Mishnayos Shekalim Perek 8 Mishnah 3
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שקלים פרק ח׳ משנה ג׳
The mishna continues with another ruling about ritual purity: One may slaughter immediately with a knife that was found on the fourteenth of Nisan, i.e., the day the Paschal lamb is slaughtered, and need not be concerned that it is ritually impure. Presumably it was immersed the day before so that it could be used to slaughter the Paschal offering. If he found it on the thirteenth of Nisan, he immerses it again. Perhaps its owners had not yet immersed it, since they still had time to do so before the evening. If one finds a cleaver [kofitz], which is used to slaughter an animal and break its bones, whether it was on this day, i.e., the fourteenth, or on that day, i.e., the thirteenth, he immerses it again out of doubt. Since breaking the bones of the Paschal lamb is prohibited, its owners would have no need for it on the fourteenth, and it cannot be presumed that it has already been immersed to make it ritually pure. However, if the fourteenth occurs on Shabbat, he may slaughter with the cleaver immediately. Since immersing a vessel is prohibited on Shabbat, and presumably the owner of the cleaver wants it to be ritually pure on the fifteenth, one can assume that he immersed it already on Friday, the thirteenth of Nisan. It is therefore ritually pure. If the cleaver was found on the fifteenth of Nisan, i.e., if it was found on the Festival itself, he may slaughter with it immediately. The owners of the cleaver would have immersed it so that they could use it on the fifteenth to cut up the bones of a Festival peace-offering. If the cleaver was found attached to a knife, it is like a knife, i.e., if it was found on the thirteenth of Nisan it is presumed impure, and if it was found on the fourteenth he may slaughter with it immediately, as it was certainly immersed on the day before.
סַכִּין שֶׁנִּמְצֵאת בְּאַרְבָּעָה עָשָׂר, שׁוֹחֵט בָּהּ מִיָּד. בִּשְׁלשָׁה עָשָׂר, שׁוֹנֶה וּמַטְבִּיל. וְקוֹפִיץ, בֵּין בָּזֶה וּבֵין בָּזֶה שׁוֹנֶה וּמַטְבִּיל. חָל אַרְבָּעָה עָשָׂר לִהְיוֹת בְּשַׁבָּת, שׁוֹחֵט בָּהּ מִיָּד. בַּחֲמִשָּׁה עָשָׂר, שׁוֹחֵט בָּהּ מִיָּד. נִמְצֵאת קְשׁוּרָה לְסַכִּין, הֲרֵי זוֹ כַּסַּכִּין:
Bartenura
שוחט בה מיד. דודאי הטבילוה בעליה מאתמול כדי שיהיה לה הערב שמש ותהא ראויה לשחוט בה היום בערב הפסח:
בשלשה עשר שונה ומטביל. כלומר אע״ג דאיכא למימר כבר הטבילוה בעליה צריך המוצאה להטבילה שנית, דשמא לא הטבילוה בעליה דהיה להם שהות להמתין עד סמוך לחשיכה, ואע״פ שלא גזרו על ספק כלים בירושלים משום חומרא דקדשים הצריכוה טבילה. ורמב״ם פירש שונה להזות עליה, דשמא נטמאה במת והזה עליה בשלישי, ועתה שונה ומזה עליה ואחר כך מטבילה:
קופיץ. סכין גדול עשוי לחתוך בשר ולשבור בו עצמות:
בזה ובזה. בין בי״ג בין בי״ד:
שונה ומטביל. לפי שאין הקופיץ ראוי אלא לחגיגה ששבירת עצם מותר בה. ובגמרא בפסחים (דף ע׳) מוקי מתניתין בזמן שהיה הנשיא גוסס בשלשה עשר, שאם ימות יהיו כל הציבור טמאים ויקרב הפסח בטומאה ולא יהיו צריכים לטהר הכלים. הלכך, סכין שצריך לשחיטת הפסח, דחד ספיקא הוא, שמא לא ימות הנשיא ויעשו את הפסח בטהרה מטבילין אותו, וחזקה שטהרוהו ביום י״ג כדי לשחוט בו את הפסח בי״ד. אבל קופיץ דתרי ספיקי, שמא ימות הנשיא ויעשו פסח בטומאה ואז אין מביאין חגיגה וא״צ לקופיץ, ואף אם לא ימות שמא יהיו הפסחים מרובים ולא יעשו חגיגה בי״ד, הלכך לא מטבלי ליה וחזקתו שלא טהרוהו:
חל י״ד להיות בשבת שוחט בה מיד. ולא אמרינן כיון דשבת הוא לא נשחוט בה מספיקא שמא טמאה היא ונמצא הפסח טמא ומחלל את השבת שלא במקום מצוה. ורבותי פירשו, שוחט בה מיד בקופיץ קאמר, דאף על גב דאין חגיגה בשבת, מכל מקום חזקה שהטבילה מערב שבת לצורך חגיגת חמשה עשר:
בחמשה עשר שוחט בה מיד. לפי שכל העם יודעים שהזאה וטבילה אסורה ביום טוב ומטבילין את הכל מלפני יום טוב:
נמצאת. הקופיץ:
קשורה לסכין. אמרינן ודאי הטבילוה עם הסכין. אבל רמב״ם פירש, נמצאת סכין סתמא קשורה עם סכין אחרת ידועה, הרי היא כסכין הידועה, אם טמאה טמאה ואם טהורה טהורה:
שוחט בה מיד – for certainly, its owner immersed it [in a ritual bath] from yesterday in order that it would have a sunset (required after purification, to be deemed entirely clean) and that it would be appropriate to slaughter with it on the day of the Eve of Passover.
בשלשה עשר שונה ומטביל – meaning to say, even though it is possible to state that its owner already immersed it [in a ritual bath], the person who finds it must immerse it a second time for perhaps, its owner had not immersed it and they had a while to wait until it was close to darkness, and even though they did not decree on doubtful utensils in Jerusalem because the stringency of holy objects required immersion for it. But Maimonides explained [the word] "שונה" /”a second time,” to mean to sprinkle upon it for it had become ritually impure through contact with the dead, and he sprinkled [from the ashes of the red heifer] on the third day (see Numbers 19:12), and now sprinkles once again upon it and afterwards immerses it.
בזה ובזה – whether on the thirteenth or the fourteenth [of Nisan].
שונה ומטביל – he immerses it again for the hatchet/curved cutting tool is not appropriate other than for the Hagigah/the Festival Offering for the breaking of a bone is permitted on it, and in the Gemara of Pesahim (Tractate Pesahim 70b) establishes that at the time when the Nasi/head of the Sanhedrin is on his deathbed on the thirteenth [of Nisan], for if he would die, the entire community will be ritually impure and will sacrifice the Passover offering in defilement, but they would not to ritually purify the utensils; therefore, the knife that one needs for the slaughtering of the Passover offering – this is one doubt, for perhaps the Nasi won’t died and they will make the Passover offering in ritual purity, they immerse it and there is a presumption that they purified it on the thirteenth day in order to slaughter the Passover offering on the fourteenth. Bu the hatchet/curved cutting tool, there are two doubts: a) perhaps the Nasi will die and they will make the Passover offering in a state of ritual defilement and they don’t bring the Hagigah/Festival offering, and there is no need for the hatchet/curved cutting tool, and even if he doesn’t die, perhaps the Passover offerings are many and they don’t do the Hagigah/Festival Offering on the fourteenth; therefore, they don’t immerse it and b) it has the presumption that it they did not purify it.
חל י"ד להיות בשבת שוחט בה מיד – but we don’t say that since it is Shabbat, we will not slaughter it out of a doubt that perhaps it was ritually impure and it is found that the Passover offering was ritually impure, and we desecrate the Sabbath not at the place of a commandment. But my teachers explained that we slaughter it immediately with a hatchet/curved cutting tool stating that even though there is no Festival offering/Hagigah on the Sabbath, nevertheless, there is a presumption that he immersed it from the Eve of the Sabbath (i.e., Friday) for the need of the Festival offering/Hagigah on the fifteenth [of Nisan].
בחמשה עשר שוחט בה מיד – because the entire people knows that sprinkling and immersion are prohibited on the Jewish festival/Yom Tov, and we immerse everything from before the Jewish festival.
נמצאת – the hatchet/curved cutting tool
קשורה לסכין – is tied to the knife. We stated that it was definitely immersed with the knife, but Maimonides explained that it is found that an undefined knife is tied with another known knife, it is like the known knife; if it (i.e., the known knife) is ritual impure, it (i.e., the other knife) is ritually impure; if it (i.e., the known knife) is ritually pure, it (i.e., the other knife) is ritually pure.