Keilim, Chapter 11, Mishnah 6. This chapter deals with kelim made of metal, and with the difference between a keli that is truly made of metal and a keli made of wood that has merely been coated over with metal. Our Mishnah applies these principles to the tools of the spinner, and along the way it raises a fascinating question: when we want to know whether an object has an identity of its own, whose language do we listen to?
The spindle and its parts
The Mishnah speaks about a spindle, the simple instrument that turns raw wool into thread. It has several parts. In the center is a rod. At the very top of the rod there is a hook, and at the bottom there is a weight. The raw fibers are fastened to the hook, and then the whole apparatus is set spinning. As it turns, the loose fibers twist together and emerge as thread. The weight at the bottom serves to hold the spindle down and steady, so that the thread being drawn out stays taut; without that anchor the spinning could not work properly.
Our Mishnah discusses such a weight when it is made of metal.
Rebbi Akiva and the Chachamim
The Mishnah teaches: "Pika shel matechet" - a spindle weight made of metal. "Rebbi Akiva metamei" - Rebbi Akiva holds that it can become tamei in its own right, because it has an identity of its own. "Vachachamim metaharin" - the Chachamim hold that it is tahor, since it has no independent identity.
To appreciate the dispute, recall a principle we met earlier in the masechet. A piece of metal that stands as its own keli is susceptible to tumah on its own. But a piece of metal that is simply one component of a larger keli, such as a branch of a menorah, does not become tamei by itself; its status depends entirely on the keli to which it belongs.
Everything hinges on nomenclature. Taken by itself, this object bears the name "pika," a weight, and nothing more. Yet ordinary people do not leave the name at that: they attach the spindle to it, speaking of a "pika shel kush," a spindle's weight. The artisans who spin for a living, by contrast, know it simply as a pika. Whose vocabulary, then, determines the halachah: the way the broad public speaks, or the way the professionals of that trade speak?
The Chachamim follow the majority of people. Since most of the world identifies the object by naming the spindle along with it, the weight is defined as a part of another keli. It therefore has no identity of its own and cannot contract tumah on its own, only through its attachment to the spindle. Rebbi Akiva follows those who use the object most, the spinners themselves, who call it a pika and nothing more. In his view the weight stands as its own keli and is susceptible to tumah independently.
Wood plated with metal
The Mishnah continues: "Umtzupeh tahor" - and one that is only plated is tahor. Here everyone agrees. If the wooden shaft of the spindle has been overlaid with metal, it remains tahor, because the essential keli is a wooden one, and this wooden rod has no receptacle and is thus not susceptible to tumah. The metal coating does not change what the keli fundamentally is.
A list of metal kelim
The Mishnah now lists a series of similar items. "Hakush" - the spindle, meaning the central rod itself. "Veha'ima" - the distaff, the rod that holds the raw fibers before they are spun; the fibers are drawn from the distaff, wound onto the hook of the spindle, and twisted into thread as it turns. "Vehamakel" - a stick used for driving animals. "Vehasimponya" - a wind instrument. "Vehachalil" - a flute.
A word about the makel. It is not an implement that serves the animal; it is held by a person in order to control the animal. Since it serves a human being, it counts as a keli and is capable of becoming tamei.
Concerning all of these the Mishnah rules: "Temei'in" - when they are made of metal, they are susceptible to tumah. "Umtzupin tehorin" - but if they are made of wood and merely plated with metal, they remain tahor. The reason is that these objects have no receptacle at all; they are not used to hold anything. A metal keli is susceptible even without a receptacle, but a wooden keli of this sort is not, and the plating does not upgrade it.
A simponya with a receptacle
The Mishnah closes with a case where the rule changes: "Simponya im yesh bah beit kibul kenafayim" - if the simponya has a receptacle for its valves, meaning the recesses that one presses and releases in order to change the notes. In that case, "bein kach uvein kach temei'ah" - it is susceptible either way, whether it was fashioned entirely of metal or whether it is wood plated with metal. Once there is a receptacle that serves some function, even a wooden keli becomes susceptible to tumah.
So this Mishnah leaves us with two lasting lessons. First, that the identity of an object can hinge on the way people speak about it, and that Rebbi Akiva and the Chachamim differ over whose speech sets the standard. Second, that metal plating never disguises the true nature of a keli: a wooden implement without a receptacle stays tahor beneath its metal shell, while a wooden implement that does hold something is susceptible in any case.