Before us is Mishnah 10 in chapter 8 of Maseches Terumos, which is a direct continuation of the previous Mishnah. Here too a similar case is presented: a vessel containing oil, not wine, that broke, with the oil seeping out and being absorbed into the ground. The oil is pure Terumah, and the question is whether a person is obligated to act to save it from being lost, when the only option available to him is the use of an impure vessel. The presentation and the ruling are entirely identical to those of the previous Mishnah.
The text of the Mishnah:
"V'chen chavis shel shemen shenishpechah" - and likewise a barrel of oil that spilled, with the Terumah oil being absorbed into the ground. "Modeh Rabbi Eliezer v'Rabbi Yehoshua she'im yesh lo etzlo revi'is b'taharah - yatzil" - both of them agree that if it is possible to save even a revi'is by running at top speed, bringing a pure vessel and returning, he is obligated to do so, since the Torah requires him to safeguard the Terumah and to save it.
The difference between this Mishnah and the previous one:
Here tumah is not part of the equation. We are saving the Terumah oil only from being lost - from being absorbed into the ground - and not from becoming impure, as was the case with the wine in the previous Mishnah. The reason is this: once wine becomes impure, there is not much use left for it, whereas oil, even if it becomes impure, can still be used for lighting. Therefore we do not allow the oil to be collected into an impure vessel placed beneath it; rather it is absorbed into the ground and goes to waste.
The position of Rabbi Eliezer:
Rabbi Eliezer's position is stated explicitly in this Mishnah, while Rabbi Yehoshua's position will be discussed in the next Mishnah. Rabbi Eliezer holds exactly as he did in the previous Mishnah: if there is not even a single revi'is that can be saved by running, nothing should be done. In his words: "Tered v'tibala v'al yavlienah b'yadav" - let the oil go down and be absorbed into the ground, and one should not act directly to save it when doing so means rendering the oil impure, for it is forbidden to make the oil impure.
In summary: in this Mishnah we learned that in the case of a barrel of pure Terumah oil that spilled, Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshua agree that if a revi'is can be saved in purity, one is obligated to save it. We noted that here the loss stems from absorption into the ground and not from tumah, and we saw the difference between wine and oil regarding their usefulness once they have become impure. We also saw Rabbi Eliezer's position, that if one is unable to save a revi'is in purity, let it go down and be absorbed, and let him not cause its absorption with his own hands.
In the next Mishnah, Mishnah 11, we will learn the position of Rabbi Yehoshua.