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מסכת כלים

פרק כה משנה ד

הרבע וחצי הרבע

A quarter-measure and a half-quarter-measure (This is two measuring cups in one, one part measures a quarter of a kav, the other half of that, or an eighth of a kav.  The two cups are joined side-by-side and shared a wall, though some say that they were like a bartender's jigger, joined and sharing their bottoms, so that one was upside down when the other was right-side up.):

נטמא הרבע

If the quarter-measure becomes tamei

לא נטמא חצי הרבע

the half-quarter-measure does not become tamei;

נטמא חצי הרבע

if the half-quarter-measurebecomes tamei

לא נטמא הרבע

the quarter-measure does not become tamei.

אמרו לפני רבי עקיבה

They said before Rabbi Akiva,

הואיל וחצי הרבע

"Since the half-quarter-measure

אחורים לרבע

is the exterior of the quarter-measure,

כלי שנטמא תוכו

a utensil whose interior becomes tamei,

לא נטמאו אחוריו

doesn't its exterior become tamei (and so, shouldn't the half-quarter-measure become tamei when the quarter-measure does)?"

אמר להן

He said to them,

של כת קודמין היא

"This (question) is that of the group (of student who sat) in the front (i.e. this was already asked by a different group of students).

או שמא

Perhaps

הרבע אחורים לחצי הרבע

the quarter-measure is the exterior to the half-quarter-measure?"

כלי שנטמאו אחוריו

A utensil whose exterior has become tamei,

לא נטמא תוכו

its interior does not become tamei." (In other words, one cannot say which measure is the more important part of the utensil.  As such, while the question assumed that the quarter-measure was the interior, which should have spread its tumah to the half-quarter-measure which was its exterior, the quarter-measure could be deemed the exterior of the half-quarter-measure, which does not spread its tumah to the interior.)

 

פרק כה משנה ה

נטמא הרבע

If the quarter-measure becomes tamei

הרבע ואחוריו טמאין

the quarter-measure and its exterior are tamei,

חצי הרבע ואחוריו טהורין

the half-quarter-measure and its exterior are tahor;

נטמא חצי הרבע

if the half-quarter-measure becomes tamei,

חצי הרבע ואחוריו טמאין

the half-quarter-measure and its exterior become tamei,

הרבע ואחוריו טהורין

the quarter-measure and its exterior are tahor;

נטמאו אחורי הרבע

if the exterior of the quarter-measure becomes tamei,

אחורי חצי הרבע טהורין

the exterior of the half-quarter-measure is tahor,

דברי רבי מאיר

this is the opinion of Rabbi Meir;

וחכמים אומרין

and the Sages say,

אין חולקין את הגבין

we do not divide the exteriors (as we view the wall which extend over both cups as a single part that cannot be divided).

וכשהוא מטביל

And when one immerses it,

מטביל את כולו

one immerses its entirety.

         

לרפואת מרים חיה בת ברכה בתוך שאר חולי ישראל