Chapter 3, Mishnah 2. We continue with the disputes between Rabbi Dosa ben Harkinas and the Sages, and here too Rabbi Dosa is the lenient one in every case. Three subjects are before us: combining foods to transmit tumah, redeeming Maaser Sheni onto an unstamped coin, and purity of the hands before handling the waters of the parah adumah.
Combining foods to transmit tumah:
The first testimony deals with combination - joining small pieces together in order to transmit tumah, much like the previous Mishnah, except that here we are dealing with the tumah of foods. The basic rule in the tumah of foods is that foodstuffs become tamei regardless of their size: even a single almond or a small grape becomes tamei, and as the early commentators (the Rambam and the Raavad) put it - "tumah in any amount whatsoever." But in order to transmit tumah to something else, all agree that the food must have the volume of an egg.
The question is what the law is with two pieces or more, none of which has the volume of an egg on its own, but which together add up to that measure. For example: a pile of peanuts that became tamei (because they were under one roof with a corpse), and a piece of meat touching all of them at one and the same moment. No single peanut has the volume of an egg, but the total volume adds up to an egg. Does the piece of meat become tamei?
Rabbi Dosa: They do not combine, and the meat does not become tamei.
The Sages: They do combine to the volume of an egg and transmit their tumah, provided that the contact is simultaneous, just as we saw in the previous Mishnah.
In the words of the Mishnah: "Ochel parud eino mitztaref - divrei Rabbi Dosa ben Harkinas. VaChachamim omrim: mitztaref" - separated food does not combine, these are the words of Rabbi Dosa ben Harkinas; and the Sages say: it does combine. Our version reads "parud," meaning pieces separated from one another, from the word "nifrad"; others read "parur," from the word crumbs that have broken apart. Either way, the dispute is whether they combine to the volume of an egg required to transmit tumah.
The halachah follows the Sages - the food does combine. The Rambam, however, requires that the pieces be pressed together and stuck to one another: not individual peanuts, but a peanut bar or peanut butter and the like.
Redeeming Maaser Sheni onto an unstamped coin:
The second subject is the redemption of Maaser Sheni onto coins, an issue that comes up many times throughout Shas. In years one, two, four and five of the shemittah cycle a person must separate Maaser Sheni from his produce and bring it up to be eaten in Jerusalem. One who wishes to avoid the trouble of bringing it up may redeem it onto coins, as it says: "V'tzarta hakesef b'yadecha v'halachta el hamakom asher yivchar Hashem" - you shall bind up the money in your hand and go to the place that Hashem will choose, that is, Jerusalem.
The word "v'tzarta" seems superfluous - what is the verse adding by speaking of binding the money in one's hand? It would have been enough to say that he should take the money and go. Rabbi Dosa and the Sages disagree about its interpretation:
The Sages: "V'tzarta" is from the word tzurah, form - the coin must have a form upon it, that is, a stamp and an impression. One who redeems his maaser onto a piece of metal or onto a smooth silver disc that bears no stamp has not fulfilled the verse, and this is not a valid redemption.
Rabbi Dosa: "V'tzarta" is from the word tzror, bundle - those coins that a person bundles up in his hand for safekeeping and for spending are the ones fit for transferring sanctity onto them. Even a coin that bears no impression is something a person guards and uses (just as a silver or gold coin nowadays is not legal tender, whether or not it bears an impression, and nevertheless people hold on to it and occasionally buy with it) - and therefore even a plain disc of silver or gold is fit for redemption.
In the words of the Mishnah: "Mechallelin maaser sheni al asimon - divrei Rabbi Dosa. VaChachamim omrim: ein mechallelin" - one may redeem Maaser Sheni onto an asimon, these are the words of Rabbi Dosa; and the Sages say: one may not redeem. An asimon is a coin that has not been stamped, an ingot or a smooth disc of silver. The halachah follows the Sages.
Purifying the hands before handling mei chatas:
The third case deals with purifying the hands before handling mei chatas - purifying waters drawn from a spring to which the ashes of the red heifer are added, used in the process of removing the tumah of a corpse.
An introduction to the laws of tumah: food and drink can only become a second degree of tumah, and there the matter ends. The Sages added that Terumah becomes a third degree and kodashim become a fourth degree, meaning that they are more sensitive. They further said that a person's hands are considered a second degree of tumah - both ordinary hands, where it is not known what they touched (perhaps they touched a soiled place or became dirty with sweat), and hands that touched something tamei, such as tamei food or drink. Although a second degree of tumah does not render chullin tamei, it does disqualify Terumah and kodashim.
By Torah law, a person is either entirely tamei or entirely tahor, and there is no situation in which part of his body is tamei and part is tahor. But the Sages were concerned that people would not treat Terumah and kodashim with the respect they deserve, and would touch them with dirty hands, and as a result the food would become repulsive or the sense of reverence toward Terumah and kodashim would be diminished. They therefore decreed that the hands must be washed before touching them.
There are two ways to purify the hands:
Netilas yadayim: from a vessel and with a measure of at least a revi'is of water, the way we wash our hands for bread.
Immersing the hands: immersing the hands in a mikvah.
Both methods are effective, and from here we get the gradations of the law: Terumah requires netilas yadayim when it is not known that the hands are clean; kodashim require immersion of the hands in a mikvah when the hands became tamei through contact with a source of tumah.
Kodashim are the end of the line in terms of sensitivity and restriction in maintaining purity, with one exception: mei chatas, regarding which the Sages applied extreme levels of stringency in matters of tumah and taharah, for reasons beyond our scope here. Hence the question: someone whose hands touched something that is a second degree of tumah - contact that requires netilah for Terumah and immersion of the hands for kodashim - is immersing the hands enough for mei chatas, or did the Sages raise the bar and require him to immerse his entire body in a mikvah? All of this is rabbinic, in order to protect the sanctity and preserve a person's awareness of the holiness of these things. Here too, Rabbi Dosa is the lenient one and the Sages are the stringent ones.
In the words of the Mishnah: "Matbilin yadayim la'chatas - divrei Rabbi Dosa. Va'chachamim omrim: nitme'u yadav, nitma gufo" - one immerses the hands for the chatas waters, these are the words of Rabbi Dosa; and the Sages say: if his hands became tamei, his whole body became tamei. According to Rabbi Dosa, immersing the hands in a mikvah is sufficient when they became tamei through contact with a second degree of tumah; according to the Sages, once his hands became tamei it is as though his entire body became tamei, and he must immerse in a mikvah, a complete immersion, before handling the mei chatas.
It is worth noting that the Sages do not hold that ordinary hands, where it is not known what they touched, require immersion in a mikvah before handling mei chatas. But if he touched tumah, and even a second degree of tumah which renders the hands tamei only by rabbinic law - according to the Sages, and this is the halachah, he must immerse his entire body in a mikvah, a complete immersion, before sprinkling the mei chatas.
In summary: this Mishnah contains three testimonies in which Rabbi Dosa ben Harkinas is lenient and the Sages are stringent: combining separated pieces of food to make up the measure of an egg for transmitting tumah; redeeming maaser sheni onto a blank coin that bears no stamp; and immersing only the hands for the sake of mei chatas. In all three the halachah follows the Sages.