🎁 Mishnah Chagigah 3

Chapter 3 of Mishnah Chagigah

Verses: 8

Verses

Verse 1

חֹמֶר בַּקֹּדֶשׁ מִבַּתְּרוּמָה, שֶׁמַּטְבִּילִין כֵּלִים בְּתוֹךְ כֵּלִים לַתְּרוּמָה, אֲבָל לֹא לַקֹּדֶשׁ. אֲחוֹרַיִם וְתוֹךְ וּבֵית הַצְּבִיטָה בַּתְּרוּמָה, אֲבָל לֹא בַקֹּדֶשׁ. הַנּוֹשֵׂא אֶת הַמִּדְרָס נוֹשֵׂא אֶת הַתְּרוּמָה, אֲבָל לֹא אֶת הַקֹּדֶשׁ. בִּגְדֵי אוֹכְלֵי תְרוּמָה, מִדְרָס לַקֹּדֶשׁ. לֹא כְמִדַּת הַקֹּדֶשׁ מִדַּת הַתְּרוּמָה, שֶׁבַּקֹּדֶשׁ מַתִּיר וּמְנַגֵּב וּמַטְבִּיל וְאַחַר כָּךְ קוֹשֵׁר, וּבַתְּרוּמָה קוֹשֵׁר וְאַחַר כָּךְ מַטְבִּיל:

Concerning several matters there is greater stringency with regard to sacrificial food than with regard to teruma, a portion of the produce designated for the priest. This expresses itself in many ways, the first being that one may immerse vessels inside other vessels to purify them for teruma; but not for sacrificial food, for which one must immerse each vessel separately. Another difference is that the halakhot of the back of a vessel and its inside and its place for gripping apply to vessels used for teruma, meaning that each part of the vessel has its own use and is considered a separate vessel in that it does not convey impurity to the other parts of the vessel when it contracts impurity; but not to sacrificial food, for which an impure section of the vessel does convey impurity to all the other sections. Likewise, one who carries an object trodden on by a zav, a man suffering from gonorrhea, may carry teruma at the same time, if he is careful that neither he nor the impure object should come into contact with the teruma, but this may not be done with sacrificial food. The garments of those who eat teruma are like an object trodden on by a zav with regard to sacrificial food. The mishna lists other stringencies that apply to sacrificial foods but not to teruma: The characteristics of teruma are not like the characteristics of sacrificial food, as in the case of vessels that are used with sacrificial food, if one has a garment or vessel that is tied up he must untie it and dry it if there was any moisture on it, as both a knot and absorbed moisture are considered interpositions that prevent the water of the ritual bath from reaching the entire garment. And he may then immerse them, and afterward he may tie them up again if he wishes. But with regard to teruma he may, if he so desires, tie up the garment and then immerse it without any concern that the knot might be considered an interposition.

Verse 2

כֵּלִים הַנִּגְמָרִין בְּטָהֳרָה, צְרִיכִין טְבִילָה לַקֹּדֶשׁ, אֲבָל לֹא לַתְּרוּמָה. הַכְּלִי מְצָרֵף מַה שֶּׁבְּתוֹכוֹ לַקֹּדֶשׁ, אֲבָל לֹא לַתְּרוּמָה. הָרְבִיעִי בַּקֹּדֶשׁ פָּסוּל, וְהַשְּׁלִישִׁי בַּתְּרוּמָה. וּבַתְּרוּמָה, אִם נִטְמֵאת אַחַת מִיָּדָיו, חֲבֶרְתָּהּ טְהוֹרָה. וּבַקֹּדֶשׁ, מַטְבִּיל שְׁתֵּיהֶן, שֶׁהַיָּד מְטַמָּא אֶת חֲבֶרְתָּהּ בַּקֹּדֶשׁ, אֲבָל לֹא בַּתְּרוּמָה:

Vessels that were fashioned and completed in purity nevertheless require immersion to be considered pure for sacrificial foods, but not for teruma. A vessel combines all the food that is in it with regard to sacrificial food, meaning that if one piece of food becomes impure all the other pieces become impure as well; but not with regard to teruma, concerning which each piece is treated independently. The mishna continues the list of differences between sacrificial food and teruma. Sacrificial food that is impure with fourth-degree impurity is disqualified, meaning that the sacrificial food is rendered impure but it does not impart impurity to other items. Teruma is disqualified when it is impure with third-degree impurity; it is not susceptible to fourth-degree impurity at all. And with regard to teruma, if one of one’s hands became impure by rabbinic law that renders only the hands impure, its counterpart, i.e., the other hand, remains pure. But with regard to sacrificial food, if one hand becomes impure he must immerse them both, as one hand renders its counterpart impure with regard to sacrificial food but not with regard to teruma.

Verse 3

אוֹכְלִין אֳכָלִים נְגוּבִין בְּיָדַיִם מְסֹאָבוֹת בַּתְּרוּמָה, אֲבָל לֹא בַּקֹּדֶשׁ. הָאוֹנֵן וּמְחֻסַּר כִּפּוּרִים צְרִיכִין טְבִילָה לַקֹּדֶשׁ, אֲבָל לֹא לַתְּרוּמָה:

One may eat dry foods, i.e., foods that have never come into contact with liquid and are therefore not susceptible to impurity, with impure hands when it is teruma, but not when it is sacrificial food. An acute mourner [onen], i.e., someone who has experienced the loss of a close relative on that day, who had not come into contact with the deceased; and one who is lacking atonement, i.e., someone who still needs to bring an offering to complete his purification procedure, such as a zav or a woman after childbirth, both require immersion in order to eat sacrificial food. The onen would immerse after the day has passed and the one lacking atonement would immerse after the requisite offering is brought. However, immersion in these cases is not necessary for eating teruma.

Verse 4

חֹמֶר בַּתְּרוּמָה, שֶׁבִּיהוּדָה נֶאֱמָנִים עַל טָהֳרַת יַיִן וְשֶׁמֶן כָּל יְמוֹת הַשָּׁנָה, וּבִשְׁעַת הַגִּתּוֹת וְהַבַּדִּים אַף עַל הַתְּרוּמָה. עָבְרוּ הַגִּתּוֹת וְהַבַּדִּים וְהֵבִיאוּ לוֹ חָבִית שֶׁל יַיִן שֶׁל תְּרוּמָה, לֹא יְקַבְּלֶנָּה מִמֶּנּוּ, אֲבָל מַנִּיחָהּ לַגַּת הַבָּאָה. וְאִם אָמַר לוֹ, הִפְרַשְׁתִּי לְתוֹכָהּ רְבִיעִית קֹדֶשׁ, נֶאֱמָן. כַּדֵּי יַיִן וְכַדֵּי שֶׁמֶן הַמְדֻמָּעוֹת, נֶאֱמָנִין עֲלֵיהֶם בִּשְׁעַת הַגִּתּוֹת וְהַבַּדִּים, וְקֹדֶם לַגִּתּוֹת שִׁבְעִים יוֹם:

The previous mishna listed stringencies that apply to sacrificial food but not to teruma. However, there are also stringencies that apply to teruma over sacrificial food: In Judea all people, even people who are not generally meticulous in their observance of the halakhot of ritual purity [amei ha’aretz], are trusted with regard to the purity of consecrated wine and oil throughout all the days of the year. And during the period of the winepress and olive press, when grapes and olives are pressed and made into wine and oil, respectively, they are trusted even with regard to the purity of teruma, as all people, including amei ha’aretz, purify their vessels for this season. But once the periods of the winepress and olive press have passed, if amei ha’aretz brought to him, i.e., to a priest who is meticulous concerning the halakhot of ritual purity [ḥaver], a barrel of teruma wine, he may not accept it from them, as amei ha’aretz are not trusted with regard to matters of ritual purity during the rest of the year. But the giver may leave it over for the following winepress season, in the following year, at which point the ḥaver priest may accept it from him, although it was prohibited for him to accept the same barrel beforehand. And if the giver said to the priest: I separated and placed into this barrel of teruma a quarter-log of sacrificial wine or oil, he is trusted with regard to the entire contents of the barrel. Since an am ha’aretz is trusted with regard to the purity of sacrificial food, he is also believed with regard to teruma that is mingled with the sacrificial food. With regard to jugs of wine and jugs of oil that are mingled, amei ha’aretz are trusted with regard to them during the period of the winepress and the olive press, and also up to seventy days before the winepress, for that is when people begin to purify their vessels in preparation for the wine-pressing season.

Verse 5

מִן הַמּוֹדִיעִית וְלִפְנִים, נֶאֱמָנִין עַל כְּלֵי חֶרֶס. מִן הַמּוֹדִיעִית וְלַחוּץ, אֵין נֶאֱמָנִים. כֵּיצַד, הַקַּדָּר שֶׁהוּא מוֹכֵר הַקְּדֵרוֹת, נִכְנַס לִפְנִים מִן הַמּוֹדִיעִית, הוּא הַקַּדָּר וְהֵן הַקְּדֵרוֹת וְהֵן הַלּוֹקְחִים, נֶאֱמָן. יָצָא, אֵינוֹ נֶאֱמָן:

From Modi’im and inward toward Jerusalem, i.e., in the area surrounding Jerusalem, up to the distance of the town of Modi’im, which is fifteen mil from Jerusalem, all potters, including amei ha’aretz, are deemed credible with regard to the purity of earthenware vessels that they have produced. Because these places supplied earthenware vessels for the people in Jerusalem, the Sages did not decree impurity for them. From Modi’im and outward, however, they are not deemed credible. The details of this ruling are specified: How so? A potter who sells pots, if he entered within Modi’im from outside it, although the potter, and the pots, and the customers were all previously located outside Modi’im, where he is not deemed credible with regard to purity, he is now deemed credible. And the opposite is true of the opposite case: If the same person who was deemed credible inside left the boundaries of Modi’im, he is no longer deemed credible.

Verse 6

הַגַּבָּאִין שֶׁנִּכְנְסוּ לְתוֹךְ הַבַּיִת, וְכֵן הַגַּנָּבִים שֶׁהֶחֱזִירוּ אֶת הַכֵּלִים, נֶאֱמָנִין לוֹמַר, לֹא נָגָעְנוּ. וּבִירוּשָׁלַיִם נֶאֱמָנִין עַל הַקֹּדֶשׁ, וּבִשְׁעַת הָרֶגֶל אַף עַל הַתְּרוּמָה:

In the case of amei ha’aretz tax collectors who entered a house to collect items for a tax, and similarly thieves who returned the vessels they had stolen, they are deemed credible when they say: We did not touch the rest of the objects in the house, and those items remain pure. And in Jerusalem all people, even amei ha’aretz, are deemed credible with regard to sacrificial food throughout the year, and during a pilgrimage Festival they are deemed credible even with regard to teruma.

Verse 7

הַפּוֹתֵחַ אֶת חָבִיתוֹ, וְהַמַּתְחִיל בְּעִסָּתוֹ עַל גַּב הָרֶגֶל, רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר, יִגְמֹר. וַחֲכָמִים אוֹמְרִים, לֹא יִגְמֹר. מִשֶּׁעָבַר הָרֶגֶל, הָיוּ מַעֲבִירִין עַל טָהֳרַת עֲזָרָה. עָבַר הָרֶגֶל בְּיוֹם שִׁשִּׁי, לֹא הָיוּ מַעֲבִירִין, מִפְּנֵי כְבוֹד הַשַּׁבָּת. רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר, אַף לֹא בְיוֹם חֲמִישִׁי, שֶׁאֵין הַכֹּהֲנִים פְּנוּיִין:

In the case of one who opens his barrel of wine for public sale, and similarly one who starts selling his dough during the time of the pilgrimage Festival, and these items perforce come into contact with amei ha’aretz, Rabbi Yehuda says: Since the food was pure, despite its contact with amei ha’aretz, when he began selling it, he may finish selling it in a state of purity even after the Festival, and there is no concern about the contact that has been made by amei ha’aretz during the Festival. But the Rabbis say: He may not finish selling it. Once the pilgrimage Festival has passed by, the priests pass all the vessels of the Temple courtyard through a process of purification, since they were touched by am ha’aretz priests during the Festival. If the Festival passed by into a Friday, i.e., if the Festival ended on Thursday night, they would not pass the vessels through the purification process on that day, due to the honor of Shabbat, in order to give the priests time to prepare the requirements of Shabbat. Rabbi Yehuda says: They do not even purify them on Thursday, in the event that the Festival ended on Wednesday night, because the priests are not free to do so.

Verse 8

כֵּיצַד מַעֲבִירִים עַל טָהֳרַת עֲזָרָה. מַטְבִּילִין אֶת הַכֵּלִים שֶׁהָיוּ בַמִּקְדָּשׁ, וְאוֹמְרִין לָהֶם, הִזָּהֲרוּ שֶׁלֹּא תִגְּעוּ בַּשֻּׁלְחָן וּבַמְּנ��ֹרָה וּתְטַמְּאוּהוּ. כָּל הַכֵּלִים שֶׁהָיוּ בַמִּקְדָּשׁ, יֵשׁ לָהֶם שְׁנִיִּים וּשְׁלִישִׁים, שֶׁאִם נִטְמְאוּ הָרִאשׁוֹנִים, יָבִיאוּ שְׁנִיִּים תַּחְתֵּיהֶן. כָּל הַכֵּלִים שֶׁהָיוּ בַמִּקְדָּשׁ, טְעוּנִין טְבִילָה, חוּץ מִמִּזְבַּח הַזָּהָב וּמִזְבַּח הַנְּחֹשֶׁת, מִפְּנֵי שֶׁהֵן כַּקַּרְקַע, דִּבְרֵי רַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר. וַחֲכָמִים אוֹמְרִים, מִפְּנֵי שֶׁהֵן מְצֻפִּין:

How do they pass all the vessels of the Temple courtyard through a process of purification? They immerse the vessels that were in the Temple. And they say to the am ha’aretz priests who served in the Temple during the Festival: Be careful that you not touch the table of the shewbread. If you defile it by touching it, it would need to be removed for immersion, and this would lead to the temporary suspension of the mitzva of the shewbread, which had to be on the table at all times. The mishna continues: All the vessels that were in the Temple had second and third substitute vessels, so that if the first ones became impure they could bring the second ones in their place. All the vessels that were in the Temple required immersion after the Festival, apart from the golden altar and the bronze altar, because they are considered like the ground and therefore, like land itself, not susceptible to impurity. This is the statement of Rabbi Eliezer. And the Rabbis say: It is because they are coated.