(a) Does it matter what material the tzamid pasil is made from, or does it simply need to be closed so that no tumaah can get in?
(b) also, what if the tzamid pasil is not flat but has what could be called a beis kibul? does that make a difference?
Tuvya Marcus, Jerusalem, Israel
Shalom, Tuvya.
(a) Any material that closes the opening of a Kli Cheres snugly enough can serve as a Tzamid Pasil (Kelim 10:2).
(b) If something is Mekabel Tum'ah - such as a food that received Hechsher Mashkeh - it cannot serve as a Tzamid Pasil (ibid.). I assume that the same goes for using a Kli as a Tzamid Pasil; if it is Mekabel Tum'ah from its exposed side it cannot serve as a Tzamid Pasil.
If one permanently attaches an object to a Kli Cheres in order to plug its opening, such that the "stopper" can no longer serve as a Kli, it will cease to be Mekabel Tum'ah and will be able to serve as a Tzamid Pasil.
Best regards,
Mordecai Kornfeld