Oholos 15:8 - 15:9

חצר הקבר – he courtyard that surrounds from its four directions four caves of graves.

טהור עד שיהא בה ארבע אמות – all the while that there are four cubits the person who stands in its midst is ritually pure. But less than four cubits, the person who stands in its midst is impure, but if there aren’t there other than three caves from three directions and the fourth direction of the courtyard is open to the airspace of the world, even if he isn’t is not distanced from the opening of the cave other than whatever the amount, he is pure, as long as he doesn’t touch the lintel of the opening of the cave. And these words [apply] when the courtyard of the grave is marked with a partition, but for a mere corpse [it takes only] four cubits for defilement.

גולל לקבר – a covering on the opening of the burial cave.

אלא כנגד הפתח (only the part directly opposite the opening) – of the burial crave. But a person who touches the end that is placed outside of the grave, is ritually pure.

עשה ראשה גולל לקבר – and behold it stands over the burial cave like a tree. A person who comes in contact with it at four handbreadths near the burial cave is impure because of the stone placed on top of a burial cave/top stone, but from four [handbreadths] and above, he is pure.

בזמן שהוא עתיד לגוד – to cut it off. And even though he did not cut it yet. [The word] לגוד is like (Daniel 4:20): “[The holy Watcher whom the king saw descend from heaven and say,] Hew down the tree [and destroy it].”

כולו חיבור – all he while that he did not cut it, and even though he will ultimately cut it down. But the Halakha is not according to Rabbi Yehuda.

הנוגע בה – all the time that it is a covering on the opening of a burial cave.

טמא טומאת שבעה – as it is written (Numbers 19:16): “And in the open, anyone who touches a person [who was killed or who died naturally, or human bone, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days],” including the stone placed on top of a burial cave/גולל and the frame supporting the movable stone of a tomb/דופק.

והחבית והמשקין טהורים – that an earthenware vessel that is surrounded with an air-tight lid is pure from being defiled in the tent of a corpse, as it states (Numbers 19:15): “And every open vessel, with no lid fastened down, shall be unclean,” but if it is has an air-tight lid upon it, it is pure, and an earthenware vessel that Scripture speaks of is not susceptible to receive defilement from outside it/above it.

רבי מאיר אומר וכו' – But the Halakha is not according to Rabbi Meir, but rather even though you don’t have a thing that is a living, breathing creature and it defiles, outside of a human being, nevertheless, they defile because of the top-fitting cover all the while that they are top-fitting covers for a burial cave.