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מסכת כלים

פרק כז משנה ב

הבגד מטמא

The cloth can become tamei

משום שלשה על שלשה

for (being) three by three (handbreadths)

למדרס

for midras,

ומשום שלש על שלש

and for (being) three by three (fingerbreadths)

לטמא מת

for tumah from a corpse.

השק

The sackcloth,

ארבעה על ארבעה

four by four (handbreadths; as stated below this applies to both midras and the tumah of a corpse);

העור

the hide

חמשה על חמשה

five by five;

מפץ

matting (which is woven of reeds or another material with the status of wood),

ששה על ששה

six by six;

שוין למדרס ולטמא מת

equally for midras and the tumah of a corpse.

רבי מאיר אומר

Rabbi Meir says

השק

the sackcloth,

שיריו ארבעה

its remnants with four (i.e. this measure applies to a complete item of sackcloth that deteriorated or was torn, but still has four square handbreadths of material remaining; however it must have at some time been a finished piece of material),

ותחילתו משיגמר

and its outset is from when it is finished (if the piece of sackcloth was not finished being woven, even if larger than four square handbreadths, is not susceptible to tumah.)

 

פרק כז משנה ג

העושה

One who makes (a piece of material by combining two different materials),

שנים מן הבגד

two (square handbreadths worth) from cloth (which has the minimum measure of three square handbreadths)

ואחד מן השק

and one from sackcloth (which has the minimum measure of four square handbreadths),

שלשתן מן השק

(or) three from sackcloth

ואחד מן העור

and one from hide (which has the minimum measure of five square handbreadths),

ארבעה מן העור

four from hide

ואחד מן המפץ

and one from matting (which has the minimum measure of six square handbreadths),

טהור

is tahor;

חמשה מן המפץ

five from matting

ואחד מן העור

and one from hide,

ארבעה מן העור

four from hide

ואחד מן השק

and one from sackcloth,

שלשה מן השק

three from sackcloth

ואחד מן הבגד

and one from cloth,

טמא

is tamei;

זה הכלל

this is the rule

כל שחבר לו

all that has attached to it

מן החמור ממנו

from something more stringent than it (that is, a material with a smaller minimum size),

טמא

is tamei,

מן הקל ממנו

from something more lenient than it

טהור

is tahor.

         

לרפואת מרים חיה בת ברכה בתוך שאר חולי ישראל