Chagigah 21b — the Talmud in English

But the first clause,

when one immerses one vessel inside another,

it appears that they lift the vessel for him [

for the water rises up and surrounds it, thereby raising the inner vessel within the outer one, and the water enters between them], let us say:

there is no interposition.

Therefore:

it is necessary

for our Mishna to teach us that even so, in the case of sacred offerings, we are concerned about such an interposition, and therefore it counted these two interpositions separately.

The Gemara now explains:

The words of

Rabbi Ila—

who said that the reason for the first clause of the Mishna, that one may not immerse sacred offerings inside sacred offerings, is because of an interposition—are

according to his view [

according to his approach], for he said: Only ten levels were taught in our Mishna. But if we count the levels, we find eleven levels in our Mishna.

Rather, according to Rabbi Ila, the first level as well is because of an interposition, and therefore it is not to be counted as an additional level beyond the fifth level in our Mishna, which distinguishes, with regard to the laws of interposition, between sacred offerings and teruma.

For Rabbi Ila said in the name of Rabbi Hanina bar Pappa:

Ten levels were taught here

in our Mishna [besides the first level], and they disagree with regard to non-sacred food prepared with the purity of sacred offerings, whether its law is like that of sacred offerings or not; and this is their law:

The first five:

A. The outer parts, the inside, and the grasping-place are one vessel, even with regard to rabbinic impurity.

B. One who carries a midras does not carry sacred offerings.

C. The garments of those who eat teruma are a midras with regard to sacred offerings.

D. He loosens and dries, immerses, and afterward ties [and included in this level is that one may not immerse one vessel inside another because of interposition].

E. Vessels completed in a state of purity require immersion.

These five levels are

both for sacred offerings and for non-sacred food prepared with the purity of sacred offerings.

But the five

last:

A. The vessel combines what is inside it.

B. A fourth degree of impurity is disqualified.

C. If one of the hands became impure, he immerses both of them.

D. It is forbidden to eat dried food with defiled hands.

E. An onen and one lacking atonement require immersion.

These five levels are

for sacred offerings

alone,

but not for non-sacred food prepared with the purity of sacred offerings.

The Gemara explains:

What is the reason

that the first five levels are distinguished from the last five with regard to non-sacred food prepared with the purity of sacred offerings?

For the

five

levels

first [

the first ones], since

they have a basis of biblical impurity [

there is in them a concern of impurity by Torah law], therefore

the Sages decreed concerning them both for sacred offerings

and

both for non-sacred food prepared with the purity of sacred offerings.

With regard to the first five levels—apart from the first, which is included in the fifth—there is a concern of biblical impurity:

With regard to the second level, “the outer parts, the inside, and the grasping-place are one vessel,” Rashi explained that although the discussion concerns only the impurity of a vessel through impure liquids, and they impart impurity only by rabbinic law [which was treated leniently with regard to teruma but not leniently with regard to sacred offerings, as explained in the note on the Mishna], nevertheless, since the reason for the impurity of liquids is a decree on account of the liquids of a man and a woman afflicted with gonorrhea, which are impure by Torah law, this is fundamentally a concern of biblical impurity.

With regard to the third level: One who carries a midras does not carry sacred offerings. Since the reason for the impurity is an incident that occurred, in which it fell inside it. And when it falls inside it, it imparts impurity to it by Torah law.

With regard to the fourth level: The garments of those who eat teruma are a midras, since the cause of the impurity is the concern that perhaps his menstruant wife sat upon them, and she imparts impurity by Torah law.

With regard to the fifth level [and with regard to the first level according to Rabbi Ila]: the laws of interposition, since a complete interposition prevents [the immersion] by Torah law.

With regard to the sixth level: Vessels completed in a state of purity require immersion, since the prohibition is because of the concern that spittle of an am ha-aretz fell upon it, and the basis of the impurity of the spittle of an am ha-aretz is the concern of the impurity of a man afflicted with gonorrhea, who imparts impurity by Torah law.

But with regard to the five levels

last [

the latter ones], since

they have no basis of impurity by Torah law [

there is in them no concern of impurity by Torah law], therefore:

the Sages decreed concerning them

only

for sacred offerings,

whereas

for non-sacred food prepared with the purity of sacred offerings, the Sages did not decree concerning them.

With regard to the last five levels there is no concern of biblical impurity:

With regard to the seventh level: The vessel combines what is inside it, because he holds the view of Rabbi Yohanan in Pesahim 39a that combining is rabbinic.

With regard to the eighth level: A fourth degree of impurity.

According to Rashi, who holds that a fourth degree of impurity is only rabbinic, the explanation is straightforward, for all this impurity is rabbinic, and there is no biblical concern at all in it. From here Rashi proved his approach, that a fourth degree with regard to sacred offerings is only rabbinic. The explanation of the approach of Tosafot is in the note.

With regard to the ninth level: If one of the hands became impure, he immerses both of them. Since the entire impurity of the hands is only rabbinic.

With regard to the tenth level: Eating dried food with defiled hands—for the entire impurity of the hands is only rabbinic.

With regard to the eleventh level: An onen and one lacking atonement, who require immersion; the essence of this immersion is only rabbinic.

Rava,

disputed Rabbi Ila above, and

said:

The reason for the first level [that one may not immerse one vessel inside another for sacred offerings] is not because of an interposition. For

since the latter clause [

the fifth level]

is because of an interposition,

necessarily

the first clause [

the first level]

is not because of an interposition [

as the Gemara already raised this objection above].

And the first clause,

the first level,

this is its reason:

A decree, lest one immerse impure needles and forks [

forks] when they are placed

in

the inside of

a vessel whose mouth does not have

a width measuring

“like the tube of a wineskin” [

a reed placed in the mouth of a leather wineskin, with a diameter of two fingers].

And whenever the mouth of the vessel does not have a width with a diameter of two fingers, the water inside it is not considered connected to the water of the ritual bath, and it follows that the needles and forks were not immersed in the water of the ritual bath.

And

so we learned in tractate Mikvaot, that the measure for connecting water to the water of the ritual bath is only when there is between them a connection of water with a width like the tube of a wineskin:

We learned: The joining of ritual baths,

of a ritual bath that does not contain water in the measure of forty seah with a full ritual bath beside it, in order to render immersion valid also in the deficient ritual bath, is only by means of a connection of water through an opening whose width is

like the tube of a wineskin—

as thick as it! ![](pamud.bmp "

Exact column position")

and as hollow!