Chagigah Chapter 3, Mishnah 1. This chapter opens with a discussion, in its first three mishnayos, of the stringencies that the halachah applies to kodesh - sacred foods and offerings - as opposed to Terumah. The fourth mishnah will list the matters in which Terumah is the more stringent of the two.
"Chomer bakodesh mibaterumah" - kodesh is more stringent than Terumah:
The mishnah opens by listing the matters in which kodesh is more stringent than Terumah.
"Shematbilin keilim betoch keilim" - that vessels may be immersed inside other vessels:
For Terumah, one may immerse one vessel inside another, and we do not worry that the weight of the inner vessel will press down on the outer one to the point that water cannot penetrate between them, creating a chatzitzah (an interposition) in the immersion. For kodesh, however, we do not permit placing one vessel inside another, out of concern that the vessels pressing against one another will prevent the water from entering. That is one stringency.
"Achorayim, vetoch, uveis hatzevitah" - the outside, the inside, and the grip:
A vessel has three distinct parts:
Achorayim - the outer surface of the vessel.
Toch - the inside of the vessel.
Beis hatzevitah - an indentation made in the vessel so that one can insert his fingers into it and hold the vessel, a sort of inner handle, as is found in certain vessels. Some have the reading "beis hatzevisah," from the word etzba, a finger.
For Terumah, these three parts are treated as separate units with regard to tumah and taharah. This applies to tumah of rabbinic origin, such as liquids that are a rishon letumah (a first degree of tumah), which render a vessel tamei by rabbinic law and not by Torah law - unless we are dealing with a special liquid, such as certain bodily fluids of a zav or a zavah, whose status is that of an av hatumah (a primary source of tumah), and this itself is the reason the Sages decreed that ordinary liquids render a vessel tamei. With Terumah, if one of these parts became tamei, it does not render the rest of the vessel tamei, and each part stands on its own. With kodesh, however, if one of these three became tamei, even with a rabbinic tumah, the entire vessel becomes tamei.
"Hanosei es hamidras nosei es haterumah, aval lo es hakodesh" - one who carries an object with midras tumah may carry Terumah, but not kodesh:
A person carrying an object that has midras tumah, whose status is that of an av hatumah - such as a cushion that a zav or zavah sat upon - may carry Terumah along with it, and as long as he does not touch the Terumah but merely carries it, he does not render it tamei. With kodesh, however, this was forbidden. The reason is an incident that occurred: a man was carrying a barrel of wine of kodesh from place to place, and the strap of his sandal, which had midras tumah, tore. He placed the sandal on the mouth of the barrel, and the sandal fell into the airspace of the barrel and rendered everything tamei. This incident happened with kodesh and not with Terumah, and from here comes the stringency in kodesh alone.
"Bigdei ochlei terumah midras lakodesh" - the garments of those who eat Terumah have midras status with respect to kodesh:
As we learned in the previous chapter, the garments of those who eat Terumah are considered midras with respect to those who eat kodesh. The care and vigilance a person exercises at the level of Terumah is not considered adequate guarding for kodesh, and therefore we are concerned that perhaps his wife sat on the garment while she was a niddah and thereby gave it midras tumah, so we assign the garment the status of midras when kodesh is involved.
"Lo kemidas hakodesh midas haterumah" - the standard of kodesh is not the standard of Terumah:
The status of kodesh is not identical to the status of Terumah with regard to immersing vessels. In the case of a vessel made up of several parts that are tied to one another:
For kodesh: "Matir, umenageiv, umatbil, ve'achar kach koshair" - he unties the parts of the vessel from one another, wipes and dries them so that no outside water will be on them other than the water of the mikvah, immerses them, and only afterward ties the vessel back together so that it functions.
For Terumah: he immerses the vessel in its tied state, and there is no need for its parts to be separated at the time of immersion; he may leave it tied.
In summary: This mishnah lists the stringencies of kodesh as opposed to Terumah: the prohibition against immersing vessels inside other vessels; viewing the outside, the inside, and the grip as a single unit with regard to tumah; the prohibition against one who carries a midras object carrying kodesh, because of the incident that occurred; the midras status imposed on the garments of those who eat Terumah; and the obligation to untie, dry, and immerse before tying.