Keilim - Chapter 10

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.