4 As a vessel insusceptible to uncleanness it protects what is within it.
5 Not so tightly that it can protect against uncleanness together with the walls of the ‘tent’ (as taught above, s‘f). So the more recent commentators. The same term is used(Ke). 10*) of a loose jar plug. Earlier commentators render the text ‘pieiced with holes*, for the bees.
4 Some texts here add ‘or within the hive’.
662 SIXTH DIVISION: TOHOROTH straw, or if it was fixed tightly (what means ‘tightly’? — that there is no¬ where a gap one handbreadth square) and an olive’s bulk of corpse lay below it, what is directly below it down to the nethermost deep is unclean. If it lay above it, what is directly above it up to the sky is unclean. If it lay within it or within the house, what is within it and within the house is unclean.
8. If it was raised one handbreadth above the ground and the uncleanness lay below it or within the house or within the hive, all is unclean save what is above the hive. If it lay above the hive, all that is directly above it up to the sky is unclean.
q. If the hive filled the whole house and there was not the space of a handbreadth between it and the roof-beams, and the uncleanness lay within the hive, the house is unclean; if the uncleanness lay in the house what is within the hive is clean, since it is the way of uncleanness to issue forth and not to enter in. It is all one whether the hive was upright or turned on its side, or whether there was one hive or two [one above the other].
10. If it was upright within the entrance and between it and the lintel there was not the space of a handbreadth, and the uncleanness lay in the house, what is in the hive is unclean, since it is the way of uncleanness to issue forth and not to enter in.
11. If it was turned on its side in the open air and an olive’s bulk of corpse lay below it or above it, all that is directly above or below the olive’s bulk is unclean; and all that is not directly above or below the olive’s bulk and what is within the hive remains clean. If the uncleanness lay within the hive all is unclean.
12. If the hive was raised one handbreadth above the ground and the uncleanness lay below it or above it, all is unclean save what is within it. If uncleanness lay within it, all is unclean. When does this apply? When the hive is a usable vessel. If it was wholly broken and stopped up with straw, or (according to the Sages) if it held forty seahs,‘ and an olive’s bulk of corpse lay below it, what is directly below it down to the nethermost deep is unclean. If it lay above it, what is directly above it up to the sky is unclean. If it lay within it, what is within it alone is unclean. If it was raised one handbreadth above the ground, and the uncleanness lay below it, what is below it is unclean; if it lay within it, what is within it is unclean; if it lay above it, what is directly above it up to the sky is unclean.
13. If it was standing on its bottom2 and it was a usable vessel, and the uncleanness lay below it or within it or above it, the uncleanness cleaves through [the solid matter] upwards and downwards. If it was raised one handbreadth above the ground or if it was closed up, or turned with its opening to the ground, and the uncleanness lay below' it or within it or above it, all is unclean.
14. When does this apply? When it is a usable vessel. If it was wholly broken and stopped up with straw or (according to the Sages) if it held forty seahs, and the uncleanness lay below it or within it or above it, the uncleanness cleaves upwards and downwards. R. Eliezer and R. Simeon say: The uncleanness penetrates neither above it nor below it. If the hive 1 See Kel. is1. 'According to the Sages' refers to a ruling (t. Kel. B.M. 5') in which the Sages decided, as against R. Meir, that such a vessel could be treated according to the condi¬ tions applying to a 'tent'. ‘ Mouth upwards.
was raised one handbreadth above the ground and the uncleanness lay below it, what is below it is unclean. If it lay within it or above it, what is directly above it up to the sky is unclean.
15. If a tomb1 was broad below and narrow above2 and a corpse lay within it, he that touches [the rock] below3 remains clean and he that touches it above becomes unclean. If it was wide above and narrow below, he that touches it anywhere becomes unclean. If it was equally wide above and below, he that touches it anywhere becomes unclean. So R. Eliezer. R. Joshua says: [He that touches the rock] more than a handbreadth below remains clean; but he that touches it less than a handbreadth below becomes unclean.4 If it was made in the form of a clothes-chest,5 what touches it anywhere becomes unclean; if it was made in the form of a case,6 he that touches it anywhere, excepting at the place where it opens, remains clean.
16. If a jar7 rested on its bottom in the open air, and an olive’s bulk of corpse lay below it or within it directly opposite its bottom, the uncleanness cleaves through [the solid matter] upwards and downwards, and the jar8 is unclean. [If it lay] outside it below its [convex] side, the uncleanness cleaves through [the solid matter] upwards and downwards, but the jar remains clean.9 [If it lay] within it, below the [concave] sides of the jar, and within the [concavity of the] sides of the jar was a space of one cubic hand¬ breadth, all becomes unclean; but what lies directly opposite the mouth of the jar remains clean.10 But if there was not [a space of one cubic hand¬ breadth] the uncleanness cleaves through [the solid matter] upwards and downwards. When does this apply? When the jar is clean. If it was un¬ clean, or if it was raised one handbreadth above the ground, or if its mouth was closed, or if it was turned upside down on its mouth, and uncleanness was found below it or within it or above it, all is unclean.
10. 1. If there was a hatchway one handbreadth square in [the roof of] a house1 1 and uncleanness lay in the house, what is directly below the hatch¬ way is clean.*2 If the uncleanness lay directly below the hatchway, the house is clean. If the uncleanness lay [elsewhere] in the house or directly below the hatchway and any one set his foot above the hatchway, he has combined13 [with the roof to spread] the uncleanness. If part of the 1 Carved out of an outcrop of rock. The rock was cut away, leaving the structure above ground.
2 The movable lid over the cavity containing the corpse was narrower than the rock mass below it.
3 The portions of the tomb which lie outside the area of rock over which the lid was superimposed. Only that portion of the rock directly below the covering stone is deemed unclean as being the portion acting the part of ‘buttressing-stone’; cf. above, a4. The rest of the rock is deemed to be part of the actual earth and insusceptible to uncleanness; whereas the uncleanness of the lid strikes perpendicularly upwards and downwards.
4 Only the one handbreadth of rock immediately below the lid is reckoned as belonging to the tomb.
s Cf. Kel. i6’. The lid is superimposed over the whole area covered by the thickness of the tomb’s sides.
6 Heb. glosokos (or glosokom); perhaps yAwoooK ofiov. It is explained as a box into which the lid sinks without touching the tops of the sides.
I It is presupposed to be of unburnt clay, stone, or cattle-dung, and insusceptible to uncleanness, narrow at the bottom and top, with its middle bulging out less than one hand¬ breadth beyond its base (otherwise it would serve as a ‘tent’ to give passage to the unclean¬ ness). * i.e. vessels within the jar directly opposite the olive's bulk of uncleanness.
* Since it cannot contract uncleanness from its outer side. 10 Cf. below, jo1.
I I As generally in the Mishnah, ‘house’ is used in the sense of a single room on the ground floor. 12 It is not ‘overshadowed’.
•J See 6*, above. The uncleanness has no longer free egress through a hole one hand¬ breadth square. The man serves with the roof to make a ‘tent’, causing the uncleanness to disseminate throughout the room.
664 SIXTH DIVISION: TOHOROTH uncleanness lay in the house and part directly below the hatchway, the house becomes unclean and what is directly above the uncleanness [and opposite the hatchway] is unclean.1 2. If the hatchway was less than one handbreadth square and unclean¬ ness lay in the house, w'hat is directly below the hatchway is clean. If the un¬ cleanness lay directly below the hatchway, the house is unclean. If the uncleanness lay in the house and any one set his foot above the hatchway, he remains clean. If the uncleanness lay directly below the hatchway and any one set his foot above the hatchway, R. Meir declares him unclean, but the Sages say: If the uncleanness was there before his foot, he becomes unclean; but if his foot was there before the uncleanness, he remains clean. R. Simeon says: If two [men’s] feet, one on top of the other, were there before the uncleanness, and the first withdrew his foot so that the foot of the other person was found there, the second person remains clean, since the foot of the first person was there before the uncleanness.
3. If part of the uncleanness lay in the house and part directly below the hatchw'ay, the house is unclean and what is directly above the uncleanness [and directly below the hatchway] is unclean. So R. Meir. R. Judah says: The house is unclean, but what is directly above the uncleanness [and directly below' the hatchway] is clean. R. Jose says: If there was enough of the uncleanness to be divided and [still] to convey uncleanness to the house and [to what is directly below the hatchway and] directly above the un¬ cleanness, [then all] is unclean; if not, the house is unclean and what is [directly below the hatchway and] directly above the uncleanness is clean.
4. If there were many hatchways, one above the other, each one hand- breadth square, and uncleanness lay in the house,2 what lies directly below the hatchways remains clean. If the uncleanness lay directly below the hatchways the house remains clean. If the uncleanness lay either in the house or directly below the hatchways, and any one set aught that is sus¬ ceptible to uncleanness over an upper or a lower hatchway, all is unclean; if it was aught that was not susceptible to uncleanness, what is below it is unclean, but what is above remains clean.
5. If the hatchways were less than one handbreadth square, and unclean¬ ness lay in the house, what is directly below the hatchways remains clean. If the uncleanness lay directly below the hatchways, the house remains clean. If the uncleanness lay in the house and any one set aught that was susceptible or that was not susceptible to uncleanness over either an upper or a lower hatchway, only the lower house is unclean. If, when the un¬ cleanness lay directly below the hatchways, any one set aught that was susceptible to uncleanness over either an upper or a lower hatchway, all is unclean; if he set aught that is not susceptible to uncleanness either over an upper or a lower hatchway, the lower house alone is unclean.
6. If there was a hatchway in the house and a cooking-pot beneath it so set that if it rose [straight up] its rims would not touch the [edges of the] hatchway, and uncleanness lay below it or within it or above it, the unclean¬ ness cleaves upwards and downwards. If the cooking-pot was raised one handbreadth above the floor and uncleanness lay below it or [elsewhere] in the house, what is below it and what is in the house is unclean, and what 1 According to the principle laid down above. 3*.
* In the bottom room and not perpendicularly below the hatchways opening into the various stones above.
is within it and above it remains clean. [If the uncleanness lay] within it or above it, all is unclean.
7. If the cooking-pot was set at the side of the threshold so that if it rose up it would touch a handbreadth of the lintel, and uncleanness lay below it or within it or above it, the uncleanness cleaves upwards and downwards. If the cooking-pot was raised one handbreadth above the ground and the uncleanness lay below it or [elsewhere] in the house, what is below it and the house are unclean, and what is within it and what is above it are clean. If the uncleanness lay within it or above it, all is unclean. [But if the cooking-pot was so set that] if it rose up it would not touch a handbreadth of the lintel, or if it was fastened to the lintel, and uncleanness lay beneath it, naught is unclean save the space beneath it.
11. 1. If [the whole roof of] a house was split and uncleanness lay [in the house] in the outer side,1 the vessels [in the house] on the inner side remain clean.2 If the uncleanness was within, the vessels outside remain clean if, according to the School of Shammai, the split is four handbreadths wide; but the School of Hillel say: [They remain clean] however wide it is. R. Jose says in the name of the School of Hillel: If it is one handbreadth wide.
2. If [the whole roof of] a portico3 was split and uncleanness lay in it to the one side, the vessels on the other side remain clean. If any one set his foot or a reed above the split he has combined4 the uncleanness. If he set the reed on the ground [directly below the split],5 it does not give passage to the uncleanness unless it is raised one handbreadth above the ground.6 3. [If he set there] a thick cloak7 or a thick wooden block, they do not give passage to the uncleanness unless they are raised one handbreadth above the ground. If garments lay folded one above the other, they give passage to the uncleanness so soon as the upper one is raised one hand¬ breadth above the ground. If8 a man was put there [below the split], the School of Shammai say: He does not give passage9 to the uncleanness. And the School of Hillel say: A man is hollow, and his upper side gives passage to the uncleanness.
4. If a man looked out of the window and overshadowed the corpse- bearers, the School of Shammai say: He does not give passage to the uncleanness.10 And the School of Hillel say: He gives passage to the un¬ cleanness. But they agree that if he was wearing his clothes, or if there were two men one above the other, these give passage to the uncleanness.
5. If a man lay over the threshold and the corpse-bearers overshadowed 1 The side of the room nearer the entrance, the split being parallel to the entrance.
2 The two sections of the house count as two separate ‘tents’; furthermore ‘it is the way of uncleanness to issue forth and not to enter in’.
3 A vestibule open on one of its four sides. The roof was split across at right angles to the open side, the split stretching to the inner wall.
4 He has made what were two ‘tents’ into one, and the uncleanness is given passage from the one to the other. See above, to1; cf. 61.
5 Coinciding with the non-overshadowed part of the pavement.
6 So that the uncleanness can pass underneath it from one ‘tent’ to the other.
7 The passage is repeated below, 151. 8 Eduv. 41".
9 Since between him and the ground there is not the necessary space of one handbreadth, the uncleanness cannot pass beneath him from the one side of the portico to the other.
10 So that the uncleanness enters the house. According to the School of Shammai there is not room for the uncleanness to pass under the man into the room behind, whereas the School of Hillel argue that it can pass through him since he is hollow. The same principles apply in the three following paragraphs.
666 SIXTH DIVISION: TOHOROTH him, the School of Shammai say: He does not give passage to the unclean¬ ness. And the School of Hillel say: He gives passage to the uncleanness.
6. If there was uncleanness within the house and they that overshadowed him were clean, the School of Shammai declare them clean, and the School of Hillel declare them unclean.
7. If a dog ate the flesh of a corpse and it died and lay over the threshold,1 R. Meir says: If its neck was one handbreadth wide, it conveys the unclean¬ ness; but if not, it does not convey the uncleanness. R. Jose says: They see where is the uncleanness: if it lies opposite the lintel inwards, the house is unclean; but if opposite the lintel outwards the house remains clean. R. Eliezer says: If its mouth was towards the inside the house remains clean; if towards the outside, the house becomes unclean, since the unclean¬ ness issues forth by way of its hinder parts. R. Judah b. Bathyra says: Whichever way it may be, the house becomes unclean. How long2 should it have remained in its entrails [so that it no more conveys uncleanness]? Three times twenty-four hours; and if [it was in the entrails of] birds or fishes,3 time enough for it to be burnt if it had fallen into a fire. So R. Simeon. R. Judah b. Bathyra says: If it was [in the entrails of] birds or fishes, it should have remained twenty-four hours.
8. If a candlestick stood in the cistern of a house,4 and its cup projected,5 and over it was an olive-basket so placed6 that if the candlestick was taken away the olive-basket would still stay over the mouth of the cistern, the School of Shammai say: The cistern remains clean but the candlestick is unclean.7 The School of Hillel say: The candlestick also remains clean. But they agree that if the olive-basket would fall in if the candlestick was taken away, all is unclean.
9. Vessels lying between the rims of the olive-basket8 and the rims of the cistern,9 down to the nethermost deep, remain clean. If there was uncleanness [in the cistern] the house is unclean. If there was uncleanness in the house, vessels that are in the walls of the cistern remain clean if they have a space measuring one cubic handbreadth; otherwise they are unclean. But if the walls of the cistern were wider than those of the house, in either case the vessels remain clean.
12. 1. If a board lay over the mouth of a new oven10 and projected one handbreadth on every side, and there was uncleanness below [the project¬ ing sides of the board], vessels that are above it remain clean; if there was uncleanness above it, vessels that are beneath it remain clean. If it was an old oven, all become unclean; but R. Johanan b. Nuri declares them clean. If the board was put over the mouth of two ovens," and there was 1 With its head pointing towards the house.
2 Before the dog died, so that it would have time to be digested, 3 That ate the flesh of the corpse. 4 Where lay a corpse.
s As high as the cistern’s lower rim.
(l The candlestick-top was visible between the rim of the cistern and the rim of the basket.
t Since it projected outside. 8 That was not supported by the candlestick.
The olive-basket being round and the cistern mouth square, the corners of the cistern mouth remain uncovered; yet if none of them measures a square handbreadth, the olivebasket suffices to protect whatsoever is below.
10 Not yet heated (cf. Kel. $lii ) and therefore not deemed a ‘vessel’; hence it may form the ‘wall of a tent’ and protect against uncleanness. If it was an old (burnt) oven it counts as a ‘vessel’ and the rule applies (see above, 61) by which it can act as a ‘tent’ only in respect of giving passage to uncleanness, but not in protecting against it.
* 1 Old ovens.
uncleanness between them, they become unclean; but R. Johanan b. Nuri declares them clean.
2. If a colander1 lay over the mouth of an oven [and projected one hand- breadth on every side], closing it with a tightly stopped-up cover,2 and there was uncleanness below [the projecting sides of the board] or above it, all3 becomes unclean; but what is directly above the air-space of the oven remains clean. If the uncleanness lay directly above the air-space of the oven, all that is directly above it even to the sky is unclean.
3. If a board lay over the opening of an old oven and projected one handbreadth at the two ends, but not at the sides, and there was unclean¬ ness [under the projecting part] at the one end, the vessels [under the projecting part] at the other end remain clean; but R. Jose declares them unclean. A projecting window-sill4 does not give passage to uncleanness [that lies beneath it outside, so that it enters the house]. If there was a projection [above the window], R. Eliezer says: It does not give passage to the uncleanness. But R. Joshua says: The window-sill is regarded as though it was not, and the upper projection gives passage to the uncleanness [into the house].
4. If a hole was made for the sandal3 of a cradle [in the plastervvork in the floor of an upper room], such that it penetrated into the house below,6 and the hole was one handbreadth square, all is unclean;7 but if [the hole was] not [one handbreadth square], they reckon [the degree of uncleanness] after the manner prescribed for corpse-uncleanness'.8 5. If on the roof-beams of a house and of its upper room there is no plasterwork, and they lie exactly one above the other, and uncleanness lay below one [of the lower beams], only the space below this is unclean; if it lay between a lower and an upper beam, only the space between them is unclean; if it lay above an upper beam, what is directly above it up to the sky is unclean. But if the upper beams lay opposite the gaps between the lower beams, and uncleanness lay below one of the beams, the space below them all is unclean; and if it lay above one of the beams, what is directly above it up to the sky is unclean.
6. If a beam stretched from one wall to the other and uncleanness lay below it, and the beam was one handbreadth wide, it gives passage to the uncleanness below the whole of it; but if [it was] not [one handbreadth wide], the uncleanness cleaves upwards and downwards. How much must be its circumference so that it measures one handbreadth wide? If it was round, its circumference must be three handbreadths; if square, four hand- breadths, since if it is square, its circumference is one quarter greater than it is when it is round.9 7. If a column lay in the open air, and its circumference was twenty- four handbreadths, it gives passage to uncleanness under its entire side;10 but if it was not, the uncleanness cleaves upwards and downwards.
1 See Kel. 83. 2 In the manner prescribed in Kel. g7.
3 Above or below the projecting sides.
4 So Maim. It is also explained as a bath-tub fixed to the ground, over which a board is laid in the same way as over the oven.
5 A metal ornament or protection for the cradle-legs. 6 Where lay a corpse.
7 Variant: it gives passage to the uncleanness.
8 i.e. ‘sandal' and cradle will suffer seven-day uncleanness, and the child in the cradle evening-uncleanness (see p. 650, n. 3 (a) and (6) ).
9 Cf. Erub. i"5 for the same simplified calculation.
10 Its diameter would be reckoned as eight handbreadths. If, then, C is the point where the circle of the pillar touches the ground, and a perpendicular line, AB, is dropped from 668 SIXTH DIVISION: TOHOROTH 8. If an olive's bulk of corpse cleaved to the threshold,1 R. Eliezer declares the house unclean. R. Joshua declares it clean. If it lay below the threshold, [the thickness of threshold] is deemed to be divided into halves.1 If it cleaved to the lintel, the house is unclean. R. Jose declares it clean. If it lay within the house and any one touched the lintel3 he becomes un¬ clean.4 If he touched the threshold, R. Eliezer declares him unclean; but R. Joshua says: If he touched a part [of the outer side of the threshold] less than one handbreadth from the ground, he remains clean; if higher than one handbreadth he becomes unclean.5 13. i. If a light-hole is newly made, its measure [that suffices to give passage to uncleanness] is that of a hole made by the drill that lay in the chamber [in the Temple].6 The measure of the residue7 of a light-hole is two fingerbreadths high and one thumb-breadth wide. By ‘the residue of a light-hole’ is meant [also] any window which a man blocked up but was not able to finish. If water had bored the hole, or creeping things, or if it had been eaten through by saltpetre, its measure must be the size of a fist;8 if a man had intended to make use of it, its measure must be one hand¬ breadth square; and if to make use of it as a light-hole, its measure must be that of a hole made by the drill. If it is a light-hole covered with grating or lattice-work, the several holes are included together to make up the measure of the hole made by the drill. So the School of Shammai. And the School of Hillel say: There must be one hole having the measure of a hole made by the drill. [A light-hole that is of such a measure suffices] both to let in uncleanness and to let out uncleanness. R. Simeon says: [This suffices] to let in uncleanness; but to let out uncleanness it must measure one hand¬ breadth square.9 2. If a window was made to let in air, its measure [that suffices to give passage to uncleanness] must be that of a hole made by the drill; if a house was built outside it, the measure of the hole must be one handbreadth square; if the roof-beam [of a house built outside it] was set against the middle of the window,10 the part below [the beam] must be one handbreadth square, and the part above, the measure of a hole made by the drill.
3. A hole in the door must be the size of a fist. So R. Akiba. R. Tarfon says: One handbreadth square. If the carpenter had left a hole at the top or at the bottom of the door, or if one shut the door and did not close it tightly, or if the wind blew it open, the measure of the opening [that suffices to give passage to uncleanness] must be the size of a fist."
4. If a man made a place12 for a rod or a [weaver’s] stave13 or for a lamp, its measure may be whatsoever is needful. So the School of Shammai. And the School of Hillel say: One handbreadth square. If a man made a hole through which to look out or to speak to his fellow, or for other use, its measure must be one handbreadth square.
A, the outermost point of the pillar’s circle, a complete square with an area of approximately one square handbreadth may be described within the section ABC.
1 To the outer side of the door-jamb.
2 And only if the uncleanness lay below the inner half is the house unclean.
> Under the outer half. « Cf. above, 3*; 7*.
s The same conditions apply as in 9U.
10 Blocking it up, but still leaving a hollow space corresponding to the thickness of the wall. 11 They count as holes not made at the hands of man.
12 By piercing through the wall.
** The ojrd#7) with which the weaver at an upright loom beats together the newly woven woof-threads.
5. These serve to lessen the size of what is one handbreadth square: less than an olive’s bulk of flesh lessens the space so that uncleanness arising from a quarter -kab of bones cannot pass through; and less than a barley¬ corn’s bulk of bone [from a corpse] lessens the space so that uncleanness arising from an olive’s bulk of flesh from a corpse cannot pass through; less than an olive’s bulk of flesh from a corpse, less than an olive’s bulk of carrion, less than a lentil’s bulk of a [dead] creeping thing, less than an egg’s bulk of food, grain growing against the window, reed-pith with any substance in it, the carcase of a clean bird which is not intended to be eaten, or the carcase of an unclean bird which is intended to be eaten but which has not been rendered susceptible to uncleanness,1 or which has been rendered susceptible to uncleanness but which is not intended to be eaten.
6. These do not lessen [the measure of one handbreadth square]: bone from a corpse does not lessen [the space so that it protects] against [unclean¬ ness arising from other] bones from a corpse; nor corpse-flesh against other corpse-flesh; nor does a whole olive’s bulk of a corpse, nor an olive’s bulk of carrion, nor a lentil’s bulk of a [dead] creeping thing, nor an egg’s bulk of food, nor grain growing against the windows,2 nor reed-pith that lacks substance, nor the carcase of a clean bird which is intended to be eaten, nor the carcase of an unclean bird which is intended to be eaten and which has been rendered susceptible to uncleanness; nor warp and woof threads that have contracted leprosy,3 nor a brick from a grave-area.4 * So R. Meir. But the Sages say: The brick lessens [the space] since its dust is clean. This is the general rule: What is clean lessens the space, and what is unclean does not lessen it.