Комментарий к Келим 23:7

הכדור – PLOTA in the foreign language.

If a ball, a mould, an amulet or tefillin were torn, one that touches them becomes unclean, But one that touches what is inside them remains clean. The objects listed here contain something inside them. The ball contains some sort of soft filling (they didn't fill balls with air back then). The mould is made of leather and is also filled with similar material. Artisans would craft their wares around the mould. The amulet and tefillin contain parchment with writing on it. If any of these items are torn, they are still unclean because they can still contain things inside them. A vessel which has a receptacle is impure even if it is not sealed shut. However, the contents are not considered to be connected to the vessel. Therefore, if one touches the contents and they are pure, he is still pure even if the vessel is unclean.

והאימום (model, shoe-maker’s last) – frame of a shoe. And all of these their outer sections are leather and they filled from the inside with hair or hackled wool/a spongy substance.

If a saddle was torn, one that touches its contents unclean, because the stitching joins them. When it comes to a saddle, the stitching attaches the contents to the saddle. The contents are part of the saddle and not just inside the saddle. Therefore, even if the saddle is torn, a person who touches the saddle (when it is unclean) will be defiled, regardless of whether he touches the saddle or its contents.

והקמיע והתפילין (the [parchment] amulet and the phylactery) – there is within the housing of leather [Biblical] portions written on parchment.

ובמה שבתוכן טהור – if one of these was defiled through [contact with] a corpse and afterwards was torn, and a person came in contact with what is within them, he is ritually pure, because there isn’t any attachment with what is within them, and there isn’t anything that is within them that is ritually impure like them.

הכאוף – like אוכף/saddle.

הנוגע במה שבתוכו טמא – if the saddle was defiled through [contact with] a corpse, just as what touches it is ritually impure, so the person who coms in contact with what is within it is also ritually impure.

מפני שהתפר מחברו (because the stitching connects it – the covering to the stuffing) – and makes it one, that which is within with the outer part.

זריז האשקלוני (the Ashkelonian saddle) – a wide belt in which harness/saddle the cattle. It is the Aramaic translation of (Genesis 22:3): “And he (i.e., Abraham) saddled his ass,” and he saddled it. And in Ashkelon they make it of wood, and it is called the Ashkelonian saddle on account of their place.

Introduction Our mishnah discusses a special type of uncleanness called "merkav" which means "riding" as in riding a camel, horse or donkey. This is a type of uncleanness that only a vessel meant to be ridden upon can contract. Mishnah 1:3 made some mention of special characteristics that characterize things that are "merkav." We shall discuss this more in tomorrow's mishnah.

מדוכה המדית (a Median mortar – on the protruding handles of which the pounders ride when at work) – a mortar that is made in Median. They take a large, thick, and long piece of wood, and they hollow it out/shape a receptacle in its middle, and ride upon it from here and from there and pound it/crush it. Therefore, it has upon it the law of מרכב/riding upon it.

The following are susceptible to uncleanness as objects that are fit for riding upon (: an Ashkelon donkey belt, a Medean saddle, a camel's pillow, and a horse-cloth. The Ashkelon donkey belt and Medean saddle seem to be named after the places in which they are produced. A camel's pillow is not for the camel to sleep with, but to put on the camel's back for the comfort of the rider. The horse-cloth is used to cover the horse's back and on top of it goes the saddle. All of these are meant for riding upon, but they are not directly sat upon.

עביט של גמל (the cushion on the camel’s back) – It is the Aramaic translation of the camel bearing for the first time, the cushion on the camel’s back (Genesis 31:34): “[Rachel, meanwhile, יhad taken the idols and placed them] In the camel cushion [and sat on them].”

Rabbi Yose says: a horse-cloth is susceptible to uncleanness as a seat, since people stand on it in the arena. Rabbi Yose says that a horse-cloth is susceptible to uncleanness not because it is ridden upon but because it is stood upon when people are in the arena. If a zav stands on something that is susceptible to midras, he gives it sitting (moshav) uncleanness. We shall explain this type of uncleanness in tomorrow's mishnah.

טפיטן של סוס (horse-cloth, housing) – the saddle that is upon the horse in the language of eh Mishnah it is called טפיטן/horse-cloth, housing, and for a camel, its name is a cushion/עביט, and of a נאקה/camel it is called a saddle, each one has its name upon it. And all of them are for riding, but there are from them that sometimes they are made to sit upon them.

But a saddle of a female camel is susceptible to [sitting] uncleanness. All agree that it is customary to sit directly upon the saddle of a female donkey. Therefore, it is susceptible to sitting uncleanness.

טפיטן של סוס טמא משום מושב – but it is not ritually impure through riding other than which is designated for riding through spreading of the feet, but it is not made for sitting at all.

בקונפון (plain for exercise and amusement – because soldiers and sports stand upon it) – a field that the kings play there, and they regularly sit on the horse-cloth/housing of the horse to see the playing of the king, therefore it is impure through sitting. קןנפון is a field, KANPO in the foreign tongue. But the Halakha is not according to Rabbi Yossi.

אבל אוכף של נאקה טמא – Maimonides explained, that it is impure through sitting. And the first Tanna/teacher said it, for he argues concerning the horse-cloth of a horse, but agrees regarding the saddle of a camel that it is ritually impure through sitting. But my teachers/Rabbis explained, but a saddle of a camel is impure through riding. But Rabbi Yossi stated that, for he agrees with the first Tanna/teacher regarding the saddle of a camel that it is not designated other than for riding.

חלק מגעו ממשאו (distinguished touching it from carrying it) – for a person who carries [something] defiles clothing but the one who touches it does not defile clothing.

What is the practical difference between [the uncleanness of an object used for] riding upon and [one used for] sitting upon? In the case of the former the effect of contact with it is different from the effect of carrying it, but in the case of the latter there is no difference between the effect of coming in contact with it or carrying it. If one carries something that has contracted uncleanness by a zav riding upon it his clothes are unclean. But if someone touches something that has contracted uncleanness by a zav riding upon it, his clothes remain clean. Thus, when it comes to the uncleanness of something that was used for riding, there is a difference between carrying it and touching it. However, when it comes to something that has contracted sitting impurity (moshav) there is no difference between touching and carrying. In both cases, his clothes are unclean.

תפית של חמור (saddle of a sumpter-ass – consisting of wooden frames) wood that we place on top of the donkey to attach and to tie upon them the load, but they are not appropriate either for riding nor for sitting.

The pack-frame of a donkey on which a zav sat is clean; But if the size of the spaces has been changed or if they have been broken one into another it is susceptible to uncleanness. One does not normally sit upon the pack-frame of a donkey. Therefore, it is not susceptible to sitting impurity and it remains clean even if a zav sits upon it. However, if he changes the spaces or breaks them one into another such that he can sit upon it, then he has changed it into a seat and it is susceptible to sitting impurity.

שינה אתת הנקבים (if one changed the width between the spaces) – that through the change of their incisions/spaces, one gives place for a person to sit there.

או פרצן (or broke them into one another) – that he removed them from their places and put them one at the side of the other. And there are those who interpret: the saddle of a sumpter-ass is pure because there isn’t a handbreadth of width, and all where there isn’t a handbreadth of width is not appropriate for sitting, and when he changed the width between the spaces, that is, that he widened the place for sitting or that he broken them into one another, and it became a place of sitting that was a handbreadth wide, it is ritually impure.

המטה והכר והכסת (the bed and the mattress and the cushion) – even though that the corpse does not defile through treading, and these are made for a corpse but not to sit upon, even so, they defile through treading, because the women sit upon them [and bewail their dead] (see Tosefta Kelim Bava Batra, Chapter 2, Halakha 8).

A bier, the mattress and the pillow of a corpse are susceptible to the uncleanness of midras. The fact that these three things are used for a dead body does not make them susceptible to midras uncleanness. However, the Tosefta explains that women sit on these when they wail over the dead. Therefore they are considered seats and they are susceptible to midras impurity.

ומשבר של חיה (the travailing chair of the midwife) – the sitting place of the woman who is giving birth. We translate into Aramaic that of (Exodus 1:16): “[When you deliver the Hebrew women, look] at the birthstool: on the travailing chair/על מתברא.

A bride's stool, a midwife's stool, and a launderer's stool on which he piles the clothes: Rabbi Yose says: it is not regarded as a seat. These stools are not sat upon for comfort, just so that one doesn't have to be on one's feet. The bride sits in the chair only as part of the bridal procession. The midwife sits on the stool so that she may assist in the birth. The launderer sits on the stool while he launders and folds the clothes. Since these are not used for comfort, they are excluded from being susceptible to sitting impurity.

שהוא כורם עליו (upon which he piles the clothes – to press them) – we have this reading. Meaning to say, that he folds and repairs there the clothing.

אמר ר' יוסי אין בהן משום מושב – and our Mishnah of the chapter that is above (Tractate Kelim, Chapter 22, Mishnah 7) where it is taught: "כסא של כלה שנטלו חפויו"/”Also a chair of the bride whose seat boards have been removed” which implies that if the seat boards had not been removed it is ritually impure. This is in conflict with Rabbi Yossi. But the Halakha is not in accordance with Rabbi Yossi.

החרם (the fish net) – it is the language of (Ecclesiastes 7:26): “[Now, I find woman more bitter than death;] she is all traps, [her hands are fetters and her heart is snares].” A net is made from threads that are tied one to the other, and in it are many incisions, but that there is a bit at the bottom of the net that is woven like clothing which is called זוטו/a catch, a bag-like receptacle for catch in the fisher’s net;/the solid web of the net-work (being a receptacle of solid web). And the entire net is susceptible to receiving defilement because of the webbing like clothing that is at its bottom.

A fishing net is susceptible to uncleanness on account of its bag. The bottom part of a fish-net is sewn together like a bag. Therefore, it is susceptible to impurity.

הרשתות והמכמרות (the nets and the traps) – kinds of traps that they hunt wild beasts, and birds and fish.

Nets, snares, bird-traps, slings and fishermen's skeins are susceptible to uncleanness. All of these various types of traps are considered to be vessels and therefore they are susceptible to impurity.

מדף (clap-board, trap for birds) – the hunters that hunt birds bring a board of wood and place underneath the board [pieces of] wheat or broken pieces [of barley] , and the bird comes to eat them and the board falls upon it and it is captured.

A fish-trap, a bird-basket and a bird-cage are not susceptible to uncleanness. In contrast, these types are not considered vessels and they are therefore pure.

פלצור (a kind of snare, press) – a kind of wooden trap.

הסכרין (the skeins of the fisherman/water-locks for fishing purposes) – that close up and dam in/bar the water, it is the language of (Genesis 8:2): “The fountains of the deep [and the floodgates of the sky] were stopped up.”

טמאים – they are susceptible to receive defilement if the came in contact with a corpse or a reptile.

אקון (reed basket used as a fisher’s cauf) – a basket that they hunt in it fish.

רטוב (basket made of green twigs, used as a bird’s trap) – a basket that they hunt birds with.

כלוב (shed, coop, twisted together) – it is made from wicker of a folded willow or from reed-grass, and there is a cavity in the center, or less between each wicker, and they place birds there. And we call it GEVIAH in the foreign tongue. And in Scripture (Jeremiah 5:27): “As a cage is full of birds, [so their houses are full of guile;].”