Eduyos 1:14 - 2:1

כלי חרס מציל על הכל – an earthenware utensil that is surrounded by something closely covered with a lid protects everything that is inside it when it is the tent of a dead person, and will not defile anything that is inside it, as it is written (Numbers 19:15): “And every open vessel, with no lid fastened down, shall be unclean,” but if it has a lid fastened down, it is pure and what is inside it, it does not matter whether it is utensils, or food-stuffs or drink. And the Biblical verse is speaking about an earthenware vessel, as it is written, “And every open vessel,” concerning that which defiles through its opening, and does not defile through its back.

אינו מציל אלא על אוכלין ומשקין ועל כלי חרס – but on other kinds of utensils, it does not protect as will be explained further on.

מפני מה וכו' מפני שהוא טמא על גב עם הארץ – for everything that is found with the ignoramuses whether utensils, food-stuffs and liquids/drink, all are considered impure, because they are not expert in the laws of the impurity and purity and consider that which is impure to be pure.

ואין כלי טמא חוצץ – it does not offer protection against the defilement other than only a pure utensil, but an impure utensil cannot protect on what is inside of it, and these utensils belonging to the ignoramuses are considered to be ritually impure and do not offer protection.

לעצמו טיהרנו – to the ignoramus himself we have declared it pure, and we should not suspect that perhaps a Haver/ a member of the order for the observance of Levitical laws in daily intercourse, would come to use them, for they are separated from contact with them and without this, also, all of their food would be ritually impure; therefore, food and drink and earthenware utensils which have no purity in the Mikveh, for when they were in the midst of a vessel with a lid fastened down belong to the ignoramuses, we say to them that they are ritually pure [for them], and they can use them they are the ones who consider their utensils to be considered pure, and we don’t suspect lest a Haver will borrow one from them and use them, for they are, for him, in a status of impurity and they can never have ritual purity ever. But a vessel that only requires only rinsing in order to be restored to Levitical cleanness where there is a suspicion that a Haver will borrow it from them and immerse them [in the Mikveh] and use them without sprinkling on the third and seventh day, for he will not know that they were defiled in the tent of a dead person, and would think that a mere immersion [in the Mikveh] would be sufficient to rescue it from the ritual impurity that it sustained while with the ignoramus, and that is why it is taught in our Mishnah: “You have declared it ritually clean/pure both for the ignoramus and for you,” and a Haver would come to use it. Therefore, they made the law equivalent for all and said that a vessel that requires only rinsing in order to be restored to Levitical cleanness is saved with a lid fastened down, which does not belong either to a Haver nor to an ignoramus. And if they came to make a decree that an earthenware utensil of an ignoramus shall never be saved with a lid fastened down because it is considered ritually impure and no impure vessel can protect/save it, none of the ignoramuses would accept it from them, because they would hold that they are expert and guard their utensils in ritual purity and they can protect their utensils.

רבי חנינא סגן הכהנים העיד. מלשרוף את הבשר שנטמא בולד הטומאה – the offspring of the offspring is stated. The meat which is third [level of impurity] which was defiled with something of the offspring of an offspring,, that is to say, it came in contact with something of second-level impurity, and it became third-level of impurity, they did not prevent from burning with meat that that was defiled with something of a direct cause of Levitical uncleanness, which is the first level of impurity. And when this meat that was at first third-level of impurity comes in contact with that which was defiled with a direct cause of impurity, it returns to be second-degree of impurity, for it came in contact with first-level of impurity and became second, and it is found they added one level of ritual impurity upon its impurity, for initially it was third-level and now is second, and even though that they didn’t prevent from burning with something more severe than it, for since even that which is the lesser for burning stands, they did not suspect if they would make it more impure than it already was. And even though, according to the Torah, no food can make another food impure, as it states regarding something the defiling of food (Deuteronomy 14:8, 14): “It is impure [for you.” It is ritually impure but it does defile food or something similar. Nevertheless, the Rabbis decreed that foods can make other foods impure.

השמן – of Priest’s due/Terumah that was defiled by someone who had bathed [in a Mikveh] but must wait for sunset to be perfectly clean, which is third-level of impurity, for a person who had bathed [in a Mikveh] but is waiting for sunset to be perfectly clean defiles Terumah from the Torah and makes it third-level of impurity.

בנר שנטמא בטמא מת – this is a metallic candle and not of earthenware, for all utensils outside of earthenware utensils that came in contact with the defilement of the dead person become like it, it is principal level of impurity, it is a principle level of impurity, if it is a first level of impurity, it is a first level of impurity, as it is written (Numbers 19:16): “[And in the open, anyone who touches a person] who was killed [or died naturally, or human bone, or a grave, shall be impure seven days].” And they (i.e., the Rabbis) expound upon “who was killed” he is like someone who was slain, for the sword that had come in contact with the dead became like one of the original causes of Levitical uncleanness like the dead person himself. And when it had come in contact with something defiled by contact with the dead, which is a primary [cause of Levitical uncleanness], the sword also became a primary [cause of Levitical uncleanness], and all utensils are like a sword in the law, except for earthenware vessels. It is found that the metallic candle when it came in contact with something defiled by a dead person, it too became a primary [cause of Levitical] uncleanness. And now Rabbi Akiva adds on to the words of Rabbi Hanina the Assistant Priest, for Rabbi Hanina did not permit other than to restore something that had been third-level uncleanness to something second-level uncleanness. But Rabbi Akiva permitted restoring something that was third-level uncleanness to first level, for the oil that had been defiled by contact with a person who has ritually bathed but must wait for sunset to be perfectly clean, who is third-degree level of impurity, when they kindle it with a candle that had been defiled by contact with the dead, the candle itself becomes a primary form of Levitical uncleanness as we have stated and third-level [of impurity] returns to be first-level of impurity. And even though they did not prevent it, for since the title of impurity is upon it, we do not suspect him and it is permitted to add with his hands.