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כלי מתכות מיטמאין ומהרין שבורים – metal utensils/vessels that were defiled through [contact with] a corpse and were broken, and he returned and made [new] utensils/vessels on that selfsame day, that they returned to their former [status of] ritual impurity, since he sprinkled [on the third and seventh days ashes from the red heifer mixed in water] upon them while they were whole and they became broken, one does not have to wait until the second sprinkling until the seventh [day], but rather even on one day, he sprinkles twice, one prior to breaking [them] and one after breaking [them] and they are ritually pure immediately. For Rabbi Eliezer holds like Rabban Shimon ben Gamaliel, who said above in Chapter 11 [Mishnah 1] that they didn’t say that the returned to their former [status of] ritual impurity, but rather, only [those] vessels that were defiled through the uncleanness of the soul alone, and the reason for this decree is because of the fence of the waters of the sin-offering as was explained above, therefore, they were not concerned other than that there would be here two [ritual] sprinklings [of the mixture of the water and ashes of the red heifer]. But however, while they are still broken, [ritual] sprinkling is not effective, for sprinkling is not connected with broken [utensils]. But it also requires that the breaking interrupts between each [ritual] sprinkling, because here is an interruption of days between the sprinkling of the third [day] and the sprinkling of the seventh [day]. But they did not want to be stringent in the return of the former ritual defilement which is according to the Rabbis, and they were lenient so that the sprinkling would be effective even that both sprinklings occurred on one day.

Introduction Metal vessels can be purified by having hatat waters (the water that contains the ashes of the red heifer) sprinkled on them on the third and seventh days from their impurity. Metal vessels also can become clean by being broken. Our mishnah deals with how these two ways of becoming pure work (or don't work) together.

ר' יהושע אומר אין הזאה פחות משלישי ושביעי – for they established it like that of the Torah [legislation]. And the Halakha is according to Rabbi Yehoshua.

Metal vessels remain unclean and become clean even when broken, the words of Rabbi Eliezer. Rabbi Joshua says: they can be made clean only when they are whole. Rabbi Eliezer basically says that just as a whole metal vessel found in a tent with a dead body is unclean and can be purified by the sprinkling of the hatat waters, so too broken metal vessels can become impure and clean in such a manner. Rabbi Joshua disagrees and holds that metal vessels can be made impure and then made clean only when they are whole. If they are broken they can't be made clean and if they are made unclean when whole and then broken they cannot be purified until they are repaired. Note that this doesn't mean that they are impure. It means that if he repairs them, they are still impure until the water is sprinkled upon the.

How so? If they were sprinkled upon and on the same day they were broken and then they were recast and sprinkled upon on the same day, they are clean, the words of Rabbi Eliezer. Rabbi Joshua says: there can be no effective sprinkling earlier than on the third and the seventh day. The words "How so?" usually imply that section two is an illustration of section one. However, Albeck and some other traditional commentators, claim that in this mishnah section two is an independent debate between Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Joshua and that the words "How so?" should not be there. We will explain accordingly. According to Rabbi Eliezer, once the metal vessel was broken and then repaired, there is no need to wait for the seventh day for the second sprinkling. Since their breaking also purifies them, they do not need to wait for a full period. Rabbi Joshua is consistent with his opinion in section one. Once the process of purification has begun, it must be completed on a whole vessel. The sprinkling is only effective if done on the third and seventh days.