Audio by Michael Sokolow

Mishnah Parah 6:4: If one places his hand, or his foot, or the leaves of vegetables [under a stream of water], in order that the water should flow into a barrel, it is invalid [since it entered via something capable of contracting impurity]; [if one does so using] the leaves of reeds or the leaves of nuts, it is valid [since these items cannot contract impurity]. This is the rule: something capable of contracting impurity, it is invalid; something incapable of contracting impurity, it is valid.

נָתַן יָדוֹ אוֹ רַגְלוֹ אוֹ עֲלֵי יְרָקוֹת כְּדֵי שֶׁיַּעַבְרוּ הַמַּיִם לֶחָבִית, פְּסוּלִים. עֲלֵי קָנִים וַעֲלֵי אֱגוֹז, כְּשֵׁרִים. זֶה הַכְּלָל, דָּבָר שֶׁהוּא מְקַבֵּל טֻמְאָה, פָּסוּל. וְדָבָר שֶׁאֵינוֹ מְקַבֵּל טֻמְאָה, כָּשֵׁר:

Mishnah Parah 6:5: One who redirects a spring into a pit or into small pits, [the collected water] is invalid for a zav and a metzorah, and to sanctify the waters of a chatat, since they were not filled in a vessel. [A zav is one who has a seminal emission which makes him ritually impure. One stage of his purification process is to immerse himself in naturally flowing water. Once the water is collected in a pit, it is no longer considered flowing and thus can not be used for his purification process. A metzorah is one afflicted with a particular skin disease and he is ritually impure. One stage of his purification process is that a vessel be filled with water from naturally flowing water and that a bird be killed over this vessel. Once the water is collected in a pit, it is no longer considered flowing and thus can not be used for that ritual. Similarly, the water for sanctifying the ashes of a red heifer for the chatat ritual must be drawn from naturally flowing water.]

הַמְפַנֶּה אֶת הַמַּעְיָן לְתוֹךְ הַגַּת, אוֹ לְתוֹךְ הַגֵּבִים, פְּסוּלִים לַזָּבִים וְלַמְצֹרָעִים וּלְקַדֵּשׁ בָּהֶן מֵי חַטָּאת, מִפְּנֵי שֶׁלֹּא נִתְמַלְּאוּ בְכֶלִי:

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