Ohalos, Chapter 1, Mishnah 4. The opening chapter of Ohalos maps out how tumas meis travels from one thing to the next, and how many links such a chain can have before it runs out of strength. This Mishnah compares two carriers of that tumah, a human being and a vessel, and shows that each one has an area in which it is stricter than the other.
The opening statement
"Odom vekeilim mitam'in bemeis": both a person and vessels are subject to becoming tamei from a meis. But the Mishnah immediately teaches that they do not follow identical rules: "chomer be'odom mibekeilim vekeilim mibe'odom." There is a stringency that applies to a person and not to keilim, and in a different halacha there is a stringency that applies to keilim and not to a person.
The two basic rules to keep in hand
The whole Mishnah turns on a handful of rules laid down in the earlier mishnayos of the chapter:
- When a vessel touches the meis itself, it forfeits nothing of its rank: it too is an avi avos hatumah.
- When a person touches the meis, he does drop a rank, and he is only an av hatumah.
- A vessel that receives tumah from an av hatumah holds that same rank and is itself an av hatumah.
- A rishon letumah is the end of the road: it renders neither people nor vessels tamei.
The stringency of keilim: "shehakeilim shlosha veha'odom shnayim"
The Mishnah's first clause deals with what happens when the chain begins with a keli as opposed to with a person.
Take the case of vessels first. A vessel is brought against the meis; since vessels lose no rank at the corpse itself, this one carries the status of avi avos hatumah. Another vessel touches it and comes out an av hatumah. Yet another touches that one and emerges a rishon letumah. Three vessels in all have been rendered tamei, precisely the number given in the previous Mishnah, and there the sequence dies out, since nothing further, neither vessel nor person, can be affected by a rishon letumah.
Now begin with a person. If a person touches the meis, he does not remain an avi avos hatumah; he descends and is only an av hatumah. Should a second person touch him, that second person is tamei as well, but he is already a rishon letumah, and he will not pass anything on to a third person. Starting from a person, therefore, the tumah reaches only two. This is the strictness of keilim that a person does not share: a chain that opens with a keli stretches to three, while a chain that opens with a person reaches only two.
The stringency of odom: "ba'emtza," a person standing in a middle link
Now the Mishnah reverses the comparison. Where a human being occupies a middle position, the count can reach four; where no human being occupies that position, it stops at three.
Imagine a sequence built out of vessels only. The first vessel touches the meis and holds the rank of avi avos hatumah. The next one touches it and comes away an av hatumah. Whatever touches that one emerges a rishon letumah. Now bring a fourth vessel against it: nothing occurs at all, for the chapter has already taught us that a rishon letumah has no effect on a vessel. Vessels by themselves, then, carry the tumah no further than three.
Take out the middle vessel and stand a person there in its place, and the count grows to four. The vessel at the corpse holds the rank of avi avos hatumah. A person handles that vessel; since people always lose a rank, he is an av hatumah, second in the sequence. He then touches a vessel, the third link, and now the special rule takes effect: a vessel that receives its tumah from an av hatumah does not slip down to rishon letumah but keeps the rank of av hatumah. That third vessel is therefore still potent, and a fourth vessel touching it emerges a rishon letumah, tamei in its own right. Slipping a person into the middle has brought the total to four.
Review
Both a person and keilim can contract tumah from a meis, and each has its own stringency.
The stringency of keilim lies at the head of the chain. A keli that touches the meis holds its full strength as an avi avos hatumah, so the sequence runs keli (avi avos hatumah), keli (av hatumah), keli (rishon letumah): three links in all, and there it ends, because a rishon letumah conveys nothing further to a person or a vessel. A person who touches the meis, by contrast, immediately drops to av hatumah. Whatever he touches next, whether a keli or another person, is already a rishon letumah, and the chain closes. Beginning with a person yields only two.
Where a person is stricter is in a middle position. Vessels on their own transmit no further than three links. Insert a person partway along and the total climbs to four: the vessel at the corpse holds the rank of avi avos hatumah, the person who handles it is an av hatumah, the vessel he touches keeps the rank of av hatumah, and a fourth vessel touching that one turns into a rishon letumah. It is the presence of the person partway through that allows the fourth item to become tamei.