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Rimonim Sized Holes

Keilim (17:1) | Yisrael Bankier | 9 hours ago

The seventeenth perek opens with discussing the size of the hole in a wooden kli that would render it tahor. In other words if it was tameh, it is now tahor, or even if it never became tameh it is no longer susceptible to tumah. The first opinion is that for regular home utensils the size would have to be the size of rimonim -- pomegranates. (The later Mishnah discusses exactly how this is measured). R' Eliezer however maintains that the size depends on what the kli is used for. The Mishnah continues that the Tana Kama does agree that for certain baskets, it would depend on their use. Nevertheless R' Yehoshua maintains that rimonim is always the measure.

The Tosfot Yom Tov cites Rashi who explains that the reason why the first opinion discusses the utensils of homeowners, is because they will not readily discard their utensils. Consequently, even if a kli becomes perforated, the owner will keep it and repurpose it for a use where the hole would not be a problem. One might ask, why then is the size of rimonim nevertheless provided as a limit?

The Mikdash David writes that one would might assume that the shiur of rimonim is because if the kli has a hole that size, the kli is no longer useful. The issue with that explanation is that even if one finds a use for that kli it would still be tahor.

The Mikdash David direct our attention to the twenty-fifth perek where the Mishnah discusses keilim that have an achoraim ve'toch -- a backside and inside. That definition is important for when a tameh liquid comes into contact with keilim. The ability for tameh liquids to make keilim tameh is rabbinic. The Chachamim made a unique detail within this law so that is clear that the tumah is rabbinic. That is, that if the liquid touches the outside of the kli, only the outside is tameh. Consequently, it is important to understand when a kli that is susceptible to tumah is defined as having an inside and out.

The sixth Mishnah explains that if a (metal) kli has a hole the size of rimonim, it does not have an achoraim ve'toch.¹ The Mikdash David admits that that is a stringency for metal keilim since without an achoraim ve'toch, wherever the tameh liquid would touch, the entire kli would become tameh. Nevertheless, for our purposes, we learn that when the hole is that large, the kli does not have a toch. Put differently it does not have a receptacle. For wooden keilim that is critical, since without a beit kibbul, they are not susceptible to tumah. In other words, the size of the hole is important in our Mishnah not because of its effect on its utility -- that is the position of R' Eliezer. According to the Tana Kama the homeowner could use the kli with a hole for another purpose. Rather once it is that size, it is no longer considered as if it has a beit kibbul. Instead it is considered a flat piece of wood and not susceptible to tumah.

The Mikdash David cites the later Mishnah (24:2) that discusses different trolleys and their susceptibility to tumah. One of these is the trolley used to transport stones and the Mishnah teaches that it is not susceptible to tumah. Rashi explains that since it has such large holes -- larger than rimonim -- it is not considred a kli. That is even though it can function adequately in transporting the stones for which it is designed. The Mikdash David concludes that even though it is fit for purpose, once it has holes the size of rimonim it is no longer considered as having a beit kibbul. That is what Rashi means when he says, "it is not a kli". It is not a kli for the purposes of tumah since it is considered like a simple flat wooden vessel that is not susceptible to tumah.

¹ It is important to note that not everyone has that reading of the Mishnah. The Tifferet Yisrael for example explains that the text "that cannot contain rimonim" should be removed.

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