מסכת כלים

פרק כג משנה ד

המטה

The bed

and the pillow

and the mattress

of a corpse (which were used during a funeral),

these are [susceptible to becoming] tamei midras (because the bereaved would sit on them as well).

The seat of a bride,

and stool of a midwife (that a woman in labor would sit upon),

and launderer's seat

that he piles clothing on (this was actually a press for the clothing, that the launderer would sit upon to apply pressure to the clothing inside of it),

Rabbi Yosi said

these are not susceptible to [the tumah of] moshav (as they were infrequently sat upon).

החרם

The fishing net (made of a network of ropes)

is tamei because of its bottom (was made of separate and heavier woven material, akin to fabric, which would hold bait).

The nets and the traps (some say that these two were also made from networks of ropes, others that they were more cage-like)

and the trap for birds (this was some type of board that was set up to fall on a bird that went for bait placed below it; some say it was not just a flat board, but had some sort of adhesive, others that it had a receptacle, to hold the bird)

and the snare (a type of cage),

and the fishermen's traps (these were used to divert the water of a river and its fish into an enclosure; some say that this refers to a device used to take fish out of the diverted waters, others that it was a perforated panel that was used to drain water from the enclosure, yet others say that the it refers to the enclosure itself, which was a sort of box made of wood),

are tamei (because each of these devices were also used to contain their prey while being transported);

And the fish trap (a basket or box lined with metal hooks),

and the bird trap (which also resembled a basket)

and the bird cage

are tahor (some say because these were not ordinarily used to transport animals caught in them, others that it is because they did not have the form of a utensil).