beans; The same is true with lentils and beans, according to Rabbi Judah.

All these are defiled when touched by a tevul yom. And there is no need to say, [this is the case if touched] by other sources of uncleanness. A tevul yom, and all the more so a truly impure person, who touches any of these things defiles the whole thing because all of the parts are considered to be connected.

מסמר שאחר הככר – dough that protrudes from the loaf of bread like a kind of nail, and there are those what make it as such for a sign.

The nail shaped knob on the back of the loaf, or the small globule of salt, or the burnt crust less than a finger's breadth: Rabbi Yose says: whatever is eaten with the loaf becomes unclean [when touched by the tevul yom]. If there is a lump of bread on the back of a loaf of terumah bread, or a small globule of salt or a small burnt piece on the crust, they are all considered as being part of the loaf, because when one goes to eat the loaf, she will eat these parts too. If the tevul yom touches one of these parts, the entire loaf of terumah is disqualified.

וגרגיר מלח קטן (and a small globule/lump of salt) – that was attached to the loaf and baked with it.

And one doesn't need to say, this is so [when touched] by other unclean things. If the law is stringent with regard to the tevul yom, who is really pure, all the more so the law will be stringent with regard to other defiling things. If they touch such parts of the loaf, the entire loaf is impure.

והחרחור (and the burnt crust/part of the loaf)- that the bread is burnt less than the thickness of a finger surrounding it. [The word] חרחור is the language of (Jeremiah 6:29): “The bellows puff; the lead is consumed by fire. [Yet the smelter smelts to no purpose – the dross is not separated out].”/"נחר מפוח מאש".

ר' יוסי אומר – all that is burnt is consumed with the loaf, it is a connection/junction, and if the person who immersed himself that day/Tevul Yom touched that which is burnt, it is as if he touched the bread. But if not, it is not an attachment/connection. But the Halakha is not according to Rabbi Yossi.

הצרור שבככר – that they customarily place a pebble stone within the loaf as a sign/symbol so that it not be exchanged for another, and sometimes they place a large lump of salt or a lupine. All of these are not considered a connection/junction to the bread, but if a primary source of ritual defilement touched one of these, it is not as if it touched the bread itself, and all the more so, a person who immersed himself that day/Tevul Yom that the loaf of heave-offering/priest’s due is not invalidated by this.

Introduction Today's mishnah is the opposite of yesterday's mishnah. It describes things that are attached to the loaf but are not considered connected to it for matters of impurity.

והחרחור יותר מכאצבע (the burnt part of the loaf/the burnt crust larger than a finger’s breadth) – and similarly when it is burnt from the bread with more than the thickness of a finger, and an impure person or a person who immersed himself that day had touched the burnt part, it is not a connection/junction to/with the bread.

A pebble in a loaf or a large globule of salt, or a lupine, or a burnt crust larger than a finger's breadth Rabbi Yose says: whatever is not eaten with the loaf remains clean even when touched by a father of impurity; A person eating a loaf of bread would pick these things out before eating the loaf. A "lupine" is a type of bean. One would not generally eat a lupine stuck onto his loaf of bread. If the piece of burnt crust is too big, he wouldn't eat that either. He wouldn't eat a pebble or a big lump of salt. Therefore, if even a "father of impurity," meaning one with a very high level of impurity, touches this part of the loaf of terumah, the remainder stays pure. It is not considered connected to the loaf.

ר' יוסי אומר כל שאינו נאכל עמו – is not a connection/junction. And We don’t estimate the width of a finger like the first Tanna/teacher [of the Mishnah]. But the Halakha is not according to Rabbi Yossi.

And it isn't even necessary to say [is this so when touched] by a tevul yom. All the more so, if a tevul yom touches this part of the loaf, the rest stays pure. Note how this mishnah is the opposite structure of yesterday's mishnah. Today, since the loaf stays pure, the relationship of the clauses shifts the tevul yom is less defiling than a father of impurity.

השעורה והכוסמת – at the time that they are not peeled/husked are not considered human food, for human beings do not eat them with their husks, and something that is not human food is not susceptible to receive ritual defilement.

Unshelled barley or spelt, root of crowfoot, asafoetida, silrhium--Rabbi Judah says: even black beans remain clean even [when coming into contact] with a ‘father of uncleanness’, and there is no need to say [if touched] by a tevul yom, the words of Rabbi Meir. But the sages say: they are clean if touched by a tevul yom, but unclean [when touched] by other sources of impurity. This section lists pieces of grains or other foods that are not considered to be part of loaf of bread if found mixed up in there. If the loaf is terumah, and a tevul yom or a person with another type of impurity touches them but not the loaf, the loaf remains pure. In other words, these things won't be eaten with the loaf so they are not part of the loaf. I admit that I don't know what some of these things are. But from what we can learn from this mishnah, they are not food commonly consumed. The other sages are lenient when it comes to a tevul yom, for he is not truly impure. However, they rule stringently when it comes to people who are actually impure. If such a person touches these things, he defiles the entire loaf of terumah.

התיאה (root of crowfoot) – the root of assa foetida, an umbelliferous plant used, as a resin or in leaves for a spine and for medicinal purposes.

Shelled barley or spelt, or wheat whether shelled or unshelled, or black cumin, or sesame or pepper Rabbi Judah says: also white beans become unclean even when touched by a tevul yom, and there is no need to say [when they have come into contact] with other sources of impurity. This list contrasts with that in section one. These foods will be eaten with the loaf. Therefore if even a tevul yom touches them, the rest of the loaf is defiled. We can see that these foods were considered more edible shelled barley or spelt, wheat, spices. Interesting that Rabbi Judah thinks black beans are less edible than white beans. Bean racism?

והחלתית – in Arabic, such is its name חלתית/assa foetida. And we call it SEFIDITA in the foreign language.

והאלום (Silphium, a kind of assa foetida or Laserpitium) – they said about it that it is a root, a species from the kinds of assa foetida. And all of these are not considered human food, but sometimes, they mix a little from them with the food.

אף אפונים שחורים (even black chickpeas) – that are not other than for healing (i.e., medicinal purposes) and are not made for human food.

טהורים בטבול יום - since he is pure from his defilement and is not wanting/requiring anything other than sunset, he does not invalidate with all of these if they are of priest’s due/heave-offering, but with other defilements they are considered food and receive defilement like the rest of foods. And the Halakha is according to the Sages.

הקצח (black cumin) – a kind of black seed, and in the foreign language, NILO. And it is customary to place from it in bread.

והשמשום – this is its name in Arabic. And there is a lot of it in the Land of Israel, and they make sesame oil from it.