Keilim 27:10 - 27:11

שלשה על שלשה שנחלק – a cloth which has in it three handbreadths by three handbreadths which had been defiled by treading uncleanness of a person with gonorrhea, and afterwards, it was divided, and there isn’t in any one of them by the way of the measurement of defilement by treading, in this, there is a dispute between the first Tanna/teacher and Rabbi Yossi, that the first Tanna/teacher holds that he is impure through contact with treading, but Rabbi Yossi holds that he is pure completely. But the cloth of three [handbreadths] by three [handbreadths] that that was separated from a large cloth that was [defiled] through treading, everyone admits that at the time of their separation from their “father”, it received the defilement from their “father.” And the Halakha is not according to Rabbi Yossi.

בריא וצורר מלח (sound and capable of wrapping up salt) – this is our reading. A cloth that is placed in the trash is voided from the designation/nature of a cloth, unless it has two things: that it is sound and strong and appropriate to wrap in it a quarter Kab of salt. But if it is found in the house, since it wasn’t thrown in the garbage, it is still valuable/regarded but one qualification is enough, either it is sound/firm even though it is not capable of wrapping up salt or it wraps up salt even though it is not sound/firm.

ר' יהודה אומר בדקה – always it does not become defiled until it wraps up a quarter [of a Kab] of fine salt.

וחכמים אומרים – it does not become susceptible to impurity until it wraps up coarse salt.

אלו ואלו מתכוונים להקל – Rabbi Yehuda holds that fine [salt] must be wrapped in a sound and very strong cloth, because of its heaviness, that it is heavier than the coarse salt. Therefore, he estimates until it holds the fine salt, to be lenient regarding it so that it does not become defiled. But the Rabbis hold that coarse salt requires a cloth that is even more sound, because of its pointed projections and horns that protrude. Therefore, they estimate with the coarse salt to be susceptible to be defiled, in order to be lenient on the cloth that holds the thin salt that it should not become defiled.

שוין שלשה על שלשה באשפה לשלש על שלש בבית – just the three [handbreadth] by three [handbreadth cloth] in the house is defiled through corpse uncleanness and are not defiled through treading/Midras uncleanness, so the three [handbreadth] by three [handbreadth cloth] that is in the garbage become defiled through corpse uncleanness and are not defiled through treading. For their importance has been invalidated after he threw it into the trash. And the Halakha is according to the Sages alone.