מסכת כלים

פרק כו משנה ט

עור שהוא טמא מדרס

A hide that was tamei midras (and was currently designated for use as something susceptible to such tumah, such as a mat)

and one intended for it to be straps

or sandals (which are not susceptible to tumah),

when he puts the knife to it (i.e. as soon as the knife is inserted into the hide, but not real change to it is made)

it is tahor,

these are the words of Rabbi Yehudah (while intent alone would not suffice, he held that a physical change was not necessary; rather a physical demonstration of the intended change to the utensil was sufficient);

and the Sages say

until he reduces it

to less than five (square) handbreadths (they held it was necessary to convert the hide into something else completley, which required such a reduction);

Rabbi Eliezer the son of Rabbi Tzadok says,

also one who makes a matpeches (this was a small piece of material, and in this particular case it was used to sit or lay upon)

from a hide (that was tamei, and used for something like a mat)

it is tamei (even though the utensil has been changed, it still serves as a seat, the same purpose which had originally made it susceptible to tumah)

and from a mattress

it is tahor (as this was a more significant change, from an item that served as a container to an item that was sat upon).

הבגד

The cloth

can become tamei due to five statuses (described below);

the sackcloth (made of coarsely woven goat hair, or the hair from the tail of a horse or cow),

due to four;

the hide,

due to three;

the wood,

due to two;

and earthenware utensils,

due to one.

Earthenware utensils

become tamei for being a utensil with a receptacle,

and that do not have interiors

from earthenware utensils,

do not have exteriors (that is to say, if something tamei touched the outer surface of a flat earthenware utensil, it remains tahor).

The (utensil made of) wood exceeds it,

as it (also) becomes tamei for being a seat (even if it lacks a receptacle),

and similarly a tray that has no rim,

with a wooden utensil (such a tray is rabbinically) tamei,

with earthenware

it is tahor.

The hide exceeds it,

as it (also) becomes tamei as a canopy (a hide that formed a canopy over a cadaver becomes tamei).

The sackcloth exceeds it,

as it (also) becomes tamei for being woven (if intended to be used, no matter how small).

The cloth exceeds it,

as it (also) becomes tamei

for being three by three (handbreadths; the following mishnah will convey the details of this rule.)