1)

(a)The Mishnah discusses a Tamei needle (see Tos. Yom-Tov) or a ring that is found in the Nechushto shel Tanur - which is the floor of the house to which the oven is attached.

(b)The needle ... is visible from above, but it does not actually protrude from the ground.

(c)The Tana declares the oven Tahor - as long as if the dough that is placed in the oven to bake cannot touch the needle or the ring (see Tos. Yom-Tov).

(d)If it can - then the oven will be Tamei (even if there is no bread in the oven at the time).

2)

(a)The Mishnah must be speaking where the needle ... preceded the placing of the oven on that spot - because otherwise the oven would be Tamei anyway, from the moment the needle or the ring fell into it.

(b)The Tana uses the dough as a gauge (as we explained). The sort of dough...

1. ... he is talking about is - of a medium thickness.

2. ... that cannot be used as a gauge in this case is - dough that is very liquid (and that will reach the needle ... even if it a little below ground level, in which case the oven is really Tahor) or that is exceptionally thick (that will not touch it even if it is slightly above ground level, in which case the oven is really Tamei).

(c)Now he is referring to a case where the metal objects are found in the Tefeilah of the Tanur - the layer of cement that is smeared around the oven, to enable it to retain its heat.

(d)In a case where there is a Meis in the same room but the Tanur is sealed shut with a lid, if the Tanur is ...

1. ... already Tamei (see Tos. Yom-Tov) - then the metal objects are Tamei too, whereas if it is ...

2. ... still Tahor (see Tos. Yom-Tov) - then they remain Tahor as well ...

(e)... because they are Bateil to the Tanur (ibid.).

3)

(a)If the metal object is found embedded in the lid of a barrel, it must be found - on the ...

1. ... side of the lid for it to be declared Tamei - where the cement is superfluous, and does therefore not protect whatever is contained inside it.

2. ... lid in the area of the barrel's opening, for it to be Tahor.

(b)It will be Tamei even in the latter case however - the moment it protrudes into the airspace of the barrel ...

(c)... but not if it can be seen from inside the barrel but does not actually enter its airspace.

(d)And it will remain Tahor, even though it is embedded in part of the cement which has actually entered the air-space of the barrel - as long as there is cement as thick as a garlic-peel between the needle and the air-space (see Tos. Yom-Tov).

4)

(a)The needle or the ring is ...

1. ... Tahor in the latter case - because it is Bateil to the lid (as we explained earlier).

2. ... Tamei if the cement is less than the thickness of a garlic-peel - because then it is no longer Bateil to the lid, and, since it is effectively inside the airspace of the barrel, it is not subject to the Din of 'Tzamid Pasil', which does not protect metal objects from Tum'ah (like it does earthenware vessels, food and drink) ...

(b)... because (unlike them) - it can be Toveled.

5)

(a)The Mishnah discusses a barrel containing a Meinekes - a metal straw which is used to extract all the juice from the barrel, that is filled with liquid, and that is in the same room as a Mes, but its lid is sealed.

(b)Beis Shamai and Beis Hillel agree that both the barrel and the liquid are Tahor. Beis Shamai declare the Meinekes - Tamei ...

(c)... because they are afraid that if we declare it Tahor, then a Chaver might borrow it from an Am ha'Aretz, and thinking that it is only Tamei because of Maga Tamei (which is Tamei for only one day), he will Tovel it and use it after nightfall, whereas in reality, it became Tamei Meis and is Tamei for seven days.

(d)The Chachamim did not decree Tum'ah on the barrel and the drinks - because since they are not subject to Tevilah, we are not afraid that a Chaver may borrow them from him and come to use them.

6)

(a)A Chaver will not use an earthenware vessel belonging to an Am-ha'Aretz that is protected inside another K'li Cheres, by means of Tzamid Pasil - because he considers all Kelim of an Am-ha'Aretz, Tamei, and an earthenware vessel that is Tamei does not protect what is inside it by means of Tzamid Pasil.

(b)The Chachamim did not simply decree that all K'lei Cheres belonging to an Am-ha'Aretz (even earthenware Kelim), are not subject to Tzamid Pasil - because the Amei-ha'Aretz (who consider themselves experts in Tum'ah and careful in its observance) would never accept such a decree.

(c)The Chachamim decreed Tum'ah on all metal vessels (such as Meinekes) belonging to an Am-ha'Aretz - because (as we learned earlier) sometimes, the Chaver will borrow it from him, and because it was touched by the owner, he will Tovel it and use it immediately after nightfall, not thinking that it may have been in an Ohel ha'Meis, and that it therefore requires Haza'ah on the third and seventh days, before it can be Toveled.

(d)The same metal vessels belonging to a Chaver - are not subject to Tzamid Pasil either, since the Rabbanan prefer not to differentiate between the vessels belonging to one person and those belonging to another ('Lo P'lug' [see Tos. Yom Tov]).

7)

(a)Initially, Beis Hillel ruled that - the Meinekes is Tahor, too ...

(b)... but they changed their minds - when they heard Beis Shamai's reason, with which they agreed.

8)

(a)The Mishnah now discusses a dead Sheretz on the one hand, and a needle or a ring on the other, that one finds below ground level in a Tanur (though we already touched on the latter at the beginning of the Perek [see Tos. Yom-Tov]). Had the Sheretz fallen there after it was already dead - the Tanur would be Tamei (as we already explained).

(b)The Tana declares it Tahor - because he assumes that it fell in when it was alive, and died only after having burrowed a hole into the ground underneath the oven.

(c)He bases this assumption on the fact that - the Sheretz was found still moist, which, considering the constant heat generated by the oven, it would not have done had it been there a long time.

(d)The Tana rules Tahor in the case of the needle ... (despite the fact that we assume it to be Tamei [see Tos. Yom-Tov]) - on the grounds that it was there before the oven was built (see Tiferes Yisrael).

(e)And finally, he declares the oven Tamei if the needle or the ring is found among the burnt-out ashes inside the oven - since, seeing as it is inside the oven's airspace, there is no reason why it should not be.

9)

(a)The Mishnah declares Tamei a Tanur into which falls a sponge that has absorbed Tamei liquid, even though it is dry on the outside. It is not considered absorbed Tum'ah (which is not Metamei) - because the liquid stands to emerge from it, when it is squeezed (as one tends to do).

(b)And the same, says the Tana, pertains to a piece of turnip or of reed in a similar state ...

(c)... because one tends to squeeze out these two items as well (see Tos. Yom-Tov & Tiferes Yisrael).

(d)R. Shimon declares the latter two cases - Tahor.

10)

(a)The Tana now discusses clay vessels that absorbed Tamei liquid, such as - potties belonging to a Zavim or Zavos (see Tos. Yom-Tov).

(b)If they then fall into a Tanur, the Tanur will become Tamei - if the oven is heated whilst they are inside, because then the absorbed liquid is bound to emerge and to be Metamei it.

(c)The Tana applies the same ruling to new Gefes.

1. Gefes is - the waste of olives after the oil has been extracted from them.

2. New Gefes is - Gefes within twelve months of that event.

(d)The same ruling will apply to old Gefes as to new Gefes however (even after three years [see Tos. Yom-Tov) - if one actually sees liquid emerge from it.

11)

(a)The Mishnah rules that Gefes and grape-skins that were pressed br'Taharah, and from which juice oozes after Tamei people have walked over them - remain Tahor ...

(b)... since they were being pressed be'Taharah (see Tos. Yom-Tov & Tiferes Yisrael).

12)

(a)The Tana now discusses the metal hook at the end of a spindle, the metal tip of an ox-goad and a ring that has been cast in a brick (see Tos. Yom-Tov) - all of which have sunken into the object to which they have been fixed.

(b)The Mishnah rules in a case where they then ...

1. ... are taken into an Ohel ha'Mes or moved by a Zav that - they become Tamei.

2. ... fall into the airspace of a Tanur, assuming that they were previously Tamei (see Tos. Yom-Tov) that - they render it Tamei, too.

3. ... touch a Terumah loaf - it remains Tahor.

(c)In all the earlier cases, the Mishnah rules 'Tamei'. The spindle, the goad and the brick cannot protect the respective objects from becoming Tamei (from the Din of Ohel ha'Meis and from that of Avir K'li Cheres) - because that only applies to vessels that are receptacles (see also Tos. Yom-Tov), whereas our case is no different than the bone of a dead person that is wrapped in the bast of a date-palm.

(d)In the latter case, the Terumah loaf remains Tahor - because (unlike the oven, which is subject to Tum'as Avir) the loaf is only subject to Tum'as Maga, and the spindle, the goad and the brick, which are not receptacles, are not subject to Tum'as Maga (see Tos. Yom-Tov).

13)

(a)The Mishnah now discusses a Seridah - a flat dish made of earthenware that covers a Tanur and is cemented to it.

(b)If the cement that joins the Seridah to the Tanur cracks, to negate the Din of Tzamid Pasil requires a crack - the size of the thick end of the ox-goad (which has the diameter of a third of a Tefach).

14)

(a)R. Yehudah agrees with the basic Shi'ur, only according to him - the crack must actually be wide enough for the ox goad to pass through it, whereas according to the Tana Kama, this is not necessary.

(b)In the event that the crack appears in the Seridah - the Tana'im merely switch their opinions.

(c)The Halachah is - like the Tana Kama.

(d)The Tana rules that in a case where a round hole appears (rather than a long split [see Tos. Yom-Tov, Meleches Shlomo and Tiferes Yisrael]) - then we do not view it as if it was elongated, and the Shi'ur is that of an ox-goad that passes through it.

15)

(a)Next, the Mishnah discusses a Tanur whose Ayin (the hole to let the smoke out, as we learned in the previous Perek) has a hole. The case is - where the owner cemented the hole and where a hole appeared in the cement.

(b)To lose the Din of Tzamid Pasil, the hole must be the size of ...

1. ... a M'lo Kush - the thickness of a spindle.

2. ... Nichnas v'Yotzei - the spindle goes in and out of the hole with ease.

(c)The significance of Dolek is - that the hole will need to be a little wider still so that the flame does not go out in the process.

(d)R. Yehudah does not require Dolek - in which case the hole need not be quite as wide as the Tana Kama.

(e)In a case where the hole appears in the side of the Ayin (and not in the middle) - the two Tana'im switch their opinions.

16)

(a)R. Shimon concedes that if the hole is in the middle of the Ayin, the Kush must be able to enter it. When it is at the side however - it need not even be that size to negate the Din of Tzamid Pasil.

(b)And he draws the same distinction in the case of the lid of a small or large barrel which sprung a hole in it, only instead of a Kush to gauge the thickness of the hole, in the case of ...

1. ... the lid of a small barrel he presents - the second section of a rye-stalk (see Tos. Yom-Tov), whereas in that of ...

2. ... the lid of a large barrel - it is the second section of a cane.

(c)The Mishnah confines the above to a barrel containing wine. Should it contain other liquids - then it loses the Din of Tzamid Pasil, irrespective of the size of the hole.

(d)Those other liquids might be - oil, honey or milk (see Tos. Yom-Tov).

17)

(a)The Tana also restricts the above Shi'urim - to holes that sprung without the owner's intention, but if the owner deliberately bored a hole, then even the smallest one (see Tos. Yom-Tov) will negate the Din of Tzamid Pasil.

(b)The size hole that will negate the Din of Tzamid Pasil if the vessel is meant to hold ...

1. ... food is - a k'Zayis.

2. ... drink is - one that lets in liquid (see Tos. Yom-Tov).

3. ... either is - one that lets in liquid (le'Chumra [see Tos. Yom-Tov]).

(c)In these latter cases - the hole appears in the barrel itself (as opposed to the earlier cases, where it appeared in the cement).

18)

(a)The major difference between a hole that is the size of an olive and one that is the size of a pomegranate is that - whereas in the former case, stopping up the hole helps to reinstate the Din of Tzamid Pasil, in the latter, it does not.

(b)A hole that is less than a k'Zayis - does not even require stopping-up (see Tos. Yom-Tov).

(c)Stopping-up the hole will not help, even if the hole is smaller than a pomegranate - in the case of a small vessel, the majority of which is broken.