משנה: מִטְפְּחוֹת הַיָּדַיִם מִטְפְּחוֹת הַסְּפָרִים מִטְפְּחוֹת הַסַּפָּג אֵין בָּהֶן מִשּׁוּם כִּלְאַיִם. רִבִּי לִעֶזֶר אוֹסֵר. וּמִטְפָּחוֹת הַסַּפָּרִים אֲסוּרוֹת מִשּׁוּם כִּלְאַיִם. MISHNAH: Hand towels, scroll wraps50The covers of Torah scrolls. Wrappers of other book scrolls are not subject to kilaim even for R. Eliezer., towels of the bath attendant51The סַפָּג is the bath attendant using the סְפוֹג, Greek σπόγγος “sponge”. are not subject to kilaim. Rebbi Eliezer forbids. Barber’s towels are forbidden for kilaim52These are put on the client’s shoulders and breast, they are “on him”..
הלכה: מִטְפְּחוֹת הַיָּדַיִם כו׳. תַּמָּן תַּנִּינָן שָׁלֹשׁ מִטְפָּחוֹת הֵן שֶׁל יָדַיִם טְמֵיאָה מִדְרָס וְשֶׁל סְפָרִים טְמֵיאָה טְמֵא מֵת שֶׁל תַּכְרִיךְ נִבְלֵי בְּנֵי לֵוִי טְהוֹרָה מִכְּלוּם. רִבִּי לָא בְשֵׁם רִבִּי יוֹחָנָן מִפְּנֵי שֶׁהוּא נוֹתְנָהּ עַל הַכֶּסֶת וְיָשֵׁן עָלֶיהָ. רַב אָמַר מִפְּנֵי שֶׁהוּא נוֹתְנָהּ תַּחַת אֲצִילֵי יָדָיו. HALAKHAH: “Hand towels, etc.” There53Mishnah Kelim 24:12. The entire chapter deals with classification of the types of impurity of כלים, i. e., vessels, tools, and garments. Vessels can only acquire original impurity if they are made to be sat on; they become actually impure if a person with gonorrhea sits on them, if they carry his “load”. In all other cases, vessels can only acquire derivative impurity; this is exemplified by a vessel standing in the same tent with a corpse. Hence, “impure by the dead” in these Mishnaiot simply means “may acquire derivative impurity.” Vessels or textiles that are only used to serve other vessels, not humans directly, cannot become impure (Mishnah Kelim 16:7). Cf. also Demay, Chapter 2, Note 136, and above Chapter 2, Note 180., we have stated: “There are three kinds of towels. Hand towels may become impure by load; scroll wraps may become impure by the dead; the wrappings of the Levites’ harps54The mss. of the Maimonides tradition read “wrappings (of the dead) and covers of Levites’ harps.” are always pure.” Rebbi La in the name of Rebbi Joḥanan, because one may put them on the pillow and sleep on them. Rav said, because he puts them under his upper arms55A reason has to be found why hand towels are considered manufactured for the purpose that either one should sit or lie on them or exert pressure (“load”) on them, for only this can make them susceptible to the impurity of “load”..
רַב אָמַר אָסוּר וַהֲלָכָה כְדִבְרֵי הָאוֹסֵר. וְלָמָּה לֹא אָמַר כְרִבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר. אִית תַּנָּיֵי תַנֵּי מָחְלָף. Rav said they56The three kinds mentioned as not under the laws of kilaim. are forbidden and practice follows him who forbids. Why does he not say one follows Rebbi Eliezer. There are Tannaïm who switch their statements57In Tosephta Kilaim 5:17, R. Meïr presents the text of the Mishnah, R. Jehudah switches the names and says that the Sages forbid. In a dispute between R. Meïr and R. Jehudah, practice as a rule follows R. Jehudah..
רִבִּי יוֹחָנָן יְהַב מַפָּה עַל מָנוֹי וְאֵינוֹ אָסוּר מִשּׁוּם כִּלְאַיִם דְּלָא יִנָֽבְלוּן מָאנוֹי. אָמַר רִבִּי זְרִיקָן יְהִיבוֹ לְרִבִּי אֲבוּנָא בֵּיעֲתָא בְמַפָּה דְּאִית בָּהּ כִּלְאַיִם וְהוּא לֹא מְקַבֵּל עַל שֶׁלֹּא יִתְכַּװְנוּ בְּחַמָּה מִפְּנֵי הַחַמָּה וּבִגְשָׁמִים מִפְּנֵי הַגְּשָׁמִים. Rebbi Joḥanan put a cloth on his garment. Is that not forbidden because of kilaim? [He did it] so that his garments should not wear out58He never wore them as garment.. Rebbi Zeriqan said, they gave Rebbi Avina an egg on a towel containing kilaim, but he did not accept it because of59Mishnah 5; he did not want to use kilaim to protect his hands from the heat of the egg. “they60Sellers of kilaim garments. should not intend to use them as protection from the sun in summer and from the rains in winter.”
מִטְפְּחוֹת סְפָרִים. רִבִּי שְׁמוּאֵל בַּר נַחְמָן בְּשֵׁם רִבִּי יוֹנָתָן מִפְּנֵי שֶׁהוּא עוֹשֶׂה אוֹתָה כְּמִין תִּיק וְנוֹתֵן סֵפֶר תּוֹרָתוֹ עָלֶיהָ. רִבִּי בָּא רִבִּי חִייָא בַּר יוֹסֵף בְּשֵׁם רַב מִפְּנֵי שֶׁהוּא מְחַמֵּם בָּהּ יָדָיו. אָמַר רִבִּי בּוּן בַּר חִייָה לְרִבִּי בָּא בְּלֹא כָּךְ אֵינוֹ אָסוּר מִשּׁוּם כִּלְאַיִם. אָמַר לֵיהּ לֹא רַב הוּא וְרַב אָמַר אָסוּר וַהֲלָכָה כְדִבְרֵי הָאוֹסֵר. אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹנָה לְרִבִּי בָּא וְלָמָּה לֹא אָמַר לֵיהּ מָלֵא מְסַלְּקָתָהּ אִילּוּ אָמַר לֵיהּ בְּלֹא כָּךְ אֵינָהּ אֲסוּרָה בַּהֲנָייָה. מַה הֲוָה לֵיהּ מֵימוֹר לֵיהּ. “Scroll wraps.” Rebbi Samuel bar Naḥman in the name of Rebbi Jonathan: Because he makes them into a kind of container61Greek θήκη. R. Jonathan follows the text of our Mishnah that scroll wraps are not subject to kilaim. However, the reason is not that they are only to serve other vessels (cf. Note 51) because in that case there would not have been any need to specify them in the Mishnah. and puts his Torah scroll on them. Rebbi Abba Rebbi Ḥiyya bar Joseph in the name of Rav: Because he uses it to warm his hands62In Babli Beẓah 14b, this reason is given for the requirement that curtains may not contain kilaim.. Rebbi Abun bar Ḥiyya said to Rebbi Abba: Without that would it not be forbidden because of kilaim? He said to him, is not Rav the author? And Rav said they are forbidden and practice follows him who forbids63Rav gives the reason why he rules following R. Eliezer in the Mishnah.. Rebbi Jonah said to Rebbi Abba, and why did you not say to him that he removes it full64The Torah scroll is put into its ark or chest wrapped in its wrapper. Since the wrapper is dedicated to a holy object, it should become forbidden for all profane use and the reason given by Rav could not possibly apply. The prohibition of the use of ancillaries to holy objects is explicit in a Babylonian baraita (Babli Megillah26b); R. Abba points out that adoption of that Babylonian standard would invalidate Rav’s reason to apply the standard of kilaim to wrappers of Torah scrolls.. If he had said to him, would it not be forbidden for usufruct, what could you have said to him?
מִטְפְּחוֹת הַסַּפָּג פְּעָמִים שֶׁהוּא רוֹאֶה אֶת רַבּוֹ וּמִתְעַטֵּף בָּהּ. רִבִּי אַבָּהוּ בְשֵׁם רִבִּי יוֹחָנָן בַּלְנָרֵי נָשִׁים אֲסוּרִין מִשּׁוּם כִּלְאַיִם. הִיא בַּלְנָרֵי נָשִׁים הִיא בַּלְנָרֵי אֲנָשִׁים. מַהוּ בַּלְנָרֵי נָשִׁים רַבָּנִין דְּקֵיסָרִין אָמְרִין אנטיטיה. מִטְפְּחוֹת הַסַּפָּג הָדָא דְתֵימַר בְּמִתְכַּוֵּין לְשֵׁם מַלְבּוּשׁ אֲבָל אִם אֵינוֹ מִתְכַּוֵּין לְשֵׁם מַלְבּוּשׁ לֹא בְדָא. “Towels of the bath attendant,” sometimes seeing his teacher he wraps himself in them65Hence, we follow Rav in his ruling that kilaim is forbidden for bath towels.. Rebbi Abbahu in the name of Rebbi Joḥanan: women’s bath towels66R. Joḥanan’s statement is a Tosephta (Kilaim 5:16); there the term is בלארי Latin balnearia,ium, n. “bathing utensils.” The Tosephta adds that these are not subject to kilaim only if they are pieces of cloth, not sewn. are not subject to kilaim. Women’s bath towels are the same as men’s bath towels. What are men’s bath towels? The rabbis of Caesarea say, אנטיטיה67In Mo'ed Qatan 3:2 (fol. 82a) the reading is אנטינייא. One might derive the word from Syrian Arabic نطا נטא "to be wet"; the meaning would be wet towels. Another possible derivation is from Latin natatorius (adj.) "belonging to a swimmer" (E. G.).. Towels of the bath attendant, that means if he intends them as clothing, but if he does not intend them as clothing, not about that68The prohibition of kilaim does not apply. Since the reason for following Rav here applies only to men, even Rav has to agree that women’s towels may contain kilaim..