Mishnah Kelim 27:10-11

Sugya Map

• Issue: The status of a cloth fragment that has contracted midras (major) impurity and is subsequently divided. Does the loss of the minimum size ($3\times3$ handbreadths) retroactively purge the item, or does it retain tumat maga midras?
• Nafka Mina: Whether "form" (shem keli) or "physicality" (shiur) is the primary determinant of impurity.
• Primary Sources: Mishnah Kelim 27:10-11, Chullin 72b, Tosafot Yom Tov ad loc.

Text Snapshot

Mishnah Kelim 27:10: "If a piece of cloth three [handbreadths] square was divided, it is pure from midras uncleanness but is still unclean from contact with midras uncleanness."

• Nuance: The term "divided" (nichlak) implies a loss of the functional shiur necessary for midras (the status of a seat/step-upon item), yet the Mishna insists on a residual state of tuma.

Readings

• Rash MiShantz: Argues that the residual tuma exists because tumat beit hasatarim (hidden contact) is halachically significant—the act of tearing creates a moment where the parts rub against the source of tuma.
• Tosafot Yom Tov: Distinguishes between tearing a garment that loses its "vessel name" (shem keli), which purifies it entirely, and merely dividing a piece of cloth (chatichat beged), which retains its identity as a "piece of cloth," thus maintaining maga (contact) status even if the midras status is lost.

Friction

• Kushya: If the garment is no longer a functional seat ($<3\times3$), why does it remain tamei at all?
• Terutz: The Rashash notes that since the object was a valid keli when it contracted the midras, the degradation of the shiur only removes the midras status (the "primary" impurity), but the maga (contact) remains because the object never ceased to be a "piece of cloth."

Intertext

• Chullin 73a: Discusses the threshold of tuma retention during the destruction of a vessel's form.
• Sifra, Metzora 7: The fundamental requirement of "woven work" (ma'aseh oreg) as a condition for midras.

Psak/Practice

The Rambam (Hilkhot Kelim 23:9) rules that even if the cloth is no longer fit for midras, if it was once a full-sized vessel, it retains the impurity of contact. Practically, this serves as a meta-heuristic for tuma: once an object achieves the status of a keli (vessel), its susceptibility to impurity is not merely a function of its current dimensions but of its historical integration into the category of "useable objects."

Takeaway

Impurity is not just about current size, but about the history of the object's utility; a "vessel" does not simply evaporate into purity just because it has been cut to size.