Rambam - 3 Chapters a Day

All metal keilim that have independent names are susceptible to impurity except a door, a bolt, a lock, a holder for a door hinge a hinge, a beam, and a drainpipe. The latter are not susceptible to impurity, because they serve the earth or wood. This applies even before they are affixed to a building or to wood.

Any metal k'li that has an auxiliary name does not contract impurity independently because it is only part of a k'li. What is implied? The "scorpion" of a muzzle is impure and the iron plates placed on the cheeks of the animal on both sides are pure, because they do not have an independent name. When all these articles are connected to the reins, everything is susceptible to impurity.

When metal plates are placed on a person's cheeks for protection at the time of battle, they are not susceptible to impurity, because they do not have an independent name. If, however, they have a receptacle for water, they are susceptible to impurity like all receptacles.

When a ring is fashioned like a bowl from below and a lentil from above, and the bowl becomes detached, it is susceptible to impurity in its own right, for it has a receptacle. The lentil is susceptible to impurity, because it has an independent name. The ring's wire, i.e., the portion that enters the ear or the nose, is not susceptible to impurity in its own right.

If a ring is made like a cluster of grapes and it becomes separated, it is pure. The rationale is that it does not have a receptacle, none of the "berries" has an independent name, and while broken up, it is not fit to be used as an ornament.

A ring worn by young girls around a leg is referred to as a birit. It is not susceptible to impurity, because it does not have the form of an ornament. Instead, it is like a ring of a k'li or a ring one ties between his shoulders. The set of two rings which young girls put around their legs with a chain connecting one to the other is susceptible to ritual impurity. The rationale is that it is an ornament for young girls. This set is called kevalim.

When there is a necklace with metal links on a string of wool or linen and the string snaps, each of the links is susceptible to impurity, because each is considered as a k'li independently. If the strand was of metal and the links of jewels, pearls, or glass and the links broke, but the chain remained, the chain is susceptible to impurity independently. The remnants of a necklace continue to impart impurity and to be susceptible to impurity as long as they are large enough to go around the neck of a young girl.

All of the metal coverings of receptacles are pure. They are not susceptible to impurity, because they do not have an independent name with the exception of the covering of a samovar and the covering of doctor's prescription box. Since bandages are placed in it, it becomes a receptacle.

When one scrapes down and polishes the metal cover of a container, making it into a mirror, it is susceptible to impurity.

All metal weights are susceptible to impurity. They are called unkiyot. The wooden crossbeam of a scale is susceptible to impurity, because of the weights hanging from it.

When does the above apply? To the crossbeams of the scales of flax merchants and wool merchants. The crossbeams of the scales of private persons are not susceptible to impurity unless the weights are permanently affixed to it.

When weights have been broken, even though one brought the pieces together and weighed objects with them, they are not susceptible to impurity. If one designated the broken pieces as half-litra weights, one-third-litra weights, or one-quarter-litra weights, they are susceptible to impurity.

When a sela was disqualified, if it was adjusted to use as a weight, it is susceptible to impurity.

A porter's hook is pure. Hooks used by perfume salesmen are susceptible to impurity. The hooks of bed-poles are pure. Those of a small platform are susceptible to impurity.

The hooks of the bee-hived-shaped snare used by fishermen to catch fish are pure. Those of a chest are susceptible to impurity. The hooks of wooden lamps are pure. Those of a table are susceptible to impurity.

This is the general principle: Whenever a k'li is susceptible to impurity in and of itself according to Scriptural Law, its metal hook and its chain are susceptible to impurity. Whenever a k'li is not susceptible to impurity, e.g., flat wooden keilim, oversized wooden keilim, and the like, its metal hook and its chain are not susceptible to impurity. When either of them is considered independently, it is pure, because neither a hook or a chain is considered as a k'li in its own right; they are only considered as parts of a k'li. Even hooks on the wall upon which keilim, clothes, and the like are hung are pure.

When a chain has a lock, it is susceptible to impurity. If it is meant to secure an entity, it is pure.

Chains used by wholesalers are susceptible to impurity, because they are used to lock the stores. Those owned by private persons are pure, because they are meant only as ornaments.

The chains of the measurers of land and the pegs that they insert into the ground at the time they conduct their measurement are susceptible to impurity. Those used by gatherers of wood are pure, because they serve wood.

The four handbreadths of a chain for a large bucket that are closest to the bucket contract impurity with the bucket for it is necessary for its use. The remainder is pure, because it does not have an independent name. Ten handbreadths of the chain of a small bucket are susceptible to impurity.

All of the following: a metal ball, an anvil, an iron shaft of a builder, a carpenter's leveling tool, a smith's "donkey," plumb-weights used by builders, the iron beams used to press olives, a metal dispenser for a mill, the blade with which scribes cut off the tips of the reeds with which they write, a metal pen, a stylus and a ruler with which scribes rule lines are all susceptible to impurity. For each one of these articles has an independent name.

Pegs that reinforce a ceiling that are made to be pounded into wood are not susceptible to impurity. Similarly, this ruling applies to pegs that are pounded into walls to serve as hangers. If they are made to serve as an independent k'li, they are susceptible to impurity.

What is implied? A hook that was installed to enable one to open and lock a door, to remove a wick, or it was placed in a handmill or a mill powered by a donkey is susceptible to impurity. If it was made to open a barrel, it is pure unless its point is sharpened.

A peg that is made as a sign to guard an entrance is not susceptible to impurity. Similarly, the peg of a money-changer on which he hangs his scale and his purse is pure. Similarly, pegs for metal brushes are pure even though these pegs have a different form than other pegs used as hangers.

A bloodletter's needle, i.e., the utensil with which he draws blood, is susceptible to impurity. The pointer of a sundial is pure.

A weaver's needle, i.e., the long needle that is like a spit which the weaver inserts into a cylinder coming from a reed or wood around which he winds the threads is susceptible to impurity.

These are the metal keilim in a wagon that are susceptible to impurity: the metal shaft, the wooden yoke, the wings into which the straps are inserted, the metal rod below the necks of the animals, the support, the "limper," the containers, the bell, the hook, and the pegs which attach all the different parts of the wagon together.

These are the components of a wagon that are pure: a plated wooden shaft, the wings that are made only as ornamental articles, a reed that makes a sound, a lead plate hanging from the neck of an animal, the metal rimming of a wheel, ornamental plates, and coatings. Similarly, all other pegs it contains are pure.

The scorpion of the olive press is susceptible to ritual impurity. Even though a chest for ground lentils is pure, if there is a metal carriage below it, it is susceptible to impurity.

A pepper mill is susceptible to ritual impurity because of each of the three keilim of which it is comprised: one is susceptible to impurity because it is a metal k'li, another, because it is a receptacle, and the third, because it is a sieve.

A metal door in a cabinet of a homeowner is not susceptible to impurity. Such a door in a cabinet of a doctor is susceptible to impurity, because bandages are placed there and scissors are hung from it.

Metal plates on which a hot pot is placed are susceptible to impurity. Those that are affixed to a range are pure.

Tongs with which one squeezes the wick are susceptible to impurity. The metal bars that hold up a mill from its front are not susceptible to impurity, because they are made only in order to reinforce the mill.

A bolt that locks double-doors: if it is made of metal, it is impure. If it is made of wood coated with metal, it is pure.

The pointed end of a lock and the base of a lock are impure.

The ball of a weaving needle is pure, because it serves the wood.

A weaving needle, a spindle, a walking stick, and a symphonia or flute of metal are susceptible to impurity. If they are made of wood and coated with metal, they are pure with the exception of a symphonia which, if it has a receptacle for wings, is impure even if it is coated.

With regard to a trumpet that is split up into different pieces: If only a craftsman would know how to put it together, it is susceptible to impurity while the pieces are connected. If anyone can take it apart and reconstruct it, it is not susceptible to impurity.

The end of the round trumpet on which one places his mouth when blowing is susceptible to impurity independently. The wide portion is not susceptible to impurity independently. While they are connected, everything is susceptible to impurity.

A similar ruling: The branches of a candelabrum are not susceptible to impurity, because they have an accompanying name. Its flower and its base are susceptible to impurity. While they are connected, all the components are susceptible to impurity.

A target for arrows that has metal strips is susceptible to impurity. A metal boot placed on prisoners' feet is pure. A metal collar is susceptible to impurity.

A saw whose teeth were inserted into a slit in a lintel and project into the doorway is not susceptible to impurity even though one makes use of it. If he inserted it in the slit of the doorway after it became impure, it remains impure until one affixes it with a nail. If he turned it over, whether from above, from below or from the sides, it is pure.

To what degree must metal keilim be broken so as not to be susceptible to ritual impurity or to be purified from ritual impurity? Everything depends on the nature of the k'li involved.

As long as the k'li can be used in a way resembling its intended task, it is considered as a k'li and is considered like a complete k'li.

What is implied? A metal bucket that was broken but still can be used to draw water is considered a k'li as it was before. An urn is still susceptible to impurity if it can be used to heat water; a samovar, if it can contain selaim; a large pot, if it can contain metal pitchers; a metal pitcher, if it can contain perutot, wine measures, if they can measure wine; oil measures, if they can measure oil.

When three holes, one next to the other, in the bottom of a strainer for mustard seed, were widened, it is pure, because it is no longer fit for its original task. When the hollow of a builder's shovel is removed, it is pure, even though it appears like a hammer, for it is no longer useful for its original purpose, but instead, as a hammer, and it was not made to pound objects as a hammer does. Similar laws apply in all analogous situations.

When the teeth of a comb for wool have been removed, it is impure as long as three teeth remain in one place. If, however, one of the external teeth was one of the three, it is pure, because it is no longer useful for combing flax, because the exterior tooth is not effective when combing. Hence we follow the principle: Whenever a metal k'li can no longer be used for its intended purpose, it is pure.

If two teeth were taken and made into tweezers, they are impure. If one was removed and it is used for the sake of a lamp or for thread to be wound around it for embroidering, it is susceptible to impurity. If it was a thick and large tooth, even though it was not prepared for a particular function, it contracts impurity independently.

When the teeth of a comb for flax were removed, but two remained, it is impure. If only one remains, it is pure.

When a kedum is broken, but its hooks are intact, they are still impure, because it is possible to use them to remove a bucket from a well as before.

When the teeth of a saw are removed in an alternating pattern, it is pure. If a portion the full length of a sit remained intact in one place, it is impure, because it is possible to saw with the portion that remains.

A hatchet, a blade, a plane, a drill, that have been damaged are still susceptible to impurity. If their steel portion is removed, they are pure. If any of them is divided into two, they are impure with the exception of the drill, because it is no longer possible to make holes with it. A runkey alone is not susceptible to impurity, because it is only part of a k'li.

When a sword, a knife, a knife that is curved like a sickle, a spear, a hand sickle, a harvesting sickle, a small household scissors, or a larger barber's scissors are divided in two, each of their components is susceptible to impurity, because it is still able to be used for a task resembling its primary function.

When a shaver is divided into two, it is pure, because in that state it can only remove hair with difficulty.

When armor is divided along its length, it is pure. When divided along its width, if it still can serve its initial purpose, it is impure. When does it become pure? When it becomes worn out to the extent that it can no longer perform its original task.

The following rules apply if it became worn out, but its major portion remained intact. If the upper portion remains, it is impure. If it covers the lower portion, it is pure. If one cut of part of the armor and made it a link for an ornament, it is susceptible to ritual impurity.

A bellows used by goldsmiths, glassmakers, blacksmiths, and glaziers that was divided into two lengthwise, is pure. If it is split widthwise, when it can serve its initial purpose, it is impure. If not, it is pure.

When tongs used by barbers, doctors, or glassmakers are divided into two, they are pure. Those used by blacksmiths that are divided are impure. The rationale is that at the outset, they are used to stir coals and in their present state, they can be used to stir coals.

When a metal mirror was broken or became scratched, if it does not reflect the majority of the face, it is pure. If it reflects the majority of the face, it is still considered a k'li as it was previously.

When either the eye or the point of a needle was removed, it is pure. If an adjustment was made with it so that thread could be wound around it and it could be used as an embroidery needle, it is impure. In contrast, when the eye of a sackmaker's needle is removed, it is impure, because the other end can still be used as a stylus.

Different rules apply to a needle around which scarlet thread, gold thread, or the like is wound as is the practice of embroiderers. Whether the eye or the point is removed, it is still impure, because it is not used to sew.

When a needle has become rusty, if the rust prevents sewing, it is pure. If not, it is impure.

When a sword or a knife become rusty, they are pure. If they are then smoothed or sharpened, they return to their initial impurity. Similarly, the hook on top of a flax spindle that was straightened is pure. If it was bent back again, it returns to its initial impurity.

A key that is curved like a knee which is broken in the middle of its curve is pure. Similarly, a key that is shaped like a gamma which is broken at its vertex is pure. In both instances, they can no longer be used to open locks and thus they are not able to be used for their initial purpose.

If the broken portion has teeth and holes, it is impure, because it still can be used as a key. If its teeth are removed, it is impure because of the holes. If the holes are filled, it is impure because of the teeth. If the teeth were removed and the holes filled or the holes were expanded until they were joined, it is pure.

The following rules apply when a k'li consists of a rod with a cup on one side used to pick up ash and a fork on the other side used to roast meat. If the cup was removed, it is impure because of the fork's teeth. If the fork's teeth are removed, it is impure because of the cup. Similarly, with regard to a utensil used to paint one's eyes, if the cup with which the dye is collected is removed, it is impure because of the applier used to dye the eye. If the applier is removed, it is impure because of the cup.

Similar laws apply with regard to a k'li that has an iron net on one end on which food is roasted and teeth to remove meat from a pot or from a fire on the other end. If the net was removed, it is impure because of the teeth. If the teeth are removed, it is impure because of the net.

The same principles apply with regard to a metal pen which has one end that is used to write and another end that is used to erase. If the writing utensil is removed, it is impure, because of the eraser. If the eraser is removed, it is impure because of the writing utensil. Similar laws apply in all analogous situations provided the remaining instrument can still be used for its initial purpose.

What is implied? When the eraser is removed from a pen, but the writing utensil remains, if it is long enough to reach his knuckles, it is impure because it is possible to hold it and write with it. When the writing instrument is removed and the eraser remains, if its length matches the width of one's hand, it is impure, because one can erase with it. If less remains, it is pure. Similar laws apply in all analogous situations.

When the narrow edge of a hatchet - i.e., the side that a carpenter uses to carve - is removed, it is impure, because of the side used to chop. If the side used to chop is removed, it is impure because of the narrow edge. If the socket into which the handle is inserted is broken, it is pure.

When a lance is damaged, it is still considered as a k'li until its major portion is removed. If, however, the socket into which the head of the lance is inserted is removed, it is pure.

A plow is also called a malmad. It is comprised of a long, thick beam with something like a sharp peg implanted in its end from above. This metal peg is called a darvan. On the other end below is a metal projection like a spear. The wood that is inserted into it and this iron piece is called a lance.

When a metal pipe which is like a tube becomes impure, if it is affixed to a staff or a door and is thus attached to wood, it becomes pure. If it did not contract impurity and it was affixed to a staff or a door, it is susceptible to impurity in its place. For any metal k'li that was fixed to a beam or a wall is susceptible to impurity until its function is changed. Therefore a metal baker's sheet that was affixed to a wall is impure. Similar laws apply in all analogous situations involving other metal objects that were affixed to wooden objects whether containers or flat keilim. They are susceptible to impurity as they were beforehand.