מסכת כלים

פרק כא משנה א

הנוגע בכבד העליון

One who made contact with the upper beam (this is the upper beam of a loom, also known as the warp beam, was round, and the warp threads were rolled around it in parallel with each other; it unrolled and dispensed the warp threads into the loom's body below as the textile was woven),

with the lower beam (this lower beam, also known as a takeup roll, was also round and was parallel to the upper beam, after the weft threads had been woven through them in the body of the loom, the warp threads, and the completed textile around them, were rolled up around the lower beam),

with the heddles (these were two sets of cords with a loop in their center; the even numbered warp threads were run through the loops, or eyes, of one heddle, and the odd warp threads through the other; the heddles were then raised and lowered to separate every other warp thread to allow the weft thread to be woven through them),

and with the reed (this part of the loom was used to push the weft yarn securely in place as it was woven),

and with the thread

that one placed over the purple wool (while it was in the loom to keep it from getting dirty),

and with the bobbin (a cylinder or cone of weft yarn)

that is not going to be returned (that is, this yarn will not be woven back into the textile, and another thread will be used going forward),

is tahor (if one touched any of these parts while the textile in the loom was tamei, they are not considered connected to it such that the tumah would be conveyed to him or her);

[but if one made contact] with the weft of the fabric (that is the weft yarn that has been woven but not yet pushed into place),

with the standing warp (the warp threads running from the warp beam to the woven textile),

and with the embroidery (literally "the doubled matter")

that one ran over the purple wool,

and with the bobbin

that will be returned (that is to say, weft thread that will be woven into the fabric),

is tamei.

One who comes into contact with the wool of the distaff (a stick or spindle onto which raw wool or flax is wound for spinning),

with the ashvaya (another type of instrument that served a similar function to a distaff)

is tahor.

One who comes into contact with a whorl (a wheel shaped weight attached to a spindle for used when spinning thread to give the spindle momentum when it was spun),

before it is uncovered (when the spun thread is removed from the spindle)

he is tamei,

from when it is uncovered he is tahor (if the spindle was tamei, as at this point it is no longer considered to be connected, as a "yad", to the spindle).

הנוגע בעל

One who comes into contact with the yoke (which went over the draft animals' shoulders),

and with the crossbar (which ran in parallel to the yoke under the animals' necks),

with the collar (material that went around the animals' necks to protect them from the yoke),

and with the beam (this was attached to the yoke and went to the rear, and was then attached to the shaft of the plow),

even during the time they are being used (together with a plow that is tamei)

is tahor;

[but if one came into contact] with the handle (literally the "sword", the handle of the plow was named thus due to its shape, and it was used to keep the blade of the plow pressed into the soil),

and with the knee-shaped pole (this was attached to the plow and was used to dispense seeds as the soil was tilled),

and with the guide (this part of the plow was used to steer it)

is tamei;

with the metal ring (used to attached the beam of the yoke to the shaft of the plow),

and with the coulters (a vertical cutting blade of wood attached in front of the plowshare used to break up the soil),

and with the moldboards (these were used to spread the soil immediately after it was turned by the plowshare),

is tamei;

Rabbi Yehuda

ruled that with the coulters one was tahor,

as they are not made

but to increase the amount of soil (but was not essential to the functioning of the plow).