012b הכל ממירין פרק ראשון תמורה יב ע"ב - HAKOL MEMIRIN CHAPTER ONE TEMURAH

“And they are pure”: drawn water purifies through rebiyah^[1] and through hamshakhah. From this it follows that the Rabbis hold that [drawn water does not purify] through rebiyah and hamshakhah.

והן טהורין - Fit for immersion in it.

מטהרת ברבייה והמשכה - When most of it is rain water that fell into it of its own accord, and a minority of drawn water was channeled into it through a trench, the drawn water purifies. This follows the reckoning of our Mishnah: drawn water disqualifies a pool through channeling only if there were twenty se’ah in it.

מכלל דרבנן כו' - That is: since our Mishnah names R. Eliezer ben Yaakov and not the Rabbis, and the Mishnah speaks leniently (it teaches that drawn water disqualifies only by reckoning), it follows that the Rabbis disagree about stringency.

But [this is] what Ravin said when he came: R. Yochanan said, drawn water^[2] that was drawn in its entirety into the pool is pure.

אלא הא דכי אתא רבין ואמר שאובה שהמשיכוה כולה כשרה - But [it is] what Ravin said when he came: that even if the entire pool is of drawn water channeled into it, it is valid; this is neither R. Eliezer’s view nor the Rabbis’.

Whose view is it? Not the Rabbis’ and not R. Eliezer’s.

Rather, Rava said: it is according to the count of the vessels, and it is the view of Yosef ben Chuni^[3].

אלא אמר רב פפא - The Rabbis disagree about leniency, and what Ravin said when he came is the Rabbis’ view. The Mishnah does not speak this way, for one might have said it is R. Eliezer’s view and that the Rabbis disagree about stringency.

אלא לפי חשבון כלים - Rather, according to the reckoning of the vessels; and this is Yosef ben Chuni’s view.

As it was taught: three logs of drawn water that fell into a pool from two or three vessels, even from four or five vessels, disqualify the pool; Yosef ben Chuni says: two or three vessels disqualify the pool, four or five vessels do not disqualify the pool.^[4]

שנפלו - Into the pool from the vessel, into the pool by channeling.

בב' או בג' כלים - That a whole log fell from each vessel, it is disqualified. But from four or five vessels, where a whole log does not fall at once, they do not disqualify it. And according to the reckoning of the Mishnah too, this is what it means.

Nor is the water of purification made into water of purification^[5], etc.

Whose view is this? R. Chiya bar Abba^[6] said in the name of R. Yochanan: [the Mishnah is] not like R. Shimon.

(אלא על מתן אפר. בשעת מתן אפר נעשו מי חטאת אלמא בעינן מים ברישא דאי מים בסוף לא הוו מי חטאת דהא בשעת מתן אפר לא נעשו מי חטאת דלא היו שם מים): דלא כר"ש - (Rather, at the giving of the ash: at the time the ash was given they became water of purification, which shows that water must come first; for had the water come last they would not have become water of purification, since at the time the ash was given there was no water there.) Not like R. Shimon: for according to R. Shimon, if the ash came first it is valid.

As it was taught: if one put the earth first into the water, it is invalid; but R. Shimon validates it.

דתניא - Concerning a sotah^[7]: if he put the earth from the floor first into the water in an invalid vessel, etc.

What is R. Shimon’s reason? As it is written: And they shall take for the unclean of the dust of the burning of the sin-offering, and running water shall be put upon it.

ואמרינן מאי טעמיה דר"ש דכתיב - Concerning the water of purification: “and they shall take for the unclean of the dust”, and it was taught, etc.

And it was taught: R. Shimon^[8] says: Is it earth? Is it not ash?^[9] The verse departed from its plain meaning in order to derive a ruling from it.

By a gezeirah shavah^[10]: “earth” is stated here, and “earth” is stated there (Numbers 5). Just as there the earth is on the water, so here the earth is on the water.

נאמר כאן - It says here: earth, for the water of purification; and it says in the sotah: earth. Just as in the sotah the earth is on the water, as written: and of the dust that is on the floor, etc., so here earth on the water; and this is the ideal way of fulfilling its mitzvah.

And just as there, placing the earth first into the water is valid, so here, placing the earth first into the water is valid.

ומה כאן כו' - As he explains. And here, concerning the water of purification, how do we know? So it appears that R. Shimon holds that for the water of purification, placing the earth first into the water is valid.

And how do we know it here? Two verses are written: and he shall put upon it, which shows that the ash comes first; and then it is written: fresh water into a vessel.

וכתיב מים חיים אל כלי - Which implies that the water is to be placed into the vessel and not onto the earth; for “into a vessel” implies that earth placed first is invalid.

How is this? If he wished, the earth below; if he wished, the earth above^[11].

And our tanna, what is his reason? He tells you: the end of the verse^[12] is precise: “and he shall put upon it,” to mix them.

עליו לערבן - “And he shall put upon it” does not mean that if he put the earth first it is valid; it means: take care that after putting the earth into the water he mix them well with his finger, and bring the water beneath it up over it.

What do you see, that you say the end of the verse is precise? Let the beginning be precise; can you not say that?

ואימא רישא דקרא דוקא - “Say the beginning is exact”: that the ash comes before the water, as written, “and he shall put upon it water, and into a vessel.” This comes to teach that the water should be kept alive in a vessel, so that one does not fill it into another vessel and pour it into this one; rather one puts it into the spring and draws the water into it.

Answer: as everywhere^[13] we find that the upper one validates, so here too the upper one validates.

ומשני מה מצינו בכל מקום - Answering: for example, in the sotah the earth is on top, which alone validates the water; and where it is on top, all agree it is a mitzvah to put the water first, as written: “and of the dust, etc.”

אף כאן מכשיר למעלה - Therefore, of necessity, the end of the verse is for its own sake, and the beginning is for the derivation of the mixing.

Nor does a bayit hapras make a bayit hapras^[14], etc.

Our Mishnah is not like R. Eliezer, for we learned: R. Eliezer says: a bayit hapras makes a bayit hapras; and the Rabbis [say otherwise].

רבי אליעזר אומר בית הפרס עושה בית הפרס - All four fields around the bayit hapras, if they were plowed: the earth of the bayit hapras makes them unclean.

How far? When Rav Dimi came, he said in the name of Resh Lakish^[15]: R. Shimon bar Abba said: [the page ends here; the statement is not printed].

תוספות

אלא אמר רב פפא - according to the reckoning of the vessels, that is, the water fell from three vessels matching the count of the logs; and this is Yosef ben Chuni’s view. According to this the Rabbis disagree about leniency; what Ravin said when he came is the Rabbis’ view, and the Mishnah does not speak in this way. Tosafot then raises objections from Taanit 13b and from Mikvaot 6:8 and 4:4 against the idea that drawn water is valid by channeling alone, and answers them. It concludes that according to Rashi the halakhah follows R. Eliezer ben Yaakov, while drawn water entering by rebiyah and hamshakhah is valid according to all. [Condensed translation of a long comment; see the Hebrew for the full discussion.]

יוסף בן חוני אומר בשנים ושלשה כלים פוסלים את המקוה בארבעה וחמשה כלים אין פוסלין - and according to the reckoning in our Mishnah, drawn water disqualifies a pool only if three logs fell in from two or three vessels; if they fell in from four or five, they do not disqualify. Rav Avraham bar David ruled that the halakhah follows Yosef ben Chuni. Therefore, when one cleans a pool by removing its water and letting in other water, one need not worry even if some of the earlier water remains, or drips from the bucket so that more than three logs of drawn water are there, since presumably three logs did not fall from three vessels. Some are stringent and pierce the bucket so that it drains, because of this concern.

הא כיצד רצה עפר למטה רצה עפר למעלה - then what is the gezeirah shavah for? It is answered: for the mitzvah, water is needed first and afterwards the earth, as written in Sotah (Numbers 5:17): “and of the earth that is on the floor of the Mishkan the priest shall take and put into the water”; therefore the gezeirah shavah is needed.

Notes

1. 1. Rebiyah: drawn water poured into a pool that already holds kosher water, so that the kosher water is the majority. Hamshakhah: drawn water channeled into the pool through a trench.
2. 2. Drawn water (mayim she’uvin): water drawn in vessels, as opposed to spring or rain water. It disqualifies a pool when enough of it enters.
3. 3. Yosef ben Chuni: a tanna whose view on how much drawn water disqualifies a pool is cited here (general knowledge; not stated on the page).
4. 4. A log is a small liquid measure; the disqualification is counted in logs (general knowledge).
5. 5. The water of purification: water mixed with the ashes of the red heifer and sprinkled on the impure. The Mishnah cited here concerns the order in which the water and the ash are placed.
6. 6. Rabbi Chiya bar Abba, an Amora and a student of R. Yochanan (general knowledge).
7. 7. A sotah: a wife suspected of adultery, who undergoes the test of the bitter waters (Numbers 5); earth from the floor of the Mishkan is put into water for her (general knowledge).
8. 8. R. Shimon, a tanna who holds that the earth may be put into the water first.
9. 9. Earth (afar) and ash (efer): the verse says earth, but the ritual uses the ash of the burnt sin-offering. R. Shimon says the verse departs from its plain meaning in order to teach a ruling.
10. 10. Gezeirah shavah: a method of deriving a law from the same word appearing in two verses (here, “earth”).
11. 11. The two arrangements: the earth below the water, or the earth on top of it. The Gemara asks which the verse requires and answers that either is possible.
12. 12. The end of the verse (“and he shall put upon it”) is read as an exact instruction; the beginning is read as the source of the mixing rule.
13. 13. The principle that elsewhere in the Torah the upper element is the one that validates.
14. 14. Bayit hapras: a plot of ground in which a grave is hidden, its impurity spreading around it (general knowledge).
15. 15. Resh Lakish, an Amora and a colleague of R. Yochanan (general knowledge).